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sacmarata's avatar
sacmarata
Explorer
Jul 07, 2014

New battery, slideout won't work

Went camping over the weekend. Lights and slideout all worked but the electric jack quit working. Used my manual crank and figured I would get a new battery upon returning home. the old one was dated 2008, so it had outlived it's expectancy.

Well, I get home and now the slidout wont fully extend either. Almost, but no cigar. No biggie, I knew it was likely the battery so I put the jumper cables on the camper battery and the jack instantly worked. Didn’t even bother to check the slide out because I assumed from the jack suddenly working, that it was a battery problem. Hop in the truck, run to Walmart, get a brand new (July/2014) Deep Cycle 690 CCA battery and head back to the camper.

I get to the camper and hook up the new battery only to find that now the slide out won’t even make it half way out. Worse than before with the old 2008 battery. I check the jack to see if it’s getting juice and NO PROBLEM…jack works fine. Lights work fine as well. The slide out…not so much.

So, I assume the new battery must be weak but am perplexed because when we were camping, the slide out worked but not the jack, so you would think the jack takes more juice to operate…but now…the jack works and the slide out doesn’t. In fact, the slide out barely moves before giving out now. It does try, but doesn’t make it far.

So, just in case, I let the battery charge overnight through the camper charging system. Get up this morning, check the slide out…same results!

I have checked the slide out for any obstructions inside the camper and underneath. There is nothing binding or preventing the moving parts from moving. The camper is level.

I have one last theory to test, and that is:
I parked the camper further away from the house to give the grass a break. Because of this, I had to use my 25’ extension cord (first time ever on an extension cord). I verified that it’s getting juice and the breaker is on. The cord is rated adequately and I remember it cost an arm and a leg. However, my theory is that the extra length of cord is creating a degradation and unable to supply enough power for the slide out. This doesn’t make sense to me because I thought everything ran off the battery…but it’s the only theory I have left that I haven’t tested. I suppose, the new battery could have been strong enough to power the jack, but too weak to run the slide out because it came depleted off the shelf and the charging system in the camper has taken a******and not properly charging??? It’s a long shot but that’s all I got.

Keystone Cougar 294RLS
Nothing binding the slideout

HELP
  • most shelf batteries have minimal charge - lord only knows how long that battery was sitting on the shelf before you bought it.

    when in storage use a maintainer - the battery(s) will last YEARS longer.
    I've never seen a slide that ran off of 120vac - usually theyre 12vdc.
  • I have and know how to use a volt meter, just only have two sets of hands and no helper till later tonight.

    All wires are hooked correctly. I've farmed my whole life and am my own mechanic but hey, it never hurts to ask yourself the simple questions cos even with my experience I've hooked a battery backwards before. It was covered in pollen and dark under the hood, but it happens :)

    I'll check with meter tonight. I was just hoping to hear someone give one of those "happens every time" answers thats model specific; similar to Camreal's answer. Thanks btw, I'll double check the slack in the cables.

    I'm not assuming the brand new battery is good. Last year I bought a Walmart Everstart right off the shelf that was DED DED DED!

    Until I get an extra set of hands I'm only playing the trial and error game.

    Still, it's funy that the jack started working and the slide out quit.
  • Not sure where your cables are located but on my Keystone they where under the couch area and were binding against each other preventing the slide from going out all the way.
    Adjustment was fairly easy to get the slack out of the cables.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Every time I read someone has just changed out the battery and are having strange events I always think the battery terminals might be installed wrong.

    Find the words "NEG" or the SYMBOL "-" stamped on the new battery case and make sure this is the terminal that goes to the trailer FRAME GROUND connection point.

    If the battery is connected wrong or perhaps you sparked the cables when installed may be an in-line fuse close the battery or two fuses in DC Power Distribution Panel marked REVERSED POLARITY may be blown. With these fuses blown then the charging DC Voltages from the on-board converter will not have a direct path the battery due to the blown fuses.

    Having a inexpensive multimeter on hand is almost a must have items for us RV'ers. They only cost $7-$25 available from LOWES-WALMART-Any number of autoparts stores, and AMAZON...

    Most definitely pick one of these up for you RV TOOL Box... Will take care of all the guessing what may be wrong. i.e. A fully charged battery will read 12.6-7VDC at its terminals without shore power turned on. When you connect up to shore power this DC VOLTAGE should jump to 13.6VDC telling you the on-board converter, fuses, and batteries are all connected properly.


    Roy Ken
  • Don't have a way to do that at the moment but will later this evening hopefully.
    Can't help but think it's something to do with power supply.

    Friday - Slide works, jack doesn't
    - - New battery - -
    Sunday - jack works slide doesn't
  • Can you measure the battery voltage while working the slide?
    If the battery voltage stays reasonably up then the slide might be bad.

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