Slide won't retract

[redietz]

Hi Friends,

The good news is that my Cardinal is at home vs. in a CG, but the bad news is that the large slide with the sofa and dinette won't retract. The pump runs and the BR slide comes in, but then the main slide shakes once then stops. I tried the hex key with the drill to try to bring it in manually, but that didn't move it either. I know my battery is weak but have 110V power connected and seem to have plenty of power to bring the BR slide in and out. I have checked for obstructions and don't see any. Oil in the pump reservoir is at about half full which I think is OK with the slide out.

Before a service house call my thoughts were to post something here which has always worked great, call Lippert tech support tomorrow for their ideas, and if all else fails try hooking jumper cables up in case it is the battery and add a bit of ATF to the reservoir in case it is low.

All thoughts and ideas appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Tim]

Here is a link to the Lippert PDF slide manual: http://www.lci1.com/Service%20Owners%20 ... ut-Web.pdf
Hope that helps. When it comes to slides, I think that you are experiencing the nightmare we all fear most.
Tim

[Olbird]

Hello Ross,

The hex key with a drill is only used if the pump motor will not run. It sounds like your motor is running and the pump is producing enough pressure to close the lightest slide.

Check to see if you have slide control valves mounted on top of the pump, if you do have them make sure they are in the correct position.

If they are in the correct open position, or if you do not have any control valves do a little test. Run slide pump and let the bedroom slide close and continue to run pump, listen to pump for a changing tone. If the pump sounds like it is binding or dragging down and the next size slide is not moving STOP.

Look under the slide and make sure the Hyd. ram did not come loose from the slide or that the slide is not binding on the frame.

If the pump noise tone does not change keep running the pump to see if you get any slide movement, if you do not hear a pump tone change and you do not see any movement the pump is most likely not producing the correct pressure to close the heavy slides.
If this is the case the pump needs replacing, if air is in system it will work its way out of the system by opening and closing the slides. With all slide completly out make sure pump oil level is not dry letting air into system.


Notes on how the system works:

The slide motor runs one direction to open and the opposite direction to close, it does not use switching valves that can stick and block off oil flow to the rams.
This is why the small slide goes in and out first then the next size and so on, when the small slide is out and stops all the oil flow goes to the next slide needing more and more pressure as the load increases from slide weight.

Under normal operating conditions, if all slides are in or out and you continue to hold the pump button you hear the pump go into a bind and will overload the motor that can blow a fuse.

George:

[redietz]

Tim, thanks for the manual link, but unfortunately did not see anything that addressed my problem.

George, thanks for the detailed reply. I guess the hex key and drill just substitute for the pump to move the oil vs some sort of mechanical bypass of the hydrolic system so if the motor doesn't move the slide, the hex key would not be able to either, did I get that ritght?

My motor has three connections on top and another on the front. I think the front one is the solenoid. I'm not sure if the top ones are electric control valves or how to tell if they are open (showing much ignorance here, I'm sure)

The pump noise does change after the first slide comes in. The noise shifts to a cyclic growl. I checked underneath and the ram is still attached. I do not see any indication that the slide is caught on the frame.

It seems to me that the big slide has to raise an inch before it comes in and it doesn't get raised. Could this be because my battery is low even though I have a 110V connection? I am thinking of attaching jumper cables to the battery or the pump to see if that makes a difference.

[redietz]

Update: I tried the jumper cables from my pick up battery to the Cardinal battery and it worked! My slides are in although the big slide did a lot of groaning as it came in. What I don't understand is why the elec hookup didn't provide the power. Thanks again to Tim and George for their help.

[Don Wilson]

Ross,

Was your battery not being charged when hooked up to shore power? If not you might want to check your inverter/charger to see if it is working properly.

You might want to check to see if you have a weak or dead cell in your battery.

Don

[redietz]

Don,

Yes, I suspect that either my battery or my converter is not working right. The battery charges but does not seem to get fully charged or to hold a charge very long. I plan to have the dealer check the system in the next week or two. I have to take the unit in for some sheet metal repair where a blown tire did some damage, and will have the battery and charging system checked at the same time. For the slide, I was under the impression that the pump would run off electricity if the battery was not available, but I guess that was not the case.

[poweredbytheholyghost]

I also had this identical problem while out camping recentlyin our 36TS.
I also had enough power to pull in the small slides, but the big double one would not come in. What i found out was even though i was connected to electric, i had to use another power source, as the slides actually are powered by the house battery, which was pretty dead thanks to my converter being shot (we found out later). One idea besides using jumper cables is to just hook up the trailer's electric cord to the truck as if you were getting ready to tow. This will give enough power to move the slides.
Al

[Don Wilson]

Al,

That is a good point! I have had to do that when the unit has stayed in storage thru the winter and there is not enough power for the landing gear motor to raise the trailer for me to get under the king pin with the hitch!

Again that is what this board is all about CARDINAL OWNERS HELPING EACH OTHER!!

Don

[redietz]

Al, thanks for the suggestion. I was under the impression that hooking the cable to the back of the truck only provided a trickle charge to the battery vs the full power of a jumper connection. I will keep that in mind as it is an easier connection to make.

[Mike Clay]

Al,

That is a good point! I have had to do that when the unit has stayed in storage thru the winter and there is not enough power for the landing gear motor to raise the trailer for me to get under the king pin with the hitch!

Again that is what this board is all about CARDINAL OWNERS HELPING EACH OTHER!!

Don

I have mine in storage for 4 months a year I put a battery disconect at the battery and I have 75% left when I hook up for the first time.

[Olbird]

Mike,

You must have own a boat in your lifetime, keep the battery off the bare concrete and completely disconnect they stay charged a long time.

Great idea.

[pops91710]

Al,

That is a good point! I have had to do that when the unit has stayed in storage thru the winter and there is not enough power for the landing gear motor to raise the trailer for me to get under the king pin with the hitch!

Again that is what this board is all about CARDINAL OWNERS HELPING EACH OTHER!!

Don

I have mine in storage for 4 months a year I put a battery disconect at the battery and I have 75% left when I hook up for the first time.

Mike,

My '06 has a factory installed iso switch. You sure you don't?