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JWEibeck · 03-01-2022, 05:23 PM

Hey Group:

2014 Phaeton 40QBH

I am being stumped by something. About a year ago our Coach Step motor crapped out and I replaced it and took care of an open recall on them at the same time. For several months after that, all was well. They would go in and out, smooth as silk, and quiet. Then, about a month ago, while the steps would retract quickly and quietly, when they went out and reached maximum extension, the steps would begin what I can only describe as stuttering before shutting off.

I crawled under the coach and couldn’t see anything obvious during operation. Last week I was in Red Bay for our annual maintenance and decided to go to a repair facility in town. They looked over the problem and pulled the steps from the coach. They would continue to stutter, briefly, when hooked to 12 volts DC, during opening. Upon pulling the drive motor, we discovered that one of the mounting bolt guides for the drive motor was cracked about 3/4 of the way down from the top of the bolt. This appeared to allow the motor to shift just enough to briefly loose contact with the half-moon gear assembly.

They mounted a news motor and control board (kit) and all appeared well. The steps operated quietly and smoothly again, just as they should. Less than 2 days later, the stuttering has returned during the steps being opened.

Anyone else have this issue and, if so, what solution did you finally settle on? Thank you in advance for any assistance. No, I did not and will not be calling Bob.

f14av8r · 03-02-2022, 04:46 AM

I suspect the plastic worm gear inside the motor is stripped. This is a common failure and a really weak point in the design. The gear often strips when the motor meets resistance opening or closing. Yours might have stripped because of the bad mounting bolt. Another frequent cause is stepping on the steps while they are still opening. I would replace the motor.

Winemaker2 · 03-02-2022, 05:57 AM

Ive seen the stripped plastic gear complaint so many times here and has to be frustrating. I get the idea that some weak link breaking better than tearing something larger apart.
Why can't this be done with a replaceable shear pin instead of a gear (especially one that is not available as a replaceable part)

JWEibeck · 03-03-2022, 05:25 PM

As previously stated, I did replace both the step motor as well as the control board. It lasted all of 48 hours before the problem returned. I finally simply purchased a new set of steps but with the Kwicky Steps design rather than the Coach Steps. So far, so good.