Power Gear electronic leveling problem

[Roger G]

On a 2007 Southwind , we camped this weekend in Nashville for the Music City Bowl. In order to level, the front jacks extended much further than the rears to the point of lifting the front wheels about 2" off the ground. Today when we started to leave and retracted the jacks, the front two stopped about 2" shy of the back two and the panel flashed that the jacks were still down and the warning buzzer sounded when the park brake was released. The jacks would not go down or up, only the lights on the panel would blink and buzz. I finally decided the jacks were up enough to drive home and removed the leveling panel and unplugged it to shut the buzzer up. After arriving home and thinking about it I crawled under and saw that the motors on the jacks have a brake on the end of the motor just like a slide motor, so I assume there is some way to manually retract the jacks, wrench or ratchet maybe? That still doesn't explain why the jack won't extend or retract with the control panel, fuse or circuit breaker maybe? I do not have a manual for the leveling system so I need help if anybody has any thoughts or experiences ? Thanks in advance!

[Clifftall]

Power Gear Jacks were used in Fleetwoods from 2007 -2008 with a few late model 06"s and a few early 09"s. There is a long thread in the Fleetwood Forum that will assist you a lot . Here is a link to it Power Gear jack problem .

You will see that there were a few updates to the system that you will have to ascertain whether or not were done to yours. You may find your answers in this thread. If not , you can start an email dialog with Power Gear info@powergearus.com . They are very responsive and most helpful.

Here is a link to my manual which has the revisions I mentioned above http://support.powergearus.com/techdocs/82-L0368.pdf . Again, you'll need to find out what system you have. There is also a lot of good tech info on PG's web site Power Gear - Advanced Actuation Solutions for RVs . Here is a link to some documents that also may assist you Technical Documents - Power Gear .

Good luck and please let us know how you make out.

[mudpuppy]

I have them on my Fleetwood Terra 08. You can release the brake and use a socket on a speed handle to raise them. It is the nut located on the gear box between the motor and the jack foot. The brake is just a lever on the bottom of the motor that you push up on slightly and slid about 1 inch to one side. I have a complete set of manuals in PDF form I can E-mail you to include the sensor override doc if you need them just PM me with your E-mail and I will send then along.

[wa8yxm]

First, it is a very bad deal to have both front tires (or even one rear) OFF THE GROUND, I have heard folks yammer about how the suspension is designed to hold thousands of pounds of motor home up and holding hundreds of pounds of wheel etc will somehow overload it.. i don't believe that.

What I do believe is the jacks are designed to hold it UP.. NOT to prevent side to side or front/rear movement. Having both front wheels off the ground a ghust of wind can turn your jacks into very expensive pretzles. Likewise both rears but if even ONE reear is off the ground a blast from the past (rear) or future (Front) can do the same job.

I do not have electric jacks.. But when I press the RETRACT button on my hydraulilcs a timer starts... Did you try just pressing the RETRACT ALL button again? Sometimes it works.

Also, I do not know about lubrication on the electrics.. but if the manual says to, please do.

[Roger G]

Thanks for the help. The error code was for loss of power during retract so I reset the system per the info supplied and all jacks retracted just fine with no more errors flashing. Both the rubber boots on the front jacks are torn so I will be replacing both and cleaning the motor brakes. It's always something!

[Hipshot]

In the future if you have retract problems you can jump 12 volts onto the jack connector using a battery charger. To do this unplug the power connector at the jack, this is the connector with the two large wires. Attach the battery charger (or any 12 volt source) to the jack connector, if the jack runs the wrong way reverse the wires. Retract the jack untill it almost contacts the weld at the bottom. This is what I was told to do by Power Gear when I was having jack problems. They also told me to put a fuse in line with the hot lead from the 12 volt source, I do not remember if it was a 10 or 15 amp fuse. Power Gear said if this fuse blows the problem is dragging or corroaded brakes. Brake kits can be ordered from Fleetwood parts.

[Roger G]

Guess I'll be making some 30 ft jumper wires for these little emergencys .

[Clifftall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger G Guess I'll be making some 30 ft jumper wires for these little emergencys .

Hipshots advice is good, however you can do this at the control board. I do it with a 6 foot jumper to the coach batteries.

[Hipshot]

Power gear advised me to have someone watch the jack during retraction and do not retract it to contact the weld. They said retracting to far can cause damage. I use the battery charger so I can lay under the coach near the jack and watch it.
I think they can be retracted by jumping power from the power input to the Power Gear control box to the jack power wires connected to the Power Gear control box. Would only need a 1 ft jumper. I think I will try this after golf today.

[Clifftall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hipshot Power gear advised me to have someone watch the jack during retraction and do not retract it to contact the weld. They said retracting to far can cause damage. I use the battery charger so I can lay under the coach near the jack and watch it. I think they can be retracted by jumping power from the power input to the Power Gear control box to the jack power wires connected to the Power Gear control box. Would only need a 1 ft jumper. I think I will try this after golf today.

You are correct about the welds. I have someone watch for me as I raise/lower them. I don't like to get the power from that compartment which is why I use a 6' jumper to the house batteries or I pull the toad up to that compartment and use that battery.

You are also right on about the in line fuse. I jumped the jack wires once when my brake was frozen and the wires created a small fire ( EEK ).

[Hipshot]

That would not be fun to be under the coach and suddenly have a fire, I have enough knots on my head as it is.

[JimColeman]

I have a 2008 Southwind with electric jacks. They gave me fits when the rig was new and we ended up at the Fleetwood factory in Indiana after having the jacks worked on in California before leaving on a trip, again in Texas on the trip, and finally in Indiana on our way to NY.
The jack manufacturer is located nearby to the Fleetwood factory, so a factory tech and the jack manufacturer tech both worked on the system.
The jack manufacturer talked to me after they were done and said they had cleaned and wire-tied ALL THE CONNECTORS and that this was CRITICAL TO PROPER SYSTEM WORKING. Any slight electrical resistance in any of the wiring will cause problems with the electronics in the system.
Since this was done, we have had no additional problems, although this summer I plan to cut the wire-ties and clean them again and install new wire-ties.

[Clifftall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimColeman I have a 2008 Southwind with electric jacks. They gave me fits when the rig was new and we ended up at the Fleetwood factory in Indiana after having the jacks worked on in California before leaving on a trip, again in Texas on the trip, and finally in Indiana on our way to NY. The jack manufacturer is located nearby to the Fleetwood factory, so a factory tech and the jack manufacturer tech both worked on the system. The jack manufacturer talked to me after they were done and said they had cleaned and wire-tied ALL THE CONNECTORS and that this was CRITICAL TO PROPER SYSTEM WORKING. Any slight electrical resistance in any of the wiring will cause problems with the electronics in the system. Since this was done, we have had no additional problems, although this summer I plan to cut the wire-ties and clean them again and install new wire-ties.

Jim. Thanks for that. Can you explain how you clean the connectors? Do you spray them with contact cleaner? Also , exactly what so you mean by " wire tie "the connectors?

Cliff

[JimColeman]

Cliff,
I will spray them with contact cleaner, then use dielectric grease.
The connections are like four flat trailer plugs Wire ties are the thin nylon self locking strips, also known as zip ties.