Community Forums

Brianpr · 11-14-2018, 03:51 PM

Hey all. We have a 2002 Monaco Windsor with 3 slides. Lately the fuse for the slide outs keeps blowing. It doesn’t blow when putting the slides in or out but rather when we are parked. It’s fine until it’s time to pack up and go and then I have to replace the fuse to get the slides in and leave. Any thoughts? Maybe when plugged into shore power it is causing a surge? How do I figure this one out? Thanks for any help you can give.

Sailor Mike · 11-14-2018, 10:40 PM

Which slide is having the issue? I had a problem with the cables getting caught underneath the bed slideout. Fortunately I caught it before the wiring was cut, but I assume there would have been “electrical consequences” had it shorted.
Dunno, just a thought.

Brianpr · 11-15-2018, 02:06 PM

It affects all 3 slides actually.

Outbound · 11-15-2018, 03:05 PM

Have you checked to see if all tree slides are on the same circuit? sounds like they are and you will need to find out which one is causing the problem.

Jandringa · 11-18-2018, 05:16 PM

Try installing a auto resetting fuse, had a similar issue on 06 Camelot and national indoor Rv put one in place of the standard fuse, no issues in two years.

cavie · 11-18-2018, 05:21 PM

chances are one of the slides is out of adjustment. One of the off-limit switches is not turning off and blowing the fuse.

rmcb · 11-20-2018, 06:12 AM

Brian,
It might be informative for you to check the fuses just before trying to operate the slides to see whether they are blowing just as you actuate the switch. You could also take voltage and current measurements when you try to operate them to see how close you are to the fuse rating. They might be blowing because your battery voltage is low or being pulled down by load, causing current to go high enough to blow the fuses. I presume your slides are wired so they only operate under battery power and will not operate when the engine is running. That's the way mine was wired.

On my coach, I found that the slides operated much slower off of battery power as compared to how they would operate if I jumpered them to operate when the engine is running and system voltage is higher - approx 13.8V. I could tell that the motor was being slowed considerably due to the load, especially on my large flush floor slide. This slowing would surely cause current to go high and I worried about blowing fuses or even damaging the motor or relays.

Later I learned how Bill Willard installed a bypass switch in his front electrical panel to allow the slides to operate with the engine running. So I implemented the same mod. This is convenient because it allows me to operate the slides without having to shut down after airing up when getting underway. It also seems to help the motors handle the load. Now, I try to only operate my large flush slide when the engine is running so I don't subject the motor and relays to more amps and heat than necessary.

My Winnebago DP was wired so the slides could operate with the engine running and it was a convenient feature. Bill's bypass switch provides the same benefit while allowing the slides to be disabled for driving if that is a concern.

It just seems to me that these slide mechanisms are marginal for the large slides with all the friction inherent to their design. Anything we can do to limit heat build up in the motors and control boards will surely contribute to longer service life. It may also resolve your fuse blowing problem.

I hope this helps in your troubleshooting.

Roy