Power Issue

[spade117]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

Check the white wire going to the tongue jack and see if it has an inline fuse. Good that you replaced the corroded parts.

It does have an inline fuse, which I replaced before taking everything apart. I doubled checked after reconnecting everything and even tried the original fuse that I replaced. Neither worked any differently.

I also hooked the trick up again to see if that did anything, but no, tongue still didn't work.

[Canonman]

Is it possible to access the power lead to the jack? Power there would confirm a bad switch.

[CedarCreekWoody]

Remove the inline fuse and check for power. If yes, check the switch in the jack. If no, check the power feeding the white wire.

[flybouy]

I would also check the 3 bolts that secure the tongue jack to the frame. That's where the jack is connected electrically to ground. Pull one bolt out at a time and thoroughly clean the threads in the frame and the bolts before replacing.

[spade117]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

Remove the inline fuse and check for power. If yes, check the switch in the jack. If no, check the power feeding the white wire.

Fuse has power.

It looks like I have to remove the head of the jack to be able to get inside to check the power to the switch.

I don't have a long enough phillips head that is skinny enough to fit into 2 of the 4 access points for the screws to remove the top cover portion, so I am on hold for the moment.

[sourdough]

You didn't say what kind of tongue jack it is. The LCI has a circuit board inside as well as a Stromberg Carlson. Something could have compromised it.

If the connections on that ground lug we saw were problematic it might be that the grounding accomplished through the jack bolts to the frame could be an issue but there are 3 and it seems unlikely they all lost connection to the frame...but, it could happen. Pull them one at a time and clean them. If you've got power thru the fuse to the jack head and a good ground it goes thru the switch, the board and motor. To me the ground is the one I would pay attention to the most, switch may or may not be accessible, board/motor assemblies? I'd buy a new jack.

[Canonman]

I'm betting on the switch or the control board being the problem. Spade seems pretty capable and can find his way around a meter. I'd say give it a shot. Danny could be right if the cost of a replacement switch or board is $$ maybe a new jack is a better option.

[CedarCreekWoody]

Originally Posted by spade117

Fuse has power.

It looks like I have to remove the head of the jack to be able to get inside to check the power to the switch.

I don't have a long enough phillips head that is skinny enough to fit into 2 of the 4 access points for the screws to remove the top cover portion, so I am on hold for the moment.

Before that do as Flybouy suggested and check those mounting bolts. You may have just lost the ground, even more likely considering the corrosion you found earlier.

[spade117]

Model is 3500 lb electric tongue jack from lippert.

The 3 ground bolts show no signs of corrosion on top or bottom.

I felt the wire was still good because the light on the jack would still work.

I was able to get the last 2 screws out, but ran out of daylight to remove the top cover. As I was putting the jack head back on the pole for the night, I checked the extend/retract button again and it worked, so now I'm thinking something is loose within the cover.

I will get back to it tomorrow after work.


For future reference, what else can be done/what have others done that can minimize the corrosion on those mini circuit breakers and ground stud, since obviously the red rubber gasket cover didn't help much and the ground stud has no protection?

[flybouy]

I use CRC 05046 Battery Terminal Protector on my battery and exposed terminals. Spray a little on every 3 months or so.

[CedarCreekWoody]

A dab of dielectric grease can help protect the terminals. Apply a bit to the slide on terminals inside the head as well. If you don't find a loose wire then remove and reinstall the mounting bolts. They can look ok but still be intermittent.

[JRTJH]

The only way I know of to "prevent water damage" to those mini-breakers and the connections is to remount them inside a waterproof box that's mounted in the same location. Remove them, mount the box, route the wires through access holes in the box, reinstall everything and then seal the wires where they enter the box and put the cover on it.

That makes for difficult "accessibility" to the mini-breakers, so plan your "future troubleshooting" accordingly.....

Honestly, with the number of RV's on the road, almost all built and wired like yours and the minimal number that have "mini-breaker problems", it's not as much of an issue as you might think... Having the problem, it looks (to you) like a disaster, but it probably only happens to one in a thousand trailers during the first 3 or 4 years, so if you decide to "fix yours against future corrosion" understand that you might never see any corrosion for the time you own the trailer, even if you leave it like it is with a little di-electric grease applied to the contacts during assembly. It's the "defective crimps on ring terminals" that I find most problematic, and they're done by those "great RV workers" at the factory or dealership....

[Canonman]

It looked like to me you have your batteries in boxes. why not these connections as well?
The location of these breakers on the front of the trailer invites weather, water and corrosion damage. I'd recommend a weather tight box like this:https://www.polycase.com/wh-02?gclid...saAgjbEALw_wcB
Large enough to work in yet compact enough to fit your space. I think it'd be a pretty simple mod and help keep these breakers out of the elements.

[spade117]

We do a bit of work at my place with NEMA enclosures, so I may be able to finagle one from here. Thanks for the tip.

[spade117]

Well, I got home from work today and finished removing the jack cover. Nothing seemed loose but I made sure all were seated anyways. I took out the 3 ground screws and cleaned them up although they were in pretty good shape. Everything seems to be working now.

Hopefully it stays that way. I appreciate all your help. I was able to gain some more knowledge as well.

[Canonman]

Good news!! Thanks for letting us know.
Happy Camping

[Third Degree]

I know others have commented to clean up those ground wires because they look really bad. Have you done that yet? You posted they the ground looked good, but those do not.

[spade117]

Originally Posted by Third Degree

I know others have commented to clean up those ground wires because they look really bad. Have you done that yet? You posted they the ground looked good, but those do not.

Yes, I cleaned up everything and all seems to be working now.

[bbells]

Put your volt meter on the battery. Disconnect from shore power. Have someone hit the slide button. I am sure you will see the voltage in your battery instantly drop from 13v to 10v or even less. This means your battery is fried. One or several of your plates are coated and cannot put out the amperage you need. If this doesn't happen, disconnect your batter wires and brush the contacts clean. It seems your battery cannot put out the amperage you need for the slide. If, that does not fix it you have a corroded wire somewhere. The easiest fix is to simply run a new wire to your junction and run a new wire from the junction to the converter. Cheap and a lot less messing around than trying to follow the wires.

[moparmad]

ground wires didnt look all that good either in the picture from what i was seeing. need good clean contacts to frame, and looked like a bit of green color to one of the wires. what i see in every camper is butt connectors, crimp eyelets and spaded connectors even at the the brake drums. In my line of work i have seen well over thousands of bad connections because of just that. To this day i dont know why these manufactures cant solder and seal the connections. My suggestion would be to replaced every single connection with a solder crimp and heat shrink if your planning on keeping it for a while, because you WILL have more problems in the future. I've seen electric brake failures, power to slide outs fail, lights, and just about every intermittent problem can be chalked up to connection issues. What i also come across frequently is too many circuits on one circuit breaker. Manufacture should have added more but that would cost too much. For example all the lights on, refrigerator on and then use the slides and the breaker would trip. From the picture looks like you have two 25-30 amp wires coming off one post off a 30 amp breaker. I would also paint it after completion. helps from corrosion.