RVA Jacks

[Michael Kauffman]

[size=14]Hey Everybody,  I just went out and started up the Beav to pressurize the air system.  That was fine but I noticed that the red light on the RVA J11 jack controller was blinking.  I went to the RVA website and it said that the fluid is low if the red light is blinking.  I read the procedure to fill it BUT I don't know were it is on my coach.  Any ideas would be appreciated.  This is on a 98' Patriot Ticonderoga.  Thanks, Mike[/size]

[Dick Simonis]

If it's anything like mine, it's a big black tank in the equipement bay above the filters.  Naturally of interest would be?  Where did the fluid go??

Good luck.

Dick

[Joel Weiss]

Most likely the reservoir is in the rear passenger side corner.  On mine it sits just inboard of the rear compartment (the one with the engine controls).  It is a tall "can" that is filled from a port near the top.  Using a small pump to get fluid up to the hole makes the task a lot less messy; I used a "drill bit" pump and some flexible PVC tubing.  The instructions say to run one of the jacks down about 6 inches and then fill the reservoir.

However, if you didn't have a low fluid level before and you do now, don't rule out the possibility of a real leak.  One of the hoses for our front slide sprung a leak and it was so slow that for a while we couldn't find it.  I realize you probably don't have any slides, but one of the hoses for the jacks could be cracked and have a slow leak.

[Joel Weiss]

If it's anything like mine, it's a big black tank in the equipement bay above the filters.  Naturally of interest would be?  Where did the fluid go??

Good luck.

Dick

No, that reservoir is for the power steering and engine fan only! The RVA system (and slides) use a totally separate fluid supply.  Believe me, in figuring our where our leak was I learned a lot about the hydraulic systems on my coach.

[Michael Kauffman]

[size=14]OK, I found it.  Mine is behind the filter bay wall.  It's accessible through the battery bay.  I put about 1 qt. of fluid in but the red light still blinks.  I checked the fluid level and it's just about to the top.  Everything works fine.  Just the red light blinks.  I'll shoot an email to RVA and see what they say.
Thanks for the help, Mike[/size]

[Dick Simonis]

Did you try cycling the jacks after filling the tank?  Wonder how much it holds.  Thanks to you guys, at least I know where mine is located.

[Richard And Babs Ames]

Just resealed the slide two way cylinder on our 1997 Patriot and had to add fluid three times befrore the final fix but it took a little over a pint each time. Let us know the final fix.