KWIKEE STEP MOTOR REPLACEMENT SERIES 32
NOTE THIS THREAD IS VERY OLD I HAVE SINCE DROPPED THE PHOTOS FROM MY HOSTING SITE. I had problems with my Kwikee step Series 32. The steps on occasion would not retract. I had to tap the moto...
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My steps were made in 2005 per the label on them. This made them less then 3 years old when we started having problems in the Fall of 07. At first it was just a little grinding sound but soon they would not retract fully without a little gentle helping push.
After getting the RV out of storage this year it was time to fix them.
I followed Randy's instructions which were very helpful. Thanks Randy.
After taking the steps apart and checked the 2 metal gears that you see Randy's picture 2 (small one) and 5 (large one) I determined they were fine with no wear. I then tested the motor and electricity wise it was fine and it run just fine with no load on it. I then put some load on the shaft you see in picture 1 that the small gear is mounted on. Motor turned just fine until just a little load was put on it and which point it began to grind and could no longer turn the shaft.
I therefore decided to take apart the motor housing while waiting for my replacement one to arrive to understanding what was going on. It is pretty easy to take apart, there are 2 philips screws that hold the cover on the gear housing. See pictures below if I did this right - first time I'm posting pictures.
Undo the 2 screws and carefully lift the cover off without bending it to see the plastic gear. A O ring that seals the join may make this difficult to do.
Remove the clips that hold the shaft in place and you can pry the gear assemble out. It will be better to first undo the 4 phillips screws holding the motor on and to remove it first.
Below is a picture of my plastic gear. Notice how worn it is on the right hand side compared to the left. In fact totally worn out on the right side. Is no way you are going to move steps with a gear in this shape.
Now if you could just find a replacement plastic gear and if you carefully took apart the motor pieces without damaging anything you could esily put it all back together with a new gear. That plastic gear I guess is a less than $10 part if you could find somewhere to buy it and is certainly the weak point in the system. Key is to carefully remove cover plate without bending it. When putting it all back together I would replace the O rings and clips becasue they are cheap parts and should always be replaced when re-assembling soemthing like this to ensure a good seal and tight fit.
The problem is finding where to get the replacement plastic gear or even better a metal one that is idential to it.
After getting the RV out of storage this year it was time to fix them.
I followed Randy's instructions which were very helpful. Thanks Randy.
After taking the steps apart and checked the 2 metal gears that you see Randy's picture 2 (small one) and 5 (large one) I determined they were fine with no wear. I then tested the motor and electricity wise it was fine and it run just fine with no load on it. I then put some load on the shaft you see in picture 1 that the small gear is mounted on. Motor turned just fine until just a little load was put on it and which point it began to grind and could no longer turn the shaft.
I therefore decided to take apart the motor housing while waiting for my replacement one to arrive to understanding what was going on. It is pretty easy to take apart, there are 2 philips screws that hold the cover on the gear housing. See pictures below if I did this right - first time I'm posting pictures.
Undo the 2 screws and carefully lift the cover off without bending it to see the plastic gear. A O ring that seals the join may make this difficult to do.
Remove the clips that hold the shaft in place and you can pry the gear assemble out. It will be better to first undo the 4 phillips screws holding the motor on and to remove it first.
Below is a picture of my plastic gear. Notice how worn it is on the right hand side compared to the left. In fact totally worn out on the right side. Is no way you are going to move steps with a gear in this shape.
Now if you could just find a replacement plastic gear and if you carefully took apart the motor pieces without damaging anything you could esily put it all back together with a new gear. That plastic gear I guess is a less than $10 part if you could find somewhere to buy it and is certainly the weak point in the system. Key is to carefully remove cover plate without bending it. When putting it all back together I would replace the O rings and clips becasue they are cheap parts and should always be replaced when re-assembling soemthing like this to ensure a good seal and tight fit.
The problem is finding where to get the replacement plastic gear or even better a metal one that is idential to it.
