First trip of the year troubles.

[butterbean]

Ok, so my family and I pack up the Cougar xlite 26bhs for our first camping trip of the year. Just got new awning fabric put on and ready to go. We get the the campground and get the jacks down (manual) and tongue jack down (power) and go to put the slide room out and it goes out about a foot and stops. I go to check out the battery connections and everything looks good but the slide won't move and the tongue jack is dead. Put on a battery charger and everything looks like its fully charged but decide to run it for a bit anyway. Occasionally get a flicker of light from the tongue jack light but no power. Have a friend bring me out a new battery figuring I'm reading something wrong on the charger. The slide goes out about another foot and then completely stops again. No power to slide or tongue jack. I took the ground cable loose and cleaned the connections where it screws into the frame of the trailer but to no avail. My bus bars are a little rusted but the tongue jack power doesn't go through them, it's wired straight to the positive battery terminal. The only thing I think it could be is the negative battery lead that goes to the ground on the frame. Any one ever have a similar problem or something else I should check?

[jsmith948]

You stated that the power tongue jack is wired directly to the battery. There must be a fuse or thermal breaker somewhere in the line between the jack motor and the battery. I would look for that. My guess would be that it is a thermal breaker since it had power again after you switched batteries. Once a fuse blows, it is done.
The other, more important, issue is what is causing the overload. Is the slide binding? Is the trailer level? How long has it been since the slide was actuated? Have you done any mods where the wiring could have been damaged/punctured/compromised?

[JRTJH]

I'd ask, "Did it work while you were loading it for the trip?" and "Was everything working when you checked it out while de-winterizing the trailer?" If so, what have you done <maintenance wise> since that checkout when it was working?

[butterbean]

I had just picked it up from having new awning fabric put on it and the tongue jack was working and did until I tried the slide. I didn't try the slide until I got to the campground.
Once the slide died the tongue jack did as well. There is in inline fuse between the battery and tongue jack but I checked that and it was good. I have done nothing maintenance wise other than replace the awning fabric and and flush the antifreeze from the lines when I de-winterized it. The slide only worked again for about 30 seconds when I switched batteries then everything died again. The slide didn't seem to be in a bind as it went the rest of the way out and then back in again smoothly with my drill hooked up to the motor and manual operation point. This leads me to believe that it is still in the negative battery cable and I'm just not getting a good ground through that. Don't know where as I've ever seen a battery cable go bad but it is a 2010 travel trailer so stranger things have happened. Was going to try and replace it first then look into the bus bars.

[JRTJH]

If nothing was function tested prior to departure, you may have (a rare potential) rodent damage from winter storage ???? Or, on a 8 year old trailer, I'd also confirm and probably replace the two DC circuit breakers on the front bulkhead of the trailer. Those two little "buggers" have been the cause of more electrical problems than you'd imagine. If you live in a humid area or tow in rain/wet conditions, they aren't as waterproof as you might think. Just a little corrosion on the windings inside those DC breakers is all it takes for them to become intermittent and any "heavy load" will trip them, the corrosion prevents them from cooling and resetting and it may take an hour, maybe all day for them to reset, things work well "until the next heavy load".... Hard to find/duplicate the problem, and at $3 each, much easier to just replace and hope for the best.... Cables: well, like you, I've never seen a "cable failure" except for corrosion at the terminal ends. If they look good, chances are they are good.

[ChuckS]

I’d try removing battery cables and clean the connections and post on battery. I’d also remove main ground cable to frame and clean connection spot.

And I’d also remove the connections from resettable breaker for slide , clean and reconnect...

Of course disconnect battery before you do this to prevent and accidental short.

[butterbean]

JRTJH, the tongue jack was functioning fine before departure and on arrival at the campground. It wasn't till I tried to put out the slide room that the issues occurred. I don't know of any circuit breakers that you are talking about on the bulkhead. There are two little things where all the positive cable from the battery connects to but I don't think they are circuit breakers, I have seen them called bus bars. I'll try and attach a picture. The tongue jack however has a single wire running to it that connects directly to the battery with an inline fuse. The inline fuse is good which is what's really baffling me. 16673

16674

16675

[JRTJH]

Those are the DC circuit breakers that I wrote about. They are NOT buss bars. Inside them is a wire winding that heats up with excess current and opens a spring loaded contact to prevent current overload. They are notorious for corroding and intermittent failure symptoms. While they may not be your problem, they very well may be. It looks like those are not in the "best of shape".... Your choice whether to "gamble 6 bucks" and replace them or "pay 6 bucks" for a new negative battery cable.......

[JRTJH]

Here's a link to one brand on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Bussmann-CBC-20HB-Circuit-Automotive-Terminals/dp/B001PT7X6Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1527616666&sr=8-3&keywords=auto+reset+circuit+breaker

Notice that there's a "BATT" terminal and an "AUX" terminal. Yes, they can be connected backwards. They'll still function, but when there are two in the circuit (as in your photos) hooking them up backwards can present a problem in an emergency situation such as a trailer separation/breakaway switch function. Just pay attention to "what wires come from where" and "which terminal they connect to"....

[butterbean]

JRTH, thank you so much. I had no idea they are circuit breakers. I'm heading to my RV dealer after work to get a couple replacements! You have been a life saver. Are these certain amp breakers? Does the color indicate how many amps each one is? I guess I can ask the dealer. Once again, many thanks!!

[JRTJH]

Yes they are amp rated, available in 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and 100 amp ratings (plus probably many more). You'll need to take them off the trailer, look at the rating etched in the side and buy the correct amperage breakers.

My guess (which is ONLY A GUESS) is that the first one from the battery is a 40 amp and the second one is a 30 amp. Remember, I've never seen your trailer and that is only a WAG (wild a** guess)..... Good luck !!!

[14george]

Let us know if that was the problem

[sourdough]

You know, I've been traveling for days and unable to be on the forum. I just want to point out and say that this is the best RV forum out there. The OP posted about a very real problem and within an hour or so folks were trying to help, and continued through the day. Thanks to all the members for being so diligent in trying to help those in need. And now, back to the OPs post.....

[Papa Puttz]

I have an 2008 Cougar 27’ er and have had to clean the tongue jack switch contacts a few times, all is good for awhile! Time to replace it with new one!

[butterbean]

I’m still waiting on the new circuit breakers to come in. One is a 50 amp and one is a 30 amp. I bought two new protective covers for them and will get them replaced next week and let you know the results.

[AbHDToyHauler]

Just a thought but if the breaker is tripped you can test it. It will have 12vdc on both sides or it won't. if it doesn't......it's tripped! If it does , try moving slide/jack. If they move and stop again then test breaker on both terminals again. See if they are now tripped. Hope that makes sense and helps.

[Ken / Claudia]

Those circuit breakers can be purchased at about any auto parts place besides RV stores. I had 1 fail in another RV a few years ago and got a spare, just in case of a next time, 6 bucks of insurance when at a camp site.

[Geothor]

Inline fuse blown ....located under tongue..2-3 ft from fro t jack...

[butterbean]

Finally got the circuit breakers replaced and the slide works! Thanks so much for the advice and help with this issue. The tongue jack still isn’t working but that must be a separate issue and think the tongue jack may be just plain broken! I’ll try a couple other small things but maybe time to start looking for a new tongue jack.

[sourdough]

Now that you're focused on the tongue jack;

You said the inline fuse was good. Take a meter and make sure you have 12vdc thru the fuse going into the jack. The switch could be bad, or, if the jack is OEM, at that age it could have just failed. My last one on this trailer lasted 3 years (but it filled the circuit board tray with water and fried:( ).

[LuvsPalmTrees]

We had a tongue jack go bad from getting wet. Nothing was more frustrating. Raining and we could not get the trailer on the truck and we were in Indianapolis. So my poor DH had to manually raise the jack and we got it on the truck. It was only about 2 years old so I contacted Lippert and they sent me a new one. We now cover the jack at all times. I found a really nice jack cover on Amazon and it works like a charm.

[sourdough]

We had a tongue jack go bad from getting wet. Nothing was more frustrating. Raining and we could not get the trailer on the truck and we were in Indianapolis. So my poor DH had to manually raise the jack and we got it on the truck. It was only about 2 years old so I contacted Lippert and they sent me a new one. We now cover the jack at all times. I found a really nice jack cover on Amazon and it works like a charm.

When mine filled with water and fried I was going to manually raise it so we could leave (it was the last day of our winter stay) but the manual adjusting "nut" just twisted right off as soon as I started to turn it - looked like it was made of some sort of soft pewter....so we were stuck an extra day while I found a new jack and replaced it. When I returned I was visiting about it with the SM at our dealership and he said it was a known problem with the LCI jacks so be sure and look at it.

[JRTJH]

The vinyl "bag covers" sold at most RV parts stores tend to slow down water penetration, but don't completely stop it. Seems that rain will seep through the seams and still saturate the jack, it just takes longer.

Most dollar stores sell a variety of small plastic buckets and trash cans. Almost always, there's one sized correctly to cover the jack and prevent any rain from getting under the cover. A couple of holes drilled in the bucket (or trash can) and an appropriately sized bungee cord and for around $2, you've got a jack cover that's more effective than the $19.99 version and will probably last longer to boot.

[LuvsPalmTrees]

JRTJH - We had a 5 gallon bucket on it for the last year. So far the bag has been doing it's job, I got a gift certificate from my last job so I am not out any money. I have seen people with the vinyl masks on their jacks. Yoda shows up a lot at Sleeper State Park.