entry step

[Jim Felton]

Was travelling thru Colorado, Wyoming and Utah today in greater than normal winds for this area with gusts above 40 MPH. The entry step would extend and retract frequently during high winds and buffeting of coach. I assume this is the magnet being mal aligned with vibration or possibly another problem. Are there any suggestions as to problem, or should it recur tomorrow during travel, can I totally disable the step and keep retracted? 500 miles in this weather was enough today and forecast is better for tomorrow heading closer to home. A small hassle as realize east of us semis were overturned.

[Joel Ashley]

I see no one else hazarded a guess here Jim, so I'll suggest that perhaps the switches in the door frame have come loose, so it doesn't take much disturbance to break the magnet's affect.  Also unusual air movement beyond that of head-on travel may circulate in the passenger wheel well in such a way that poorly connected switch wires intermittently disconnect, allowing the step to extend.

I'm just guessing of course, but I'd sure check whatever I could get at via the wheel well and door frame for secure, undamaged wires and connections.  You might refer to what may be a related issue in a recent thread here by Stan Simpson.

Joel

[Dennis Crawford]

Jim,
I agree with Joel.  I would check the magnet and magnetic switch in the door and frame.  It does not take much for those to act up.  Do you have air inflated door seal? If so, this could not be inflated and cause the door to move.

Dennis

[Edward Buker]

Jim,

You could take the sensor wires, and add a wire set that is in parallel with the sensor wires (tap into the two sensor wires) and run the two new wires back to the electrical bay. Mount a 12V relay that is powered to the on position when the ignition is on. The coil connections of the relay would go to ground and the right copper buss. With the ignition on, use relay contacts that are now closed and then open when the ignition is off. Wire the two leads from the door sensor through those relay contacts.  With the ignition on there is now a second contact set in parallel that are closed. The relay type would be just like the ones in Roy's headlight mod video.  

My assumption is that the sensor is the fault here and it may be if they used mercury wetted contacts and the buffeting is causing bounce or if the door magnet is losing its proximity affect on the switch while buffeting. Before I did this mod I would wiggle the wire harnesses with the ignition on and see if I could invoke the fail of the stairs moving while sitting still. If not, then I would assume that it is not a loose connection and I would add the relay to keep the step inactive.

Later Ed

[Jim Felton]

No problems the next 600 miles with only moderate winds. Will try to avoid high winds in future, but needed to get home. Thanks for the responses and suggestions.