Installed a new Barker 3500VP about a month ago..tried it out and all was good and was like what took me so long to get one...well went out today to get camper ready for a trip and its dead as a door nail..no light no nothing..got my meter out and started checking voltage..have 13v at switch but nothing..really bums me out..anyone have any ideas?

well, I had the same one for over 20 years and never had a switch fail once. I have abused that poor jack to the point to bending the shaft and had to put a chain around it in camp to straighten it out so I could take the TT off the truck. One thing I have always stated and that is is it is man made it is subject to failure, even Kids fall into that category. Give them a call, I am sure they will send you new switches or help you trouble shoot it. it is a great jack and a great company.

My jack uses one of those 12VDC circuit breakers mounted on the battery terminals. Those are pretty cheap - maybe you lost one of those... Roy Ken

RoyB wrote:My jack uses one of those 12VDC circuit breakers mounted on the battery terminals. Those are pretty cheap - maybe you lost one of those... Roy KenHe has 13V at the switch.

Huntindog wrote:RoyB wrote:My jack uses one of those 12VDC circuit breakers mounted on the battery terminals. Those are pretty cheap - maybe you lost one of those... Roy KenHe has 13V at the switch.Thank you..yea I guess I will take it off tomorrow put my old crank back on tomorrow..I bought it on amazon last month so I am going to chase down how I get a replacement

New Barker 3500 Vp already quit | Good Sam Community

18 Replies

Ron3rd
Explorer III
Jun 15, 2014
ashnic wrote:
The jack is grounded to the front of the frame on the mounting point .

That's what's weird, as it sounds like no ground. I would hook it up as normal and "jump" the ground from battery to one of the mounting bolts and see what happens. If it works, you know the problem is in that area where it should be grounding. BTW, my Atwood's the same way; grounds to the frame via the mounting bolts with single hot wire hook up.
ashnic
Explorer
Jun 15, 2014
The jack is grounded to the front of the frame on the mounting point .
westend
Explorer
Jun 15, 2014
ashnic wrote:
Well I checked the star washers and they are in place..well I did find something new and its something with the ground..I pulled my battery set it up front..hooked the positive wire up to the battery post and ran a ground wire from the bottom of the barker mounting bolt to the negative on the battery..works like a charm..now my next question..what the heck is going on? I looked at my camper ground wire (the one connected to the battery) which goes in a box inside my front storage..it was secure and tight..anyone have any suggestions?
Wherever you originally had the ground wire for the jack is not in the ground path to the battery. That is why it works when connected to the battery and not when the ground is connected to the chassis.
atreis
Explorer
Jun 15, 2014
Test another 12V location in the trailer and see if you have 12V elsewhere in the trailer (just turn on some lights while not hooked to shore power). If you don't, then open up that box in the front compartment and fix the loose ground wire connection. If the lights work, it's possible the wire that grounds the frame has come loose. It might take some hunting to locate that.
ashnic
Explorer
Jun 15, 2014
Well I checked the star washers and they are in place..well I did find something new and its something with the ground..I pulled my battery set it up front..hooked the positive wire up to the battery post and ran a ground wire from the bottom of the barker mounting bolt to the negative on the battery..works like a charm..now my next question..what the heck is going on? I looked at my camper ground wire (the one connected to the battery) which goes in a box inside my front storage..it was secure and tight..anyone have any suggestions?
pappcam
Explorer
Jun 14, 2014
ashnic wrote:
No star washer, dont remeber seeing one

The star washer is for chewing through the paint on the tongue bolt hole so you get good metal to metal contact for the ground. My Husky electric tongue jack came with them. Sounds like the ground could be your problem.
ashnic
Explorer
Jun 14, 2014
No star washer, dont remeber seeing one
WildSideFL
Explorer
Jun 14, 2014
These actually ground through the bolt connection to the frame. Only one wire install. Do you have the star washer on one of your bolts? That's supposed to be the ground. Take it off and look for corrosion and clean it. Then trace backwards and see where they wire the ground into the jack itself to see if you have lost a connection somewhere. You could also jump the ground and see if it works.
ashnic
Explorer
Jun 14, 2014
Thats a good point..I was using the neg termanal on battery for ground..when I used the ground under the cover I got zip..hmmmm
Huntindog
Explorer
Jun 14, 2014
old guy wrote:
I was thinking you may have a bad ground but that can't be the case if you have 13v at the switch. it has to be the switch is bad, call them they will send you one for free I bet.
Actually a bad ground could cause the problem! And is the most likely as I see it. 12V at the switch... OK No ground thru however it is grounded, means no circuit. A voltmeter test, usually will bypass the ground. IE; the ground lead is put on the neg battery terminal or frame, while the positive lead is put on the input to the switch. If this is done, 12V will show, but a bad ground will not.