Control over our Stairs ....?

[Gary.Jones]

Yesterday, on my way back toward home, west Texas getting dumped on by a real rain system (still today also). While driving along I-20, a semi that I had passed seemed like he was trying his darndest to pass me again, and so I slowed down and the driver started pointing down toward the ground and motioned me to pull off the road. So I did. He informed me that my stairs were deployed as I was traveling. Thanked him and then called E.C. emergency weekend tech service and got Mike O'Connell on the phone. Mike walked me through an hour of sophisticated circuit analysis, but lets summarize it this way. My steps were working the opposite way they are designed to work..... they would go out when the engine and ignition were on (when the default position is "IN"), and "IN" when the door is opened and the ignition is off..... exactly the opposite that it should work. After much connecting and disconnecting wires, and throwing circuit breakers on and off, I finally got it to when I was in the coach and the Cummins was running, the steps were "IN". So I started driving again. It was still raining and the stairs stayed in while cruising 68 mph down I-20 for a while, but then I heard them deploy again and I had to drive maybe 30 miles with the stairs out and me in the right lane not passing anyone. Then it stopped raining and the roads dried out and my wife said, the stairs had retracted back in, so I went back to cruising speed and passing if needed. It stayed dry for the rest of the day but I decided to divert to NIRVC in Lewisville.

It stayed clear last night and the stairs worked as designed for 5 or 6 entrances and exits of the coach.

Now, this may be nothing but coincidence, but my hypothesis is that the rain and wetness led something to ground that should not be grounded, or not ground when it should.... a loose wire, or a wire that is not insulated fully and bare wire exposed. That may be completely wrong.... but are there any stair experts out there that can give me, and now hopefully a repair tech, an idea of what the hell is going on with my stairs? (With 2 artificial knees, climbing into and out of this rig is not very possible, so this is a major issue for me..... )

Gary

[Magic-carpet]

I had the same problem as you describe last year in Tampa and last summer out west. Both times in the rain.

I ended up wrapping every wire connection in tape and rerouting wires. I also put dielectric grease on every plug and packed grease into the control module potting.

Problem went away.

[Gary.Jones]

Jeanne:

That's an idea... I'll pass that along to the tech if I can get them to look at it before I need to get the DW to a doctors appointment (and me as a second option if we can't).

Where is the control unit located?

Gary

[fqberful]

Gary, There are 2 brass contacts on the forward edge of the door frame. Among other things this tells the coach if the door is open or not.


I've had issues with these before on other coaches.


Try taking some green scuff pad and clean them up and apply a thin coat of very light machine oil like 3-in-1 ... both sides.


Also check the spring pressure and make sure none of the springs have collapsed.

[Magic-carpet]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Jeanne:

That's an idea... I'll pass that along to the tech if I can get them to look at it before I need to get the DW to a doctors appointment (and me as a second option if we can't).

Where is the control unit located?

Gary

The control unit is up in the step framing next to the motor.

Not to disagree with fqberful but I believe the magnet on the screen door and reed switch on the door frame tell the coach to deploy or retract the steps.

[brobox]

Gary, you have just gone through another reason I don't drive in heavy rain. The step controller is right there in the heavy road spray. The power plug for the controller is not the best quality and sure not to be trusted in heavy rain. There is more electronics under these coaches subject to heavy rain then people imagine. My last rain flooded item was the Engine ECM that took a Cummins shop to clear.

[Motorhead-54]

Assuming your Cornerstone is equipped with Kwikee steps you’ll find lots of detail here...

https://www.rvtechlibrary.com/exteri...svc_manual.pdf

[photraveller]

We had problems with the reed switch in the door frame that detects the door open/close status, when we drove in the rain.

Never had them deploy, but they sometimes wouldn't deploy when wet and you opened the door.

In our case CS told us that the switch was getting wet from the wheel well and would need replacing. We were able to live with it since I could get it to work by taping on the switch (looks like a plastic hole plug) down below the latch post.

Reed switches are awful sensitive buggers. Known for sticking and sensitive to electrical noise. So if one is getting water inside it, hard telling how it will operate.

BTW, if they determine it is the switch, be careful, Apparently Entegra uses the opposite from Jayco (normally open vs normally closed switch). (Or reverse of that). Had them send me the wrong switch once and they caught it themselves and sent me the second one.

BTW2, the pogo pins on the hinge side are only used for the electric door lock, according to CS. I played with them first before calling CS, since that was how my other SOB coach operated.

Steve

[brobox]

Along with step electronics, there are the jack sensor switches that have problems with rain, air leveling sensors, in my case the Cummins ECM, even reports of air filters having water injected into them. The problems are just not worth it for my style of traveling. I don't mind a light rain, but the gully washers that I made the mistake of driving in once was enough learning experience for me. Now I use a radar app to see the weather ahead.

Another thing that helps with the steps is to paint all of the controller connections, even the plug at the wire ends with liquid electrical tape, available at Walmart, Lowe's etc. There are a lot of not so well sealed wires exposed in the worst spot for driving in rain.

[Magic-carpet]

Originally Posted by Magic-carpet

The control unit is up in the step framing next to the motor.

Not to disagree with fqberful but I believe the magnet on the screen door and reed switch on the door frame tell the coach to deploy or retract the steps.

correction - the magnet is on the main door, not the screen door and both are located towards the bottom of the frame. You can see the wires via the wheel well going to the reed switch on the frame.

I agree with Chuck, if you can avoid driving in the rain, do it. In my case I had been parked in the rain at Tampa and had the problem on a sunny day trying to leave..! The second time it happened I was driving in a light rain and the steps deployed with the door closed and retracted when the door opened. Unfortunately in the 17's and maybe later models, there is no fuse to pull for the steps. I had to get underneath and unplug the motor to keep them in while driving.

[buck58]

I cannot find the thread, I even took pictures of the drawing and I can’t find them in my phone either. But there was a guy that fabricated a stainless steel “pan” that he attached under the stairs to keep the mud and the water from getting in all of that business under our stairs. It was just a pan a cover that he attached with screws on the outside. I hope somebody on here can find it because I plan on doing it to mine this spring.

[Magic-carpet]

Originally Posted by buck58

I cannot find the thread, I even took pictures of the drawing and I can’t find them in my phone either. But there was a guy that fabricated a stainless steel “pan” that he attached under the stairs to keep the mud and the water from getting in all of that business under our stairs. It was just a pan a cover that he attached with screws on the outside. I hope somebody on here can find it because I plan on doing it to mine this spring.

I think this is it....

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/ext...on-468362.html

[buck58]

Yes!! That’s it thank you very much...

[Gary.Jones]

In the vein of Paul Harvey's "Now, for the Rest of the Story...."

Here is what happened. Once the roads dried out and I was not throwing water everywhere, the steps stayed in and I was able to get back to business driving. Dee and I decided to divert to NIRVC Lewisville and see if there was any chance of them looking at it, and one other problem (in Tucson, I just put out the front awning and although I never do this, instead of using the remote outside and watching the awnings come in, I thought, "I'll just do it from the Vega Touch panel". However, when it came in, there was a clanking sound and when I investigated the issue, the round pole that supports the middle of the front awning had extended rearward about 12-18" and now was banging atop the rear canister) I was lucky and NIRVC agreed to look at my stairs and the awning.

They looked at the wiring and the stairs and their opinion was that the stair controller module had cracked or split potting material where the wires enter the module and repair was not the right fix. So, Middlebury approved replacing the module and the mechanic made the switch.

They also had enough time to look into the awning problem and found two problems. There is a rope like parachute rope that holds that tubular pipe inside the canister as it retracts and a "knot" ( that cannot pull through an eye ) that is used to hold the rope in place was not large enough and pulled through the eye and let the pole slide rear-ward. They also noted that the front arm had a knuckle joint that had fractured and the front arm needed to be replaced. I virtually never deploy my awnings and when I do, it is usually only 3 or 4' so that it illuminates the passenger side of the coach while I am cooking our dinner on the grill.... I never leave it fully extended or even mostly extended. However, one of the arms was torqued.

So, there you have it. Thank you NIRVC Lewisville for getting me going again!! That was really nice of you.... THANK YOU

Gary