Author Topic: Slide out brake  (Read 12260 times)

Mike Stuart

  • Guest
Slide out brake
« on: September 27, 2015, 06:24:58 PM »
I have a 2002 Beaver Marquis Emerald with two slides. I'm having problems with the brake on the bedroom slide.  The brake is not releasing when power is applied to the motor.  I have disengaged the brake and the slide works fine.  I have removed and trouble shot the brake and it works OK when 12V power is applied; it releases as it is supposed to.  Thinking I might have bad wires, I replaced the wires going to the brake on the slide that are spliced to the motor wires.  This had no effect.  As a last resort, I ordered a new brake, installed it and I still get the same result; the brake won't release when power is applied to the motor.  I have put a meter on the wires to the brake and am reading good voltage (12-13v)when power is applied to the slide motor.  By the way the motor IS working and straining against the brake but obviously no movement.  The only thing I can assume is the current coming to the motor/brake is not very strong, but as I indicated, it reads 12V when working.
Does anybody have any suggestions or have seen this before?

Jerald Cate

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2015, 07:32:52 PM »
Mike,
I just went through this same problem with my coach, everything checked good continuity, voltage measurements good etc. however the slide wouldn't move because the brake wouldn't release.  I narrowed the problem down to either the slide switch or connections behind the switch.  My slide switch has a connector on the back of it with short pigtail wires with spade lug connectors on them.  After reseating the connector and terminal lug connections everything worked fine.  Just to be on the safe side I ordered a new slide switch and removed the spade lug connections and soldered the connections with some uninsulated butt splices then protected the junctions with a couple layers of shrink tubing.  So far everything is working good.  Hopefully this helps you.

Bruce

Steve Huber Co-Admin

  • Administrator Group
  • *
  • Posts: 3503
  • Thanked: 2689 times
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2015, 10:55:22 PM »
I had to do same thing that Bruce did to solve an intermittent brake problem on the  01 Contessa. The spade lugs connect wires of differing gauge and can present significant resistance. Soldering them solves the problem.
Steve
Steve
2015-          07 Contessa Bayshore C9,  400 hp
2013-2015: 00 Marquis Tourmaline, C12, 425 hp
2005-2013: 01 Contessa Naples, 3126B, 330 hp

Edward Buker

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2015, 02:53:36 AM »
Mike,
I believe you are not getting enough current if you are getting 12-13v with the motor rotor locked up and the brake engaged. That should be pulling 10 amps or more and dropping 2-4v. Run a fused wire (20amp fuse) from the battery and see if the slide and brake work together properly. If so try flipping the rv breaker in the closet panel back and forth a get times to reseat it. If that is not it you will need to go through all the connections and see what is limiting the current. If you have a rv current meter you should be able to see if the current is limited. If working properly the motor and brake should pull about 6 amps if I remember right.

Later Ed

Mike Stuart

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2015, 09:54:07 PM »
Thanks to all for these suggestions.  I'll try those and let you know what works!...

Dick Grover

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2015, 11:47:11 PM »
I had the same problem with our 2003 Marquis Emerald.  Finally found a loose spliced connection in the limit switch wiring.

George Harwell

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #6 on: November 11, 2015, 05:19:28 PM »
I have the same symptoms on my 03 Monterey and have tried everything the other guys mentioned. I have decided that the brake having very small wires doesn't carry full voltage as well as the motor wires that are much larger. Starting the generator seems to make it work most of the time. Curt Mfg. makes a tail light converter to increase the voltage to the tail lights so I am considering installing one to power the brake. Good luck!

Edward Buker

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #7 on: November 12, 2015, 03:01:58 AM »
George,

I think the slide switch reverses polarity for in and out operation so I do not think the unit you are thinking of would work. I was thinking of a timer board delay to the motor while leaving the brake powered on first but the timer board would also not work with reversing polarity.

Later Ed

Robin Goffrier

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #8 on: November 12, 2015, 05:15:59 AM »
OK, time to reveal more ignorance, but the value of gaining knowledge is more important, ... what and where is the slide out brake?
Thanks

Gerald Farris

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #9 on: November 12, 2015, 11:25:57 AM »
Robin,
The slide out brake that is referred to in this thread is located on the end of the slide out motor.

Gerald

George Harwell

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #10 on: November 12, 2015, 12:50:52 PM »
Thanks Ed for your insight. I had forgotten about the reverse polarity. I must be getting old. It is good to have a guy like you on the forum. Many thanks for your input.

Edward Buker

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #11 on: November 12, 2015, 03:08:01 PM »
George,

I had written up the timer fix and was about ready to post it when I remembered the reverse polarity issue, so don't think that you are alone regarding getting old :-)

I had posted info about cleaning the brake which fixed my issue with an intermittent slide operation problem. In the end, mine just stopped working which forced the issue. If your slide motor has to work harder it will draw more current and drop more voltage so you may want to lube any mechanical points where that might be a help.

Beyond that success on other peoples part have been with improving the connections by soldering or better crimping. If the slide works with the generator and inverter on it would say you need about another volt. I would clean the brake, lube the slide mechanism where I can and see if it helps. Beyond that I might see if I could order up another brake if it was relatively inexpensive and see if I got lucky and the new one released more repeatedly.

One last thought on an electrical solution.... If you got hold of an automotive relay (Bosch Type) without a built in suppression diode I think the relay would close using either polarity on the coil given current creates the field. You would have to test that on a bench. These say they have no suppression diode in the Q+A.

http://www.amazon.com/Relay-Harness-Bosch-Style-40AMP-HRNS/dp/B005HFYE1O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447339613&sr=8-1&keywords=relays

If polarity on the coil is not an issue, you could connect the relay coil to the motor leads. Then bring a separate 12V suitable gauged fused wire (14 gauge would be fine) from a good power source like the battery compartment to the relay normally open contact. When the motor gets triggered the relay would then supply the full 12V source to the brake. You would also need a good separate ground to the brake coil lead given you would not be reversing polarity anymore. There may be metal frame in the bed area that is grounded well, not sure. If reversing polarity causes the normally open contact to become the normally closed contact you could parallel two relays so that no matter which polarity fires a coil you always get a set of contacts that close.

You may find a polarity on the brake leads that work better regarding the release so you could try both polarities and see if any difference exists. If the relay polarity on the coil is a non issue then one relay would work, if not then two. Hope this helps.

Later Ed

George Harwell

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #12 on: November 13, 2015, 01:34:14 AM »
Thanks Ed. I have soldered the wires at the switch and under the bed. Seemed to make some improvement but still acts up occasionally. I seldom resort to starting the generator anymore. After all, we need things like this to stimulate the old brain and get us out of the house. Happy Thanksgiving!

Jerald Cate

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #13 on: November 13, 2015, 02:15:37 AM »
George,

You might want to make a long jumper wire with spade lugs on one end and alligator clips on the other as an emergency extend/retract option.  I just used an old electrical light cord for the wire, it's a large enough gauge wire to do the job.  What I do with this is run it out the window and down to the battery bay this gives you unswitched power you can use to operate the slide-out motor.  This is better as a two person operation but you can do it by yourself just be careful that you don't short the leads together.  Hook the alligator clips up to the battery and plug the spade lugs into the motor and everything should start moving, if not just reverse the leads.  I've used this method a couple of time while troubleshooting my slide-out problem and it works well, I can't emphasize enough though do not let the leads short together while hooked up to the battery.  I keep it in my tool box now just in case.

Bruce

George Harwell

  • Guest
Re: Slide out brake
« Reply #14 on: November 13, 2015, 07:36:03 PM »
Thanks Bruce for the input. Worked on the slide this morning and everything worked as advertised with shore power. I discovered the front end of the bedroom slide was 1/2 inch lower than the aft so put my bottle jack to work and leveled it. Actually had a gap in the wiper seal on top that is sealed now. Have a great day!