Kwikee Electric Step #888 repair...
Recently our Kwikee Electric Step stopped working. I learned a good deal about fixing it here, so I wanted to give back with my experience. I've always used White Lithium grease to keep our step...
Forum Discussion
For awhile, they used Ford power window motors.
Our step is earlier, and uses the 875 manual. It's a different control box, a different motor, and (I believe...) a different gearbox.
I've had two recent problems. First, the magnetic door switch provides a ground signal to the control box, telling it what to tell the motor to do (up/in or down/out). One switch wire goes to the control box, the other to chassis ground. I had an erratic step, and the chassis ground was failing. Re-did the ground circuit connections and step was all good again.
Till the next time. Step wouldn't fully deploy or fully retract. This time it was part of the motor. It's NOT a window motor, but similar, and uses a window motor's safety feature in the motor's internal gear. Ours was all ground up. I put solid blocking in it, reassembled, and all good again. We'll see how long. It's been doing its in/out thing since 2002.
About that safety in the motor... In a car, it makes the motor slip to not crush somebody caught as the window closes. In a Kwikee step, the Control Box detects excess load (normally, step all the way closed or all the way open, but also something left on the step, or the step opens against a curb) and stops the motor. Since the step is built to do that, I had no reservations about changing the gear to "direct drive."
Our step is earlier, and uses the 875 manual. It's a different control box, a different motor, and (I believe...) a different gearbox.
I've had two recent problems. First, the magnetic door switch provides a ground signal to the control box, telling it what to tell the motor to do (up/in or down/out). One switch wire goes to the control box, the other to chassis ground. I had an erratic step, and the chassis ground was failing. Re-did the ground circuit connections and step was all good again.
Till the next time. Step wouldn't fully deploy or fully retract. This time it was part of the motor. It's NOT a window motor, but similar, and uses a window motor's safety feature in the motor's internal gear. Ours was all ground up. I put solid blocking in it, reassembled, and all good again. We'll see how long. It's been doing its in/out thing since 2002.
About that safety in the motor... In a car, it makes the motor slip to not crush somebody caught as the window closes. In a Kwikee step, the Control Box detects excess load (normally, step all the way closed or all the way open, but also something left on the step, or the step opens against a curb) and stops the motor. Since the step is built to do that, I had no reservations about changing the gear to "direct drive."
