Generator slide won't extend

[Frederick Thornton]

Hi everyone, I had annual service done on my 2007 Beaver Contessa in January. One of the items they found and sort of fixed was a leak from a crack in the reservoir for the leveling jacks. It is a Power Level 51037 per coach documentation. The pump and reservoir are under right front on the coach. They could not find a new replacement reservoir, so they removed, patched and replaced the old one. They said I should try to find an exact replacement (no longer available they said) or get a welder to patch the existing one. One question, does anyone know where I might get a replacement?

I read posts about generator slide issues, and they say the generator slide uses same pump as the coach slides. I thought the generator was operated by the jack pump. Anyway, my coach slides work. The generator does not go out but I hear a pump running. I was by myself so couldn't operate the button and look at the pumps. And I immediately thought that the work on jack pump reservoir must have caused the problem... maybe the generator piston needed bleeding... or something like that?

So my question is, which pump operates the generator slide? Second, what would cause it to not move even though a pump is running?

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Fredrick,
The  geni slide is powered by the same hydraulic pump as the slides. Check the fluid level in the reservoir above the Hydro hot in the pass side front bay. My experience is that low fluid will impact the geni slide before the room slides.
Steve

[Fred Brooks]

    Frederick,
   Sometimes they develop an air-lock in the system. You may try slightly loosening the hydraulic fitting at the rear of the cylinder and pulse the extend switch. If no joy, loosen the hydraulic fitting at the front of the cylinder and pulse the "retract" side of the switch. Sometimes the previous owner puts a travel pin in the tract for safety.
    BTW Steve, Fredrick is German and Frederick is English so I'm told. Fred

[Frederick Thornton]

I'll check the fluid level in the slide pump. One curious thing about this is that I put both front slides out, and later retracted them. They appeared to work like always. After doing some other things, I tried to run the generator out, and it wouldn't move. I will check the fluid level in the reservoir.

Another curious thing is that I just had maintenance done, including changing the oil and filters on generator. I'm pretty sure it worked then. 

After maintenance, I drove 225 miles home. After that, the coach sat in a deep freeze for a week. So this must be a new problem not caused by maintenance!

I'll post findings as I work through figuring out what the problem is.

And, I do have an English/Scottish heritage!

THANKS for the comments!!

[Fred Brooks]

    Frederick,
  After reading the fact that you had the gen serviced, You may want to check for a transit lock on the slide-out track. Perhaps someone with an 07 like Steve to verify the transit lock lever or pin. Fred
PS I too am English & Irish

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

 Frederick, Fred,
I don't see any locking mechanism on mine not do I understand why Monaco would require one to crawl under the front of the coach to release a mechanism in order to open the geni compartment. As I noted earlier, mine had same symptoms and it was caused by the  hydraulic fluid being slightly low. Filled reservoir and problem fixed.
Steve

[Frederick Thornton]

Here is the rest of the story... am I going nuts???

This morning, I and two of my friends went out to the RV. One of them is a long time RVer, and the other is an excellent mechanic. I talked them through all the things that had happened as I described above. The plan is to check the fluid level on the slide pump, then have one of my friends stand by it while I go to the other side and press the generator slide button. We decided to take this first step before cranking and pulling the RV out of storage where we would have better access. We checked and the fluid level was fine. My mechanic friend who has better hearing stands by the pump, I go to the other side and press the gen out button, I hear the pump as did my friend, and the generator slide moves right out like it always has!!! No delay, no problem! Push the retract side of the button, and in it comes, just like always! I claim my mechanic friend is magic, or my RV likes my RV friend! They both give me a lot of, let's say 'lip'.

I'm happy the generator will go in and out. But for the life of me, I can't understand why it didn't when I tried it a few days ago... The only explanation is that I'm going nuts! My friends quickly agree! I buy them lunch! I think all would agree this is a cheap fix for an RV.

THANKS Fred and Steve for your advice above. Do you have any idea why the gen slide didn't move last week when I tried? Or do you agree with my friends? 

[Fred Brooks]

   Frederick,
     The generator slide enigma operation, intermittent operation makes us all crazy. Momentary obstruction? slight twist in the chassis or gen rails the way it was parked? Pump runs but extend solenoid not receiving electrical command? Loose connection between rocker switch and fuse? I really don't have an answer. Try it occasionally and if you can get it to fail, I would be suspect of the solenoid valve. That is the most common failure in HWH hydraulic commands. Hope this helps, Fred

[Frederick Thornton]

Thanks Fred! Good suggestion! I will start testing the generator slide before each trip. I generally drive the RV about 10 miles every two weeks if we aren't on a trip, so it will get some fairly frequent testing.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Frederick,
I think I may know what might be the issue with your geni slide. There is a diode matrix in the wiring that comes off the switch in the front elec bay. The matrix connections are made with crimped butt connectors. The matrix routes 12v from the switch to the pump motor and the solenoid. While diodes normally don't fail intermittently, crimped butt connectors do. If one of the crimps on the diode that routes 12v to the solenoid fails, the pump would run but the slide wouldn't operate due to the solenoid not activating. While we don't have a diagram of the geni slide wiring, see pg 43 of the 08 Contessa wiring diagrams in Coach Assist. It shows the front slides wiring which is identical to the geni slide circuit. The matrix is located in the "thick' section of the wires coming off the switch.
Steve

[Stan Simpson]

Your generator is gaslighting you. 

[Frederick Thornton]

Thanks Steve! I'll keep your suggestion in mind. If I get intermittent work/don't work, I'll use this idea!