Community Forums

Lt46 · 04-03-2011, 08:29 AM

Hi folks,
In troubleshooting my HWH 200 series leveling system I've found that the pump motor is dead, gone belly up, kaput.
Has any one here removed the pump motor for service/replacement? I'm going to attempt local repair before buying new and what I'd like to know is; will I get a bath from the fluid stored in the reservoir tank? The pump is directly attached to it?

Thanks for any info.

Roadking · 04-03-2011, 09:18 AM

Peter: I have an HWH 610 series and the pump also is directly attached to the tank. The motor appears to be a part of the tank/pump, but indeed it is separate and when removed there is no leakage, or spillage. It was very easy to remove the motor and took only a few minutes. Details below.

On my unit to remove my motor I had to remove the power wire and loosen the large hose clamp that holds the relay mounting bracket. Then remove the two 7mm hex head bolts on the back of the pump motor. THese bolts go all the way thru the motor and into the tank/pump. Once these bolts are removed the motor can be removed from the pump by gently pulling it out of the pump housing. Be careful as once the bolts are removed the end plate of the motor containing the brushes is also loose.

The motor shaft has a large tong, similar to a big straight slot screwdriver, and this tong mates into a slot in the hydraulic pump. When installing, make sure the motro shaft is aligned properly with the slot in the pump.

Once I had my motor out I removed the brush plate and discovered an internal plastic spacer had melted and the plastic was stuck to the brushes (there are four brushes in my motor). I cleaned the brushes and cleaned the armature and reinstalled. The motor has been working fine now for more than a year.

HWH used several different brands of motors. Mine is a Monarch and a replacement motor from HWH will cost upwards of $200.

4Knights · 04-03-2011, 11:51 AM

Lt46 are you 100% positive it's dead? I ask because my service center said the same thing about my 200 series. I'm cheap and not going to spend huge bucks if I'm not convinced by the mechanic, so I took the MH back home and started following the wiring, what do you know the wire that goes from the control panel to the pump motor had been rubbing against the battery tray causing a short. Spliced and heat shrunk back together and now it works fine. I did call HWH and they were great to work with and help diagnose.

Ron & Wendy 94 Pace Arrow 454

Lt46 · 04-03-2011, 06:22 PM

Absolutely great feedback, thankyou. Roadking, what you've described is what I'm seeing and appreciate the heads-up regarding the loose ends of the brushes. 4knights, I've followed the HWH troubleshooting tree to arrive at the dead motor diagnosis. I've actually applied 12v directly to the motor and got nothing, ergo=dead motor.
My gut tells me to pull the motor and take to a local electric motor shop for evaluation/repair. I've been quoted a motor replacement via HWH is in excess of $200 and might not be an exact replacement. Thanks again for your input.

1ciderdog · 04-03-2011, 09:58 PM

I was very happy with the service I received from HWH. This past year I had a jack problem and talked to the technician (6 or maybe 8 or 9 times) on the telephone. He walked (talked) me through trouble shooting until the cause of the problem was determined. Have you tried contacting them and discussing the problem?

DAN L · 04-04-2011, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt46

Absolutely great feedback, thankyou. Roadking, what you've described is what I'm seeing and appreciate the heads-up regarding the loose ends of the brushes. 4knights, I've followed the HWH troubleshooting tree to arrive at the dead motor diagnosis. I've actually applied 12v directly to the motor and got nothing, ergo=dead motor.
My gut tells me to pull the motor and take to a local electric motor shop for evaluation/repair. I've been quoted a motor replacement via HWH is in excess of $200 and might not be an exact replacement. Thanks again for your input.

did you replace the fuses, not just check them?
before removing the motor, make sure it is getting a good ground. the ground is from the large hose clamp that holds the relay.

i installed a #10 wire for a better ground.

then tap around the outer end of the motor with a hammer while an assistant holds a switch engaged. this may reset the brushes. eventually i had to have my motor rebuilt at a starter-generator electric shop. they actually fabricated new brushes. iirc cost was about $25.

Lt46 · 04-04-2011, 06:15 AM

Yes, I have been in contact with HWH and they have been helpful. This whole process began with my joystick controller only activating the pump when lowerering the front jacks, nothing happened when trying to lower the rear two. Via HWH, they had me ground the pigtail from the joystick to see if the pump motor would run and it didn't. That brought me to the pump/reservoir and all its electrical connections. These were all cleaned bright +/- and reassembled with zero results. It was at this point HWH suggested a dead pump. Further testing with a dedicated 12v supply and good ground connected, the pump would not run.
Another question for the collective; will I have any small components falling out as I pull the pump away from the reservoir? Small springs, o-rings, pilot bearing or any such things?

DAN L · 04-04-2011, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt46

Yes, I have been in contact with HWH and they have been helpful. This whole process began with my joystick controller only activating the pump when lowerering the front jacks, nothing happened when trying to lower the rear two. Via HWH, they had me ground the pigtail from the joystick to see if the pump motor would run and it didn't. That brought me to the pump/reservoir and all its electrical connections. These were all cleaned bright +/- and reassembled with zero results. It was at this point HWH suggested a dead pump. Further testing with a dedicated 12v supply and good ground connected, the pump would not run.
Another question for the collective; will I have any small components falling out as I pull the pump away from the reservoir? Small springs, o-rings, pilot bearing or any such things?

nothing fell out when i removed my motor from the pump.

did you try tapping on the motor while a helper is holding the pump switch engaged? this worked for me for a while and indicated that i had a brush problem inside the motor.

flash1942 · 04-04-2011, 06:38 PM

I took my HWH motor out and dis-assembled at least 6 times before I found the cause of intermittently not running. Inside the motor, there are four brushes. Two brushes receive 12 volts from wire thru motor housing; the other two brushes go to ground thru a screw inside motor housing. On mine, the ground screw inside had rusty threads,causing intermittent ground. Replaced screw and cleaned internal threads and now working fine for one year.......Lloyd

4Knights · 04-04-2011, 07:02 PM

Lt46, either way, disassembly or just replacement. Take some pictures as you go to help educate all of us that have yet to take ours apart.
Thanks and good luck

David K · 04-04-2011, 08:34 PM

Lt46 --- I have replaced a bad pump motor also -- went dead on me at a campground with the jacks down and the slides out. The description of the hose clamp and the two long screws is very accurate. On mine, nothing fell out and the total job of replacing the motor took me about 30 minutes after I got the motor from HWH. I now carry a spare motor (probably will never go out again but, I like the insurance of having it -- I also have a spare solonoid that I carry). If you are mechanically inclined and, it sounds like you are, you should have not problems with the replacement.

Lt46 · 04-05-2011, 06:37 AM

Follow-up:
With the expert guidance offered here this was the easiest job I've encountered so far on this moho. The most difficult part was breaking the 2 allen head bolts that mount the pump to the reservoir. PB Blaster and a long handled allen wrench made it happen. I slid the can off the windings to have a look inside and found the brushes in horrible shape. Burnt to a crisp. The unit is in the repair shop now for rebuild evaluation. As reported, nothing leaked out but was surprised by a little spring hidden in the slotted adapter that lives between the motor shaft and couples to/drives the hydraulic pump. Didn't lose it thankfully.
I'll take some pictures upon reassembly and post same for others in the same predictiment. Now, HWH says this motor is obsolete so if repair is out of the question it looks like I'm in for some modification to the reservoir mounting to accomodate the new motor.
Thanks to those who've offered their insight.

Stogie · 04-05-2011, 09:13 AM

I replaced the pump/resevour on mine and it was a chore but not too much you cannot do it yourself.
HWH is great and their Tech's have been invaluable.
Motor and Res come as one unit but the one I got was bigger and did not fit so I had to switch the new motor over to the old Res. I used a couple of wood splitting wedges to remove the motor. Take your time it is not that difficult.
Clean things really good prior to starting.
Save the fluid if possible.

Lt46 · 04-05-2011, 10:03 AM

Stogie,
If my motor is not repairable, what you went through is what HWH is telling me to do. I do not understand why though. HWH says the Fenner MF4042 motor is obsolete, yet when you Google that p/n there are plenty of places this motor is available from. Seems crazy to have to swap out pump, motor, and reservoir for just a bad motor. What am I missing here? Could it be the HWH's version of the Fenner MF 4042 is dramitcally different from what is available? Anybody know?