Help with slides and auto leveling - RV-Dreams Community Forum

lowryc50 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Help with slides and auto leveling

DebbieM · RV-Dreams Family Member

Sorry I don't have any ideas, but looking forward to hearing what it was. We were told our Montana's one electric slide (the bedroom) can be done manually but not the 2 large hydraulic slides. What a bummer! I hope you get if fixed soon!

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

If both slides and leveling system are hydraulic, it may be a corroded ground connection on the control board for the hydraulic system. This will give the indication of low voltage (12 volt system)

Hope this may help you get going!

Jesse

Joe_Camper · RV-Dreams Family Member

Definitely make sure all connections are clean and tight including battery connections. Disconnect from the pedestal again, operate the awning and then, check battery voltage. When you check battery voltage right after it was hooked up to the converter it will have a "surface charge" on it. The true battery voltage won't be seen until after some load has been placed on it to knock off the surface charge.
You said you reset breakers. Were any tripped or did you just push the buttons to see if they were tripped?

lowryc50 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Joe_Camper wrote:
Definitely make sure all connections are clean and tight including battery connections. Disconnect from the pedestal again, operate the awning and then, check battery voltage. When you check battery voltage right after it was hooked up to the converter it will have a "surface charge" on it. The true battery voltage won't be seen until after some load has been placed on it to knock off the surface charge.
You said you reset breakers. Were any tripped or did you just push the buttons to see if they were tripped?

I did check the battery connections and they felt tight. The breakers were not tripped I just flipped them off and then on again to check. I have a remote control for the awning, slides and landing jacks. The remote will not work for any of the functions. I can get the awning to open and close at the wall panel but the slides will not operate at the wall panel. The Auto leveling system started beeping after I tried the on/off button and all the lights would come on and flash then go off. The beeping continued until I turned the battery disconnect off and on again. That must have reset it but then during the night it started to beep again and I had to go out and turn off and on the disconnect at the battery. I wish I had forced the dealer to show me how to manually override the sytstems at the PDI a couple months ago. They only give you one hour and I had already taken more than that. Disappointed in myself for not understanding these types of issues or where to look to over ride or manually perform. The manual is not very informative for a new owner. I would just like to get the slides in, the jacks up and get it back to the dealer to fix it. Very frustrated with myself and a new rig.

Thanks for your help. I will check the connections again and will be contacting the dealer this morning. The bad part is I'm in IL and they are in Indiana. Fortunately we have the site until Friday at 3 pm. Curt

Cindi · RV-Dreams Family Member

I am in no ways an expert here, but I had a similar problem. Did you check the voltage on your batteries?

My battery disconnect switch wasn't working correctly and it turned out the batteries were too low. Put a charger on overnight and the slides and jacks worked again. I believe I will be traveling with a small charger in my tools

Good luck

lowryc50 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Cindi wrote:
I am in no ways an expert here, but I had a similar problem. Did you check the voltage on your batteries?

My battery disconnect switch wasn't working correctly and it turned out the batteries were too low. Put a charger on overnight and the slides and jacks worked again. I believe I will be traveling with a small charger in my tools

Good luck

Hi Cindi, I have not checked the voltage at the battery. Will have to get a voltmeter to do that. The monitor panel says the battery is at full but who knows if that is correct. Thank you for the suggestion. Curt

sdman · RV-Dreams Family Member

Curt, you are having the problem I most fear. I can only guess at this and it would be a 12v connection issue somewhere. Please let us all know what you find out.

As far as a manual retract of the leveling system and the slide, this is a video I found from Lippert.

Mark

dianneandsteve · RV-Dreams Family Member

A couple of years ago we were at an RV Service Centre and they couldn't get my jacks to move up or down. They had over driven them when they moved our rig. They tried everything and were in the process of flying in a replacement control box when a fellow Montana owner asked the tech if he had reset the control box. Nobody new that there was a reset. Don't know if you have the same system as our rig but that was the fix for us.
Good luck!

lowryc50 · RV-Dreams Family Member

sdman wrote:
Curt, you are having the problem I most fear. I can only guess at this and it would be a 12v connection issue somewhere. Please let us all know what you find out.
As far as a manual retract of the leveling system and the slide, this is a video I found from Lippert.
Mark

Mark, thanks for the video. I agree it has to be a 12v issue but not sure where to even look. I will watch the video very carefully to see what I can do to at least get the rig closed up and able to hitch up. I know you have had your problems too. Can't believe this would happen so soon after the purchase. Curt

lowryc50 · RV-Dreams Family Member

dianneandsteve wrote:
A couple of years ago we were at an RV Service Centre and they couldn't get my jacks to move up or down. They had over driven them when they moved our rig. They tried everything and were in the process of flying in a replacement control box when a fellow Montana owner asked the tech if he had reset the control box. Nobody new that there was a reset. Don't know if you have the same system as our rig but that was the fix for us.
Good luck!

dianneandsteve, thank you for the tip. Once I get a call back from the dealership I will ask about a reset and where the control box is located. Really feeling unprepared and oblivious. Curt

The Junkman · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't know alot..

But seems like dead batteries to me.

Joe_Camper · RV-Dreams Family Member

How many batteries do you have, Curt? I have 4 batteries and when we first got our RV, the batteries were not wired properly and two of them were not getting charged. My slides were extremely slow. After I wired them properly, no more issues. Getting a meter and checking the voltage at the battery/batteries is probably a good idea. You can get a meter at Lowes or Home depot pretty cheap. If you have a Harbor Freight nearby, they sell a good little meter for about 10 bucks. I've seen them on sale for $5. You don't need a $300 meter. They all will have instructions for use.

lowryc50 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Joe_Camper wrote:
How many batteries do you have, Curt? I have 4 batteries and when we first got our RV, the batteries were not wired properly and two of them were not getting charged. My slides were extremely slow. After I wired them properly, no more issues. Getting a meter and checking the voltage at the battery/batteries is probably a good idea. You can get a meter at Lowes or Home depot pretty cheap. If you have a Harbor Freight nearby, they sell a good little meter for about 10 bucks. I've seen them on sale for $5. You don't need a $300 meter. They all will have instructions for use.

Junkman, You're probably right. I don't know if I did something to create a drain or a problem with the converter. The manual says the converter is supposed to charge the battery when on shore power. If dead battery then that must not be happening.

Joe, the rig has only one 12v battery. Definitely getting a voltmeter for the tool box. Finding out how much I need to learn.

Thank you for the suggestions.

Curt

lowryc50 · RV-Dreams Family Member

UPDATE.....After not getting a call back from MY dealer that I called earlier this morning. I contacted the Heartland RV company customer service line and talked to a tech. He told me he would try to find a mobile tech in the area. Well, he called back a couple of minutes ago and told me he found a tech about 30 miles from here. I just called the tech and he is coming to the park tomorrow afternoon. The Heartland tech also stated that all service charges and work will be paid for since I am immobile. Feeling some relief right now. Hoping for good news tomorrow. Will let you know what I find out. Thank you all again for your suggestions. Curt

lowryc50 · RV-Dreams Family Member

lowryc50 wrote:
UPDATE.....After not getting a call back from MY dealer that I called earlier this morning. I contacted the Heartland RV company customer service line and talked to a tech. He told me he would try to find a mobile tech in the area. Well, he called back a couple of minutes ago and told me he found a tech about 30 miles from here. I just called the tech and he is coming to the park tomorrow afternoon. The Heartland tech also stated that all service charges and work will be paid for since I am immobile. Feeling some relief right now. Hoping for good news tomorrow. Will let you know what I find out. Thank you all again for your suggestions. Curt

We are operational again. It seems that most everyone that commented on my dilemma thought that my battery was dead or very weak which turned out to the the correct answer. Danny from GREEN ACRES RV parts and Mobile Repair in Clinton, IL(I have his cards but he doesn't have a website for me to post here) called me about 11:15am yesterday and said he was on his way to our site so I left work and drove out to Comlara County Park where we have been stranding(but still enjoying being in the campground). I pulled up and Danny was already there and working inside the front compartment. I asked him if he had an idea what the problem was and he said go in and try the slideout. I went inside, hit the "in" button on the bedroom slide and SHAZAM the slide starts to move in. I then pushed the button to move the slide back out into position. I went outside and Danny informed me that the 50 amp circuit breaker(relay) in the series of breakers in the front compartment had gone bad and was not allowing the battery to charge as we used our 12v accessories(those things that work on 12v current in the rig) which in turn, as most of you indicated, had drained the battery to the point that the slides and leveling system would not function. He explained that the battery may show full charge however if the voltage is below a certain level it will not allow operation of things like the slides and leveling system. The part that failed only costs $9.50. The total bill came to $119.50 which included the service call and mileage(i think). Anyway, I paid Danny with profuse thanks and will be reimbursed by Heartland. I took several of his cards and gave some to the campground host to have on hand in case another camper has a problem that needs mobile assistance. Green Acres is the only mobile service within about 50+ miles of the Bloomington/ Normal, IL area. So that's my story. Thank you all for your suggestions and comments. Another learning experience. Happy Camper again.

The Junkman · RV-Dreams Family Member

Very nice.. Glad it worked out.. cheap too ..

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Wow, glad for you that it's all working again. You mentioned in an earlier post that you were disappointed in yourself for not understanding these kinds of issues. Trust us, none of us had all the answers, we learn as we go.

Do call Heartland Customer Service the next time you have any issues, they are known to be very helpful to their customers. Sounds like your dealer just wanted to make the sale and move you out.

Again, glad you're operational! It's a terrific coach.

Sherry

lowryc50 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you Junkman, very glad it worked out and at a reasonable fee.

Sherry, Thank you for the encouragement. I realize I do need to learn as I go. I just felt so helpless at the time and thought I should have had some idea of what the problem was. The Heartland Customer Service is the best. The tech I spoke to was very helpful and really acted quickly to find a mobile RV tech. The dealer did get back to me in the afternoon the day I called but by then I had contacted Heartland and already had them working on the problem. I was told by the Heartland tech that I can actually have any dealership that will work in my rig do whatever warranty work I need done. That helps alot since my original dealer is in Elkhart and I am in Central IL. There are a couple dealerships in the area I would let do work in my rig. And yes, my coach(rig) is terrific. Can't wait to make it our full time home soon. Curt

HabDaddy · RV-Dreams Family Member

When you get time, go out and purchase a good volt meter. I know Harbor Freight has them for $10 but I have one of those, a mid-level, and a very good one. I tossed the Harbor Freight as it was so inaccurate. Go to Lowes and get a good mid-level one. You have no idea how handy this little things are. They are simple to understand and in most cases, all you need to care about is if it "has power" or "has no power". This can save tons of time trying to troubleshoot small electric issues. Heck it can tell you if a lightbulb is bad, fuse, circuit breaker, etc. I owned a 1972 Land Rover and this was standard issue with that thing. I rank this tool up there with Duct Tape and Vise Grips.

Happy camping and glad it all worked out.

lowryc50 · RV-Dreams Family Member

HabDaddy wrote:
When you get time, go out and purchase a good volt meter. I know Harbor Freight has them for $10 but I have one of those, a mid-level, and a very good one. I tossed the Harbor Freight as it was so inaccurate. Go to Lowes and get a good mid-level one. You have no idea how handy this little things are. They are simple to understand and in most cases, all you need to care about is if it "has power" or "has no power". This can save tons of time trying to troubleshoot small electric issues. Heck it can tell you if a lightbulb is bad, fuse, circuit breaker, etc. I owned a 1972 Land Rover and this was standard issue with that thing. I rank this tool up there with Duct Tape and Vise Grips.

Happy camping and glad it all worked out.

Thanks HabDaddy, it's on my list for my next purchase.