HWH Air & JVA Jacks - Mystery

[rkevincarson]

In our 2006 PT 525 we have both the HWH air leveling and the JVA Hyd jacks.   Since we always us the air leveling, I from time to time lower the jacks and give them a little clean & fresh lube on the jack shafts.  Never had any issues (but never really used them).  A few weeks ago the power light on the JVA comes on, but no other lights do and, of course, the jacks do not move (air was < 60psi).  As of a few days ago the generator will not slide out.  The motor does get power, but the gen does not move.   All the slides are working but my question is in a few different parts:
1.  Does the HWH hyd slides, JVA Jacks and Gen slide operate off the same hyd motor and reservoir?
2.  Is there a remote manifold for the slides?  I only see 3 solenoids on the JVA pump (one for each jack).
3.  How can I get the gen out without removing the hyd ram (or is that the only option).  I can't get to anything else until I get the gen out.
4.  Is there a separate solenoid for the gen that I need to find?

I have attached a couple pictures.

[David T. Richelderfer]

For what it's worth, I believe our generator slide is an electric screw in-and-out.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Kevin,
Looking at your panel in the photo, I think there is a pump/solenoid block for the jacks (3 solenoids) and a separate system for the slides including the generator. Locate the HWH slide pump and reservoir as you may be low on fluid. It may be behind the front steps. On my 07, the geni is the first item to act up when fluid gets low. FYI, I noticed that the owner's manual shows a power gear system for the jacks.
Steve

[rkevincarson]

We have looked and looked for another pump.  We are going to unbolt the Gen slide this weekend.  It is very hard to do anything without the Gen out.   Any other thoughts on a location would be appreciated

[Scott Shearer]

Kevin,

Your 06 PT could be very different than ours, and we have air leveling only.

All of our slides, including the generator, are hydraulic. The slide-room (and generator) hydraulic pump assembly is mounted just inboard of the front step. All of the electrical connections (including a common ground), pump, motor, reservoir, manifold, and solenoids are mounted as a single unit. If we had the hydraulic leveling pump setup that you show in your posted image, it would completely obscure the slide-room hydraulic assembly. Our slide-room pump is quite loud and is easy to pinpoint its general location.

I’ve attached an image of the slide-room hydraulic assembly that is on our 06 PT, it was taken, passenger side with the generator slide open. The image shows the reservoir, the manifold and five of the ten solenoids. Right side, background shows the silver slide rails for the entry steps (they are extended).

You said, “the motor is gets power”, so just an FYI.
Unlike the interior room slides, the generator slide is not part of the multiplex system. The generator slide switch gets its power from a 7.5-amp fuse on circuit board #7 in the front run box, I’ve attached an image. Also, the generator slide is not affected by the ignition lock-out.

There are also fuses in the slide-room controller. Ours is mounted passing side on the front firewall. It would be nearly impossible to access without extending the generator slide.

Be very careful if you are going to release the generator slide, it is very heavy and can easily move on the rollers. Speaking from experience, it can be frightening when that thing moves on its own.

Hope this helps, but your PT could be quite different than ours.

-Scott

[rkevincarson]

Thank you Scott...  I was really expecting to see something like what you have for the slides and gen.   I will be looking around again this weekend.  My guess is that if I find it, it will just be low on fluid (I hope).

[rkevincarson]

Just to complete the HWH / RVA story.   First, if you ever have the generator slide that will not extend, the only way to get to the valves (both HWH and RVA) is to be able to extend the Gen slide.   There is a single hyd ram that moves the gen slide.   On the end (towards the front) there is a 15/16" nut on the end of the ram.  Remove the nut and pull the generator out by hand (seriously, it took less than 3 minutes at most).  After getting the gen extended (do not pull to far!).  There are four rollers on each side, do not pull the generator past the last two.  After the generator was out, it was a matter of finding out why it would not extend.   Our 06 PT 525 has both air(hwh) and hyd(rva) leveling and HWH hyd for the 4 slides and generator (does not seem very common).  Anyway, back behind the RVA pump and solenoids (jacks) we found the HWH pump and solenoids (slides and gen).  The hyd fluid may have been a bit low, but that was not the problem.  After finding the HWH control panel, mounted in the front end, curb side, we noticed that the gen & slide relays were all the same but the first fuse on the system was a 3amp (a 5amp was installed).  Wanting the install the correct fuse we pulled the 5amp only to notice that it was blown.  Installed a new fuse and all is working.  Still wrestling with the hyd jacks, but with air leveling it is not a priority.  Getting the clear plastic cover off the control panel is very easy, putting it back on so it is sealed - not so easy.  In the picture you can see how buried the HWH system is and to work on it would really be tough unless you have the generator extended and a work pit to stand in.  Anyway, I just wanted to bring the story to an end on the generator so it may help others.

[Bill Lampkin]

Our '05 PT has air (HWH) and JVA hydraulic leveling. I've given up using the hyd jacks for leveling as they twist the frame (body) so much that I can't close the basement compartment doors. Works fine with air leveling. Glad you found the culprit!