Electric Bedroom Bed-Slide

[Darrell Terry]

The ( electric) bed slide on our 2004 Monterey has been acting erratic as of late. On several occasions in the past 6 months I have had to push the slide "IN" button multiple times to get it to actuate. I hear a click from under the bed but slide does not move until I depress button 5-10 times. When we left Eureka last Saturday, I needed to depress the slide "IN" button between 30-40 times before the slide operated.
What should I look for, is there a relay or switch under bed that might be failing to actuate motor?
Any and all help appreciated.

Thanks,
Darrell
2004 Monterey

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Darryl,
Here are a couple of links that might help.
Relay Problem:  http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,4293.msg32493.html#msg32493
Motor Brake Problem: http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,2953.msg22067.html#msg22067
Steve

[James Sagerser]

Hi Darrell.  Our 2003 Monterey does the same thing.  For some reason, the shore power or the Genset must be on for about 10 minutes for the slide to operate.  If you try it before it's ready (enough charge built up) it will just click.  If it clicks, give it a few more minutes and then try it again.  Always works. Jim

[Edward Buker]

I had the same symptom from a dragging/locked electric brake on the motor shaft. I would hit the button repeatedly many times to get it to work. It got worse over time. The issue is there is no noise that clues you in that you have this problem, it is silent. Some info here...

http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,2581.msg19287.html#msg19287

Later Ed

[Darrell Terry]

Thanks Edward,James, and Steve,
James, I had disconnected shore power as we were preparing to leave when the slide failed to close. Next time we move I will leave shore power attached and see if I have the same issue.
Edward, Thanks for the info on brake. You mention no noise but I am getting a clicking sound from under the bed. If shore power tip doesn't work I will remove brake.
Steve, Thanks for the links - I know location of motor/brake but will start searching for the circuit board/relays in case above tips do not fix my problem.

Darrell 

[David T. Richelderfer]

Almost always the next-to-last thing on my to-do list is to unplug from shore power.  I have found operation of the hydraulic pump to lift jacks and retract slides plus the electric bedroom slide retract demands quite a lot of power.  Thus, I leave shore power plugged in to make sure the coach has plenty of juice without pulling down the batteries.

The very last thing on my to-do list is the pre-flight walk around and through... checking to make sure everything is ready to fly.

[Joel Ashley]

This is usually a brake issue, as described many times in the previous Forum threads linked above. 

But James - how old are your batteries?  You shouldn't have to charge them up like that every time just to get the bed slide to move.  You may also have corrosion or a poor connection that's causing excessive resistance (to current flow) somewhere in your 12 volt system, anywhere from the battery bank to the bedroom slide motor.  The click is indicating the switch has closed the slide motor's relay/solenoid, but not enough current is getting to its motor after that.

Joel

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Darrell,
Here is the schematic of the bedroom slide circuitry in my 01 Contessa. I suspect it is probably the same as yours.
Steve

[Edward Buker]

Darrell,

When I said no noise, I meant no scrubbing noise, no grinding, no squeal of a dragging brake....nothing to warn you or let you know what is happening. The brake simply mechanically locked the motor until any corrosion or dirt was cleaned and removed. This had been going on a year or so until it got bad enough to stop working before I could figure it out. I would repeatedly hit the switch and once it started to move it would go fine but it might take 10 hits of the button. You may just be hearing a relay which would be normal for the clicking noise. I'm not saying this is your issue but the symptoms are the same.

Later Ed

[James Sagerser]

Joel,  I may have exaggerated a bit.  I timed how long it takes for a charge to be sufficient to operate the electric slide once the genset is started.  It was about 3 minutes.  Just seems like 10 when I'm ready to go (like waiting for water to boil). Ha.  My batteries are only 2 years old but there is some corrosion on the terminals that I need to clean.  Thanks for the input.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Darrell,
If you have to remove the brake, before traveling either reinstall it or wedge something between the slide and the fixed walls inside the coach to insure the slide doesn't work its way out when driving.

BTW, I found the following in troubleshooting my slide; main problem was at the pigtail that connects the the slide switch to the slide wiring. The spade connectors would intermittently cause high impedance, leading to the failure, Wiggling the connectors would often get it working again. Solution was to remove the spade connectors and solder the wires together. I also found very poor crimp techniques in the under bed circuitry. Rather than re-crimp, I used wire nuts that seemed to work well.
Steve

[Al Lewis]

On our 2002 Monterey there are limit switches under the bed that turn the power off when the slide travel is complete. Mine were not adjusted properly. I did not have the symptoms you have but be aware they are in the motor circuit and can turn the power off when you want it on.