Have you had a slide out controller fail?

Thanks for the info Doug, I'll be hauling the juice box for a backup. My rig doesn't have the auto locks, they are the manual locking arms. I'm hoping the last controller that I replaced(replaced free under the 1 year warranty)was just faulty, the original one for that slide operated from 2007 to 2014.

purplekeenah wrote:
Yes, my large curb side kitchen slide failed last August, replaced it at that time with a new controller. I just had to replace it again last month. This last failure occurred when the slide was on it's way out, my finger slipped off the button when the slide was approx. 8 - 10 inches out. When I pushed the button again to continue deploying the slide it would not move. But, it did travel back in to the closed position. I had a Tech check out the slide travel, everything appears to be functioning properly from the mechanical standpoint. The controller is mounted beside the controller for the living room slide, so in a pinch, I can switch the wires from one controller to the other in case one fails and I can't get it to the closed position.
I've had some other issues with three of the four slides, since Newmar invented the slides years ago, I was hoping they would not have issues.

MOST of the issues with Newmar slide control systems has to do with the electric auto lock arm slide modules. The original slide systems on Newmar were manual lock arms and rarely had problems. The mechanical design and seals of Newmar slide rooms(almost 30 years with the same basic design) are so far ahead of ANY motorhome/trailer maker it is amazing. Doug

purplekeenah wrote:
dougrainer, since I understand you to say a 12 volt battery will do the trick, could I use my DieHard Portable Power 750 jump box by simply attaching the positive and negative jump cables to the two slide motor wires? I assume you can change the direction of the motor by switching the cables on the wires?

Correct on all points. Doug

dougrainer, since I understand you to say a 12 volt battery will do the trick, could I use my DieHard Portable Power 750 jump box by simply attaching the positive and negative jump cables to the two slide motor wires? I assume you can change the direction of the motor by switching the cables on the wires?

Yes, my large curb side kitchen slide failed last August, replaced it at that time with a new controller. I just had to replace it again last month. This last failure occurred when the slide was on it's way out, my finger slipped off the button when the slide was approx. 8 - 10 inches out. When I pushed the button again to continue deploying the slide it would not move. But, it did travel back in to the closed position. I had a Tech check out the slide travel, everything appears to be functioning properly from the mechanical standpoint. The controller is mounted beside the controller for the living room slide, so in a pinch, I can switch the wires from one controller to the other in case one fails and I can't get it to the closed position.
I've had some other issues with three of the four slides, since Newmar invented the slides years ago, I was hoping they would not have issues.

Hi,

Yes, the slide controller failed on our GBM a couple of years into ownership. The first time it happened, I located the controller, unmounted it and whacked it against the floor. Then it worked. From that I figured the problem was either a cold solder joint or sticking relay. It worked intermittently throughout the rest of the season. When it didn't work, I gave it a good tap.

When I removed it at the end of the season to take a closer look, the soldering on it looked like it had been done as a soldering project for some grade school kid. I made note of the part number for the relays and ordered some. I resoldered the entire board and reinstalled until the new relays arrived. When they arrived, I changed out the relays which operate the front slide and reinstalled. No problems with the controller since.

I forgot who the manufacturer of the slide controller was, though. I did order a replacement controller which I keep in my spare parts bin. But since my repair, I haven't needed it. Or...I haven't needed it because I have a spare. :)

One thing I did discover while working on my slide controller was that the ground wire from the controller to the chassis ground was loose, and in fact, showed signs of overheating (burnt insulation). In fact, the copper conductors were burnt 6" up from the connection point when I was stripping back the wire. I was noticing that the slide seemed to be operating a bit slower than when new, and attributed it to the batteries getting old. Once I reattached the repaired ground wire, the slide operation worked like new.

If you have a spare...you'll probably never need it.

~Rick

Yep, mine failed,.....too many safety switches that the hydraulic pump motor has to depend on connecting to operate. If it wasn't one switch, it was another.
And finding the poor contact was the biggest problem. All the contacts close the negative ground circuit to the pump. One day I got sic of it all, ran a ground wire from the pump, thru a momentary button switch on the dash (labeled "slide bypass") to the frame.
When ever the pump fails to run, I hit the switch, and it never misses a lick !
I call it,....process of "bypassinization", same as hot wiring the 12v motor in post above.

Camper Ken wrote:
With this large slide there is really no "easy" way to manually retract it. You must loosen a torsion bolt on the motor shaft which is torqued to 145 ft. lbs, then with 4 or 5 people, push the slide in. (My previous Winnebago class C has a very easy way to manually crank it in, oh well that was another coach).

The controller for the smaller bedroom slide is rated at a lower amperage, but could be connected to the large slide and the current limiter pot set higher, which would work in an emergency situation but not an ideal solution.

Everytime I push the retract switch on either slide my heart skips a beat as I wonder if this is the time it's not going to come in. For $80 I just may go ahead and buy a spare.

IF the Newmar controller fails, you do NOT have to release the Trans Torque bushing nuts. There are just 2 wires to the motor. Just disconnect those 2 wires at the wire nuts at the motor and supply 12 volt Positive and Negative to the motor. The motor will turn and bring the room in. A 12 volt Cordless battery will supply enough power to do that. Some(very few) Newmar motors have 2 extra 20 gauge wires at the motor that activate a electric brake on the motor. This motor is usually only found on the PASS side Kitchen slide that has the refer in it. To answer your original question----NO, Intellitec slide controllers rarely fail. BUT, it is still a good idea to have an extra IF you plan on keeping the RV for years. Doug

With this large slide there is really no "easy" way to manually retract it. You must loosen a torsion bolt on the motor shaft which is torqued to 145 ft. lbs, then with 4 or 5 people, push the slide in. (My previous Winnebago class C has a very easy way to manually crank it in, oh well that was another coach).

The controller for the smaller bedroom slide is rated at a lower amperage, but could be connected to the large slide and the current limiter pot set higher, which would work in an emergency situation but not an ideal solution.

Everytime I push the retract switch on either slide my heart skips a beat as I wonder if this is the time it's not going to come in. For $80 I just may go ahead and buy a spare.

I had an auto slide control act up but it was 15 years old. The button wasn't making good contact. I had to hit it a few time to make it run but then the travel and auto stops worked fine. Just my luck... it never acted up til the day I had someone coming to buy it! The Fantastic fan rain control started acting up the very same day. GRRRR! Craig