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BFL13's avatar
BFL13
Explorer II
Aug 02, 2014

Slide In/Out Switch Wiring Help Please

(I am on limited internet while camping or I could spend the MBs looking this up myself, so if anybody has nothing better to do, please look this up and give me the link so I can go straight to that and see the right wire to wire diagram or description, thanks)

OK , I am replacing the original Lippert switch with one I got at an RV shop. The package does not give a wiring diagram. Rats.

Lippert
- Green switch wire to red motor wire (outboard wire at IN end)
-Red switch wire to black motor wire (outboard wire at OUT end)
Note: actual motor has two wires one red one white- the "Lippert" red and black "motor wires" go to these two wires.
-Black wire to battery positive (middle wire)
-Two whites on switch combined at the trailer white to ground wire

RV Care (rvcare.ca) Switch (Made by American Technology Components)
-Outboard wire at IN end- black
-Outboard wire at OUT end-red
-Middle wire-green
Second wire in at IN end -yellow
Second wire in at OUT end-black

I have tried various ways and got either the IN or OUT to work but never both, plus I have burnt out four 30a fuses so I have given up fooling around. :(

Monday is a holiday here so I will have to wait till Tuesday to go back and get a wiring diagram or else maybe one of you good folks can give me a steer to the right way to match these wires. (five switch wires, four trailer wires.) Thanks.
  • I can't make heads or tails out of the instructions. If your Lippert slide works the same as my previous one did, the slide switch is a DPDT, center-off, polarity reversing switch. Either the two motor wires or the two power wires go to the switch center terminals. It can work either way. Then the two sets of outer terminals on the switch are connected in crisscross fashion, i.e. upper right to lower left, and lower right to upper left. The power or motor wires, whichever aren't hooked to the center terminals, connect to either end of the switch's outer terminals where the crisscrossed wires are. If the slide operates backwards, reverse either the motor or power wires.

    This is all where the switch operates the motor directly. If a relay or controller is involved, it will be different.
  • westend wrote:
    Check the switch for continuity on all posts/wires with the switch NOT powered, first. This is the same as Mr. Wizard stated. Yes, you can use the older switch if it's functional.


    First off you can "power" the switch with whichever wire(s) is/are the neg(s) to either the battery pos or neg as long as you put the switch pos wire(s) (whichever ones they really are--several seem to work!!! )on the other pole's wire from the battery.

    You can swap wires to the motor and get it to go in or out (reversing the two 12v motor wires makes it go in or out) So you can go INSANE swapping battery neg and pos and motor neg and pos and then there is always an extra wire left over (five on four) so you can't do both in and out like it is supposed to unless you know the SECRET. :( Also the two black wires are great for which one blows the fuse while the other doesn't. Argggh!

    Somebody please let me in on the American Technology method to go where the Lippert switch went. Even a 7-pin onto a Chev with its funny wire colours wasn't this bad! :)
  • Check the switch for continuity on all posts/wires with the switch NOT powered, first. This is the same as Mr. Wizard stated. Yes, you can use the older switch if it's functional.
  • Thanks Mr Wiz, but I already failed the IQ test on that and am running out of 30a fuses! Note the old switch is fried so I can't check anything with it except try to match wire to wire.

    The main thing is the old switch has two whites that go to ground, so it is simple. The new switch is just weird how it is laid out. My brain is scrambled on overload so a diagram would be good about now,
    thanks, though. Maybe your reply will make more sense to me after I settle down. :(
  • You do have a meter with ohms scale

    Make a connection chart start with the old switch
    Switch of measure all wires to other wires, red to blk, red to green ,red to white etc.. Then green to bulk, gen to whit.

    Now switch in and measure again

    Switch out measure again

    Write all of it down

    Do it again with new switch

    It's not about wire colors
    It's all about which connections close , when going one way or the other

    Once you have it written down, you can match toe open and closed connections in each direction to the correct color wires

    Example red and green connected on old switch might pressed "IN"
    Might match yellow and people connected when pressed "IN" , on new switch

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