Bedroom Slide Malfunction

[Jack W Hannah]

When picking up my 2002 Patriot at the conclusion of a recent 6 week stay at an RV service center my bedroom slide wouldn't retract. After I tried a few things without success I reprort this to the mechanic. He went in to the coach and was out in about 10 seconds and stated..."There you go". Rather embarrassed I asked, "So what did you do?" He replied that "on some of these older slides, you have to hold the switch in the out position for about 3 seconds to reset the system".
Is this really, A Thing, with this particular design?

[Eric Maclean Co-Admin]

Jack
If you have an hwh slide with a synchronizing cylinder the slide needs to be run out or in against the stops and let run for a second or two to allow the synchronizing cylinder to do it's job. If this is not done over time the slide cylinders will not work together and the slide will get twisted and jamb in the opening causing a failure to move and possible damage to the coach.

However if the effected slide is an electric unit as found in may bedroom slides I don't think this applies or at least I have not come across one yet.
It is possible that there are some newer ones with electronic controllers that would reset this way ( schwintech comes to mind ). But they didn't exist at the time Beaver built your coach.

If it is an all electric bedroom  slide I believe it is more likely that the slide rubbers had stuck from the extended stay and when activated the motor was stalled and overheated tripping the thermal breaker in the motor and when your RV tech tried it the thermal breaker had reset.
To my knowledge there is no controller on the bedroom slide system only the motor and switch setup . The connections at the motor and switch should be checked as well some of these systems have too small of wire feeding the motor resulting in excess volt drop and operating problems.Others here on the forum can jump in here with suggestions.

It's a good idea to keep those slide rubber seals lubed to avoid them sticking , jambing and riping.

Hope this helps
Eric

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Jack,
Assuming the 02 slide circuit is similar to the 01 units, as Eric pointed out, there is no "reset" or logic circuitry in the slide circuit. The problem may be due to the motor brake not seeing a full 12V. Common sources of the problem are poor wire crimps in the system (under bed) or the switch pigtail that connects it to the slide wiring. If like the 01s, the pigtail wiring is a smaller gauge than the slide wiring, creating a possible resistive point at the connector. There is also a relay in the circuit, usually near the switch, that could be failing. I would start by unplugging the switch pigtail and cleaning it with contact cleaner. If the problem continues check the voltage at the motor brake. It must be 12V or more. Troubleshooting this can be frustrating as it is normally an intermittent problem.
Steve

[Jack W Hannah]

Eric- My slide is electric. I'm sorry I didn't mention that in my original post. I wasn't aware there were both electric and hydraulic bedroom slides in these Patriot. Also, thank you for your detailed resposne.

Steve- Thank you for your suggestions.