Bedroom slide

[John Fearnow]

We got a 2002 Patriot-Thunder last fall and have been working trough some service and learning issues since.  We were at Bend Service Center during our trip earlier in the summer.  After leaving there however we have experienced a problem with intermittent operation of the bedroom slide.  When I hit the switch to extend the slide I hear a click like a solenoid noise but the  motor will not activate and the slide doesn't extend.  If I wait a while and try again the motor has always engaged eventually and extended the slide.  I have never had a problem retracting the slide.  I hit the switch, the motor starts and it comes in.  Has anyone else experienced a similar problem?  This slide is powered completely by the coach batteries I believe.  No hydraulics involved. I doubt it is something I can solve myself but having a better  idea of what the problem is would be helpful.

John Fearnow
2002 Patriot Thunder C-12
Tucson AZ
 :-/ :-/

[Gerald Farris]

The bedroom slide on my 2000 Marquis had the same symptom. I traced the problem on my coach to a defective wall switch (IN/OUT switch). If your coach has the same wall switch that mine does, it has a detent built into the switch that makes a click every time the switch is pressed.

Gerald

[Tom Rogers]

Gerald has a good point. Because you were in Bend and made contact ..... give the techs a call for their input. They are friendly and helpfull on the phone.

[John Fearnow]

I had Bend send me a new switch (in/out wall mounted) but it didn't resolve the problem.  I'll try calling Bend again.

John

[Joel Ashley]

On electrical issues of this type, I usually check ground connections first-  sounds like not enough consistent amp flow.  Assume since you replaced the wall switch, a faulty ground would be associated with any heavier wire from the slideout motor to chassis, or a small solenoid to ground wire connection.  Also, a pinched wire somewhere with broken fibers could be limiting current flow.  And check for tightness/corrosion any related connections in the main 12v. coach electical service bay up front.

I'll have to check my wiring diagram book to see how my one electric slide is configured.  Let us know how this turns out and if Loren or Patty assisted.

[Gerald Farris]

If your coach has the same motor on the bedroom slide that my Marquis does, there is a brake that is built into the rear of the motor that will prevent the motor from operating at times if it gets out of adjustment. If the brake is adjusted too loose, the slide will creep open while you are driving, so make sure that all of the electrical circuits are operating properly before you try to adjust the brake.

Gerald  

[Bruce Benson]

Have the exact same problem with my 2001 Marquis.  I took the brake off and have operated the coach some 40,000 miles without it and have never had a problem with the slide out moving at all.  The electric motor is geared so much that it is difficult to turn from the chain drive gear so the slide never moves.  If yours did happen to creep out, you would notice it quickly in your mirror.  

Try taking the brake off and at least you will know if that is the problem.  Mine is a round short cylinder on the end of the motor.  Lift the bed to access.  It has two screws with wing nuts on them attaching it to the motor.  Loosen the wing nuts all the way and slide the brake away from the motor.  It has a tab that engages with the shaft of the motor and sliding it away disengages the tab.  

I have attempted to repair the brake in the past.  I bought a new brake and made new connections up where it attaches to the motor wiring.  I thought it was either a bad brake or that I had a bad connection.  It still had its own mind about when to work so I just disabled the brake again and we continue to operate very well without it.  

Speaking of lifting the bed, I keep a 1" pipe about 40" long under the bed so that when we lift it (yes we!) I can grab the pipe and place it as a brace between the bed frame and the bed to hold it up.  The pipe is treaded on both ends, so it cuts into the surfaces a bit.  I am always careful to get it square with the surface of the bed so that it will not slip.  Having the bed fall on you while you work under it would really ruin that day and several more.  

Bruce

[John Fearnow]

Thanks to all for the good advice.  Will remove the brake and see if that solves the problem.  I'll get a good brace to use if trying to raise the bed with the mattress on it but presently the mattress is on edge in the bath room so its easy to raise the cover.  Just have to put a chair in front of the driver side window so the cover doesn't go too far and fall into the day/nite shade.  I guess the current problem is that the brake tab isn't disengaging from the motor shaft?  That would explain why there hasn't been a problem with bringing the slide back in as the lock probably isn't engaged when the slide is out.

John

[Bruce Benson]

John,

No, the tab just ties the brake to the motor shaft and would normally be engaged all of the time.  The brake is some sort of electro-mechanical device and should be engaged anytime the motor is not energized.  Perhaps yours is just not releasing properly with one polarity and is releasing with the opposite polarity.  The in and out switch provides the two polarities to make the motor turn in the necessary direction to move the slide in or out.  

On the other hand, you may have a completely different problem.  I really did not grasp that it was only happening in the one direction.  It is cheap and easy to remove the brake though, so try that and see what happens.

Bruce

[John Fearnow]

Bruce,

When I operated the slide this past weekend, it of course worked normally and extended at the first push of the switch.  Once it was extended, I took the brake off since the slide almost has to be out to be able to get at the motor and brake in any event. I operated it for a few times with the brake off.  I saw what you mean about the brake always being attached to the shaft extending out of the  motor when the brake is secured to the motor.  I reattached the brake and operated it although I noticed a louder sound than I heard when operating without the brake attached and also than I had heard before removing the brake.  I didn't see any alignment guide when reattaching the brake other than getting the slot in the brake to slide over the shaft from the motor.  
Maybe there is some alignment problem with the motor shaft when the brake is attached.  The sound is not real loud but I am tempted to remove the brake and use a 2x4 of the proper length between the slide and inside coach wall to serve as a backup to the motor as a brake.  Do you know of anything I missed in aligning the brake when reattaching it to the motor that could be causing a noise?  I have a manual for a 2003 that expalins how to remove the brake in case it is necessary to manually retract the slide, but it doesn't say anything specific about alignment it regards to putting the brake back on.
Thanks
John

[Bruce Benson]

John,

I hate it when that happens!  It is really hard to fix something that won't stay broke.  I guess you could leave it on until you experience the problem again.  It does seem strange that it eventually works.  Perhaps mine would have but I never had the patients.  I think that mine failed coming in as well.  

I am not aware of any alignment procedure.  Don't think that you could hurt it .  Just getting the tab back in is a bit of a challenge though.  Perhaps you are just more alert to the sound now?

I have operated mine without the brake for about 40,000 miles now.  This includes trips to Alaska along with way too many (according to my wife) turns that were made much too fast.  Mine has never budged.  I took it off on the advice of Mike Flowerday, who was the service manager at Beaver Coach Sales before they took over the service center from Monaco.  He felt it was not needed and my experience has been that he was right.

Good luck!

Bruce  

[George Harwell]

John, I have an 03 monterey that has several times experienced the same problem but mine  includes the hydraulic jacks also. Every time I access the switch, remove the wire terminals and rough up the metal blades on the switches. Since the wire terminals push onto the blades there isn't much you can do with them. I believe we are dealing with sub standard materials and they often fail to conduct elect. when the switch is engaged. My most recent episode was in June with the slideout switch. I did my usual repair and it is working fine so far. If it ever fails beyond my normal repair I plan to replace the wire terminals with new high quality parts. Good luck.

[John Fearnow]

Thanks George.  Maybe with mine it is a problem with the wire terminal fitting that the switch blades slide into.  That might explain why it only happens when extending the slide.  Only the connections for the extend side wires are bad or loose?  There were not any visibly loose wires when I replaced the switch. I might see if Bend has a new terminal.

John