Author Topic: power cord reel jammed  (Read 11262 times)

Jim and Carol Contratto

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power cord reel jammed
« on: July 25, 2009, 02:28:46 AM »
Hi All BAC members:

I have a Patriot Thunder 06 with a power cord reel.   I extended it too far out obviously and it is jammed.   When I first purchased this coach in Florida in Jan. 08 at Lazy Days, the same problem occurred,   Lazy Days took care of that one.  

It is fully extended out, will not retract.    I have moved it up and down, hit the button in and out, crawled in the slide, took the panel off, moved it around.

Any ideas???  

Jim Contratto






Tom Rogers

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Re: power cord reel jammed
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2009, 04:54:33 AM »
Don't have an exact answer but of course check fuse or breaker first. I'll assume you don't have a manual for guideness. Let readers know if you hear any kind of a motor noise ... trying to re-wind.. Do you hear any kind of buzz noise? I have one but never had a hic-up.

Joel Ashley

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Re: power cord reel jammed
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2009, 08:37:35 PM »
Jim-

You didn't say whether the motor was running, only that it was "jammed".  If it is running, did you try adjusting the tension on the drive wheels?  Could be they're just slipping, but I'm not sure how you could "pull the cord out too far" and cause that.  Nevertheless, if the drive wheels aren't clamping the cord enough, it will not move in or out, and perhaps if you accidentally stretched the cord out, you stressed the roller mechanism enough to affect the tension they put on the cord.  On my Cablemaster model, tension adjustment is the yellow knob just above the motor.  Perhaps your Neutral cam lever is released (the lockdown knob on the side, towards you from the motor);  this allows manual "free wheel" use of the power cord, and may have accidentally popped up - it should be levered down to engage the drive.

You may have a different model than mine, but going here may help, and you may find your exact model with a little clicking around: http://www.glendinningprods.com/rlc.html

Joel
Joel and Lee Rae Ashley
Clackamas, Oregon
36.9 ft. 2006 Monterey Ventura IV, aka"Monty Rae"
C9 400HP Cat

Jim and Carol Contratto

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Re: power cord reel jammed
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2009, 09:42:21 PM »
Checked all the fuses, all the cord is out from the reel,  12 Amp fuse in back box is fine, circuit breaker OK. Motor not running. Just hit the switch to send the reel out, then it would not come back in.  No manual of course, I think it is a Glendenning, checked the website for Glendenning.   I will search some more.  We are in Montana at the moment, heading to Eugene area.  I guess Coburg is up and running, will try to schedule an appt.  if not at Bend. Monday I will call and see if I can get in in Coburg, or else Bend.   In the meantime, will coil it up in the bay.

Thanks for all the help

Jim Contratto
Fulltimer

« Last Edit: July 26, 2009, 05:55:30 PM by 14 »

Tom Rogers

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Re: power cord reel jammed
« Reply #4 on: July 26, 2009, 04:23:57 AM »
Live in Eugene and can recommend www.oregonmotorcoachcenter.com.  ...... they are near the airport. Give them a call to see if you can get in right away. They do have over night parking. If you want to stay in the area for a few nights there's a new RV park in Harrisburg out Peoria road ... north of town. It's called Riverbend. Regards. Tom

Bruce Benson

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Re: power cord reel jammed
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2009, 05:56:11 PM »
The power reel has a cut out switch built into the guide rollers that cuts it off when the rollers are spread.  The nylon limit sleeves on the cord spread these rollers when they contact them, thus shutting off the power when near the end of the cord.  They should be wired to work only one direction, meaning that when the full extension sleeve contacts the roller the extension circuit is shut off.  When the full retraction sleeve contacts the roller the retraction circuit cuts off.  

My guess is that yours is mis-wired and your extension sleeve is cutting off both the extension and retraction circuit.  I would first try pushing firmly on the cord near the rollers to attempt to manually retract a few inches of it, thus moving the sleeve out of the way and releasing the roller switches.  

The long term fix is to check all of the circuits for proper operation and rewire as needed.  There is a terminal block in the reel that has all of the circuits terminated on it with screws.  It is simple to change if you understand basic electrical circuits.  You can also over-ride these switches with jumpers on the same terminal block.  I doubt that any of us switch the reel on and walk away so the limit switches really serve little useful purpose and can be a source of problem and frustration.  I disabled mine.  

Bruce

Joel Ashley

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Re: power cord reel jammed
« Reply #6 on: August 03, 2009, 12:08:49 AM »
Bruce-

My RLC model doesn't have the limit switches you speak of, and Jim never said which model he has on his '06 Patriot.  My toggle switch is center loaded, so a person can't walk away anyway, since it pops to "Off" when the toggle is released.  I can see where the limit switches on such a model as yours could be a bother if they repeatedly misfunction, and a person didn't ever leave the area of the reel.  But I can also see benefit in being able to leave the reel on while guiding the plug, out of the dirt or mud, to and from the electical post at a campsite, and having the reel automatically shut off at either cord limit.

If his reel is a model like yours, it could be Jim's rear guide rollers were jammed wide open by the back cord collar when he stressed his cord to its limit as he admitted.  The fix could be as simple as pushing back a little cord, as you suggest, and then tapping on the roller carriage to dislodge it, and reclose the circuit, and a little dry lube or WD40 on all the roller carriages to prevent a reoccurence.
Joel and Lee Rae Ashley
Clackamas, Oregon
36.9 ft. 2006 Monterey Ventura IV, aka"Monty Rae"
C9 400HP Cat

Elliott_Mcleod

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Re: power cord reel jammed
« Reply #7 on: August 03, 2009, 06:11:46 AM »
Jim, call The Bend Service Center, give them information on what real you have and they will walk you though how to at least temporarily get it reeled back in.  Their phone number is 1-800-382-2597.  They are very helpful.

Roy Mueller

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Re: power cord reel jammed
« Reply #8 on: August 03, 2009, 08:54:34 PM »
Jim. Check the voltage at the relay box . If it is ok, find the two wires that go to the motor and unhook them.  Make up two jumber wires.  One to go to negative  and  one go to postive.  Put a 15 amp fuse in the positve jumper.  Now touch each wire coming from the motor.  If the motor runs, it is good. By reversing the two wires, the motor should run in the opposite direction.  This should help get your cable in.

Roy    or call me 573 220 1216
« Last Edit: August 04, 2009, 04:35:45 AM by 14 »

Tom Rogers

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Re: power cord reel jammed
« Reply #9 on: August 10, 2009, 05:28:45 PM »
I wonder what Jim did to get the power reel repaired? I wonder what the problem was?

Jim and Carol Contratto

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Re: power cord reel jammed
« Reply #10 on: August 13, 2009, 11:10:03 PM »
RE:   Jammed power cord reel.   They removed the head, removed out of the compartment, removed motor, found the  brushes were stuck in the brush housing, making no contact with the armiture.  Removed brushes filed them down and re-installed and works great.     We found 2  laid off emplolyees from Monaco, we were in Eugene last week, actually had an appt. with  Oregon Motorcoach Center, then cancelled that appt.   The 2 men came to coach used them for a few other problems.  The business name is  2 Guys Mobile  RV and Remodel combined 18 yrs. experience.   I will post the info on the web site.

Jim Contratto