Slide won't come in

If they drop considerably when the slide tries to come in, and they are good batteries, I would try to rig up a direct line with jumper cables to the slide motor.

The most likely source of your problem is a bad electrical connection to the actual motor. If you can troubleshoot, take the negative connection first and see if using a direct line from battery to motor will make it run properly. If not, then try the positive from battery to motor.

But, bad batteries can do the same.. slide would see house batteries only. Engine starting battery should isolate from the house when you are not running the engine unless you have a bi-directional relay.

I had a similar problem.
The slide wouldn't come in, or came in very slowly, especially getting over the hump at the beginning of movement (the slide must raise up about 2 inches).
I had the motor replaced under the extended warranty, and that helped, but it still had difficulty getting over the hump.
I discovered I had too much "stuff" in the basement of the slide; it was too heavy! If DW gave it just a little push to help it get started, it was fine.
I removed all the Amateur Radio antenna gear I had in the basement (I only need it once a year, anyway), and now the slide works much better.

Are these 6 or 12 volt batteries? Turn on an interior light, then try bringing the slide in, Does the light go out? If it does your batteries are dead, if not then you have a wiring or switch problem for the slides.

In our rig the power comes from the engine battery, as the slide out needs the cranking power. We were told to always run the engine when extending/retracting the slides and using the levelers.

I would guess that your issue is voltage. Is the MH engine running when you try to retract the slide? How old are your batteries? Are the water levels full? Even if your batteries are toast, try retracting the slide with the MH engine running.

Depending on the RV they want the engine running. or off. when you move slides

RUNNING the slides are powered by the CHASSIS battery as a General thing (not always) OFF the HOUSE batteries normally do the task .. OF course. nothing is etched in stone here. There is always someone who will do it "Differently".

First step is figure out where you lubricate lubricate. lubricate the slide gears (Assuming there are gears).

But voltage monitoring is a good idea.

You may try using your leveling jacks to tilt the RV so that the slide is moving down hill to close rather than level or up hill. This may take the strain off of the motor.

Thanks for the info. Will try the light thing and the engine running in the morning. Batteries were 5 1/2 years old and water was not a problem. I have 4-6 volt batteries and tested them under load this morning and each one tested weak under a load sooooo I bought new ones. Put them in late this afternoon but will test them in the morning to see if the slide comes in.

I think the old ones showed a charge okay but under load didn't have any "bottom" to handle the load. As to whether the slide gets power off coach batteries or cranking batteries, I guess I will know that answer in the morning and will post the answer here. It always seems helpful when I see the solution to the question posted on this site.

Thanks for the responses to my question. Arnold

OK new batteries didn't solve the problem. Running the engine was no help either. Slide acts like it is stuck.. It begins to move and then stops. I may have to find a tech.

A problem I had with the slide coming in was it was hitting the subfloor beneath the carpet. also the slide begins to sag in the middle with age. My solution was two fold: grind off the sharp edge all the way across the subfloor. I also used Slide slickers on the ends of the slide however I put them under the middle so the slide would bend back while I was driving. It has worked so far.
Chuck