Accu Slide Issues

[Retired Topkick]

Hello,

I have a 2016 Keystone Passport Ultra Lite Grand Touring 2670BH. About 3 months ago I noticed the slide motor was making a different sound when retracting. The motor would raise and lower in pitch. No issues when opening, only retracting. On my next camping trip the slide actually stopped once while retracting. I conducted a full-court press research of the Accu Slides to better understand the problem. I also then got going on a slide project that I had been delaying for a few years -pulling off the nail-gunned in from the back facia board and re-installing it with screws for more immediate access to the motor assembly. Kudos to whoever designed that set-up! I keep a drill and flexible shaft in the camper for emergency retraction but I don't want to get to that point if possible.

I conducted a full inspection of the linkage/cables and everything looks tight, no frays, cable nut ant-vibration blocks in place etc. The four outside cables are in good shape. No frays.

I have called Accu Slide and identified the correct part #'s for a new motor. There is a regular motor and a heavy duty motor. My research shows that changing the motor is fairly easy but I don't want to mess with the gear box. I watched a guy on YouTube that was a genius fix the pulleys. I was lost after 5 minutes. I just got back from another camping trip today and the slide stopped 4 times while retracting. I am on borrowed time.

My game plan is to change out the motor. I just don't think it is the cables. I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts or had a similar issue. I am at the point that I avoid the RV dealerships like the plague. They can't seem to get any decent RV mechanics, their pricing is ridiculous and they over-commit and under-produce. Thanks in advance for your assist!!

[Canonman]

If I recall, the slide motor simply runs in reverse to bring the slide in (maybe out) but it's the same motor in or out so I'm not so sure it's a motor problem.
It's possible something is causing a bind on the slide room when you're bringing it in. I had a problem with the wiper seals folding over and binding up. There is a set on both the inside and outside of the room. They finally tore away from the frame and the binding problem was solved. When I replaced the wiper seals I trimmed them so they just contacted the sides of the room. No more problem.

[sourdough]

Have you looked all around that slide for something like Canonman described? Sounds like the motor is binding up. Not saying it's not the motor but I would sure look closely to make sure you didn't go to a lot of trouble for nothing. Like him, I've had one peel loose and play havoc with the way the motor sounded. Pull the outer flaps back and look underneath, especially under the slide.

[Retired Topkick]

Thanks for both the responses! My camper is safely back in the driveway so I am going to open the slide out and inspect for any possible obstruction. I will then get my wife to retract it so I can inspect for obvious obstructions during movement. I will keep you posted on what I find!

[Retired Topkick]

Still digging in. I conducted a pretty thorough inspection. The wiper seals look good. However, I am missing some seals and grommets. Additionally, I believe there is an an alignment issue with the cables. See attached pic. When the slide retracts the cables are pushing hard against the sides. I have written a long a detailed e-mail with many pictures to BAL Accu-Slide. I will see what they say.

[sourdough]

From what I can tell that looks like an installation problem with the slide being misaligned.....maybe. Call Bal/Norco and talk to one of their tech specialists. I've talked to them and they are extremely helpful. The pics will help them but now that they've been sent I'd give them a call. Much easier to discuss an issue IMO talking real time vs trying to clarify/reclarify repeatedly via email. The last person I talked to (engineer if I recall) was Michelle?? (been a while). VERY nice and helpful.