Vesta slide motor quit

[davec1000]

Hi everyone. We have a 2011 Vesta. I tried putting the slide in today after having it out briefly (an hour or so). The front motor started then quickly quit when it realized the rear motor wasn't doing anything. I tried several time to move the slide in and out with the same result. My wife said earlier that she heard a constant hum that she wasn't used to hearing. Me, being HOH, did not hear that hum, but I imagine it could have been the rear motor.
Any way, I checked the 15 amp fuse in the front panel and it's good. Then I checked the slide out control behind the side panel. There are leds that blink an error code but I was getting more blinks than there were codes. The blinks go by very fast. I'm going to call tech support tomorrow when they reopen, but I thought I'd run it by the forum to see if there are any suggestions. To me it doesn't sound like an easy home mechanic fix, but I hope. Putting Vesta slide into search only brought up one other problem which doesn't look related to mine.

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[rg neumann]

We have a 2011 Vesta and also had slide problems. In our investigation of the problem we went to the manufacturers web site. Lippert uses a Schwintek slide system and a good starting point is the "you tube" videos on trouble shooting the slide.
Google "lippert schwintek slide" and you will find numerous videos on the subject.. Are those videos trying to tell us owners something???!!!! Please let us know you findings as we all are "antsy" about the slide operation., We have 23000 miles on our unit and sooner or later something will happen to the slide!!

[deSanford]

I carry extra "slide" cables and a LARGE swagger tool. deSanford

[VestaDave]

We haven't had any slide issues---yet. Keep us informed and we hope you get the slide issue resolved quickly.

[davec1000]

Thanks for all the replies to my slide problem. The referrals to the Lippert YouTube videos were very instructive. I was also able to download manuals from their site. Unfortunately a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and I might have dug myself a deeper hole.

I tried the step-wise instructions for getting the slide in: 1st I tried electronic over ride, next I tried manual over ride. Neither worked, so I went to the most drastic step of physically detaching the motors from the drive shaft. Theoretically this "unlocks" the slide and will allow it to be pushed in, however with two people pushing the slide refuses to budge. It feels like it is still locked in place. I spoke with Lippert and Monaco support (kudos to both of them for quick responses) but they really had nothing more to offer than was in the manual. I called my local auto mechanic who I trust implicitly and who makes house calls. He'll come by next week and we'll try again. It may just take more muscle than me and my wife could muster. Monaco did suggest that it may take 3 people to move the slide, which may be true, but I would have thought we could have at least budged it a little. I'll keep you all informed.

[rg neumann]

A couple of points to ponder. The Vesta manual indicates the area on the slide to "push" . Probably indicates the area when little deflection of the slide would occur and a third person certainly would be beneficial. Did you lift the electric motors and rotate them so that the motors fully disengaged from the shaft? Since you are going to get a auto mechanic to help you , I assume that the coach is either at your home or a storage area. In other words, the problem is not immediate issue. We have Coach Net insurance and have used them once to help us with our problem. Since we were on the road, I decided to get to our destination before repairing our slide ( it was retracted, thankfully). Perhaps obtaining a contract with Coach Net and then waiting an appropriate period of time might be another solution. Good luck restoring you slide to the retracted position and keep us all informed of your progress.

[davec1000]

Well it's been awhile since I posted anything on the slide situation. That's because the weather has been so foul here (central AZ) that we haven't been able to do any work on it. My mechanic and I tackled it today and got it working and put back together. It's not a job I would wish on anyone. The YouTube videos make it look easy, but it isn't easy and it can be dangerous, with a 1000 pound plus box trying to fall out of the rig. When we were finally able to get access to the components we did continuity checks on the wiring. It appears that the connector to one of the motors was defective. It actually wasn't the connector itself causing the trouble, but the housing around it wasn't allowing a good connection. When we striped the housing off we were able to get good continuity. Putting everything back together is a major pain because there is so little slack in the wiring and so little room to work in. We supported the slide on blocks and a bottle jack, and moved it in inch by inch until we could connect the wires and get the frame close enough to put some screws back in. Those screws holding the frame on the side of the rig are the only thing holding the slide out in the rig when it's extended.

The motors worked well on our first test, but the slide went in a little out of alignment, the front stuck out about 2 inches while the back end was flush. It was a simple matter to unplug the rear motor from the controller and activate the front motor to get it flush. It took a couple of times moving the slide in and out to get it exactly in synch. I still need to trim some of the new foam tape, and I'm going to silicone seal the whole thing, but we've got another storm coming so that will wait for another day.

Thanks for all the advice. This isn't a job I recommend to anyone. I have an excellent mechanic, who doesn't give up easily. And he'd never seen this type of slide before. I bet he hopes he never does again. But I'm putting him on speed dial. Just in case.

[deSanford]

Glad you finally found the electrical problem on your motor connector. I take it your Vista slide doesn't have cables. deSanford

[VestaDave]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Do you have any ideas on why the instructions in the manual didn't work as described to manually retract the room?

[topdownman]

Originally Posted by davec1000

I'm going to silicone seal the whole thing,

[davec1000]

Our slide out is a Schwintek, which I had been told by some dealer (grain of salt) was the latest and greatest. If Monaco has gone to cables in subsequent iterations then I guess they learned a lesson. My mechanic hates this slide. The older types are much easier to work on, so he says.

The overrides to push the slide in manually depend on there being an electrical connection to the motors. If there is no juice there is no way to manually override the system or disengage the motors. The motors are locked when they are not powered, so they do not allow the gears on the slide track to turn. Makes sense: you don't want them turning when the slide out is in and you're going down the road. This means the only way to push the slide in is to manually disengage the motors from the drive shaft. But once you do that it is almost impossible to put them back in without disassembling the entire frame.

The idea of Schwintek is good; 2 parallel tracks keep the slide aligned. The execution is terrible. As my mechanic noted, engineers only think in one direction, they never think about having to take their creations apart.

I'm sorry, I don't understand the response to my "silicone the whole thing".
Putting screws into the frame caused the new foam tape to twist in several spots. I just want to be sure that no water is going to get into any air gaps. Is this wrong?

[VestaDave]

I'm not sure, but I think Monaco went to a cable system on the 2012 Vesta. Your experience is puzzling for sure. With the motors removed the room should have been able to be pushed shut! I didn't get the "silicone" comment either.

[topdownman]

Well, I wasn't sure what you were siliconing up. Silicone is about the worst thing you can put on the outside of an RV but if you're sealing a motor I guess it's ok.

[davec1000]

I didn't realize that. I know it's tough to get off once it's on. Does it remove the finish? I'll rethink this idea, maybe leave well-enough alone.