Barker tongue jack issue

[DE88ROX]

Last Fall, when hooking up my trailer to bring home for a weekend trip, my Barker VIP 3500 tongue jack stopped working.

I called barker and they sent out a new switch.

Well, this weekend I brought the trailer home to de-winterise and get it ready for next weekend. I replaced the switch. As I pulled the wires off the old switch, i put them on the new one. making sure every wire was in its proper placement.

Jack STILL wont work!

Ive checked all fuses and they're all good. The light is working, so that tells me I have power going to the unit.

I went to Barkers web site and in the 'contact us' section, I basically told them the same thing. see what they say I guess.

In the mean time, any of you handy man DIY Gurus have any thoughts on what may be the issue?

Thanks in advance!

[DE88ROX]

colliehauler wrote:
Glad to hear Barker took care of it. They and Fantastic Fans have had exceptionally good customer service.

Don't you wish RV mfg were as accommodating?

Yes I do. Wish the same for GM as well, but that's a whole different story.

[colliehauler]

Glad to hear Barker took care of it. They and Fantastic Fans have had exceptionally good customer service.

Don't you wish RV mfg were as accommodating?

[westend]

Well, you were right all the way, buy American, buy local, and good things happen!

Now, get down to Harbor Freight and pick up one of those cheap Asian meters, lol.

Actually, either MCM or Sears sells a clamp meter that measures DC amperage above 10 amps for not that much scratch. The Tenma meters from MCM are recommended to me.

[beemerphile1]

DE88ROX wrote:
UPS just dropped of my power head from Barker. It's my understanding that it was a fuse/power lead issue.

I planned on paying for repairs as well as return shipping, since its past my warranty date. They repaired it and sent it back to me at no charge. Cant ask for anything more than that.

Nice to know that we still have companies like Barker Mfg., that take care of their customers.

Great to hear of a happy outcome, kudos to Barker!

[DE88ROX]

UPS just dropped of my power head from Barker. It's my understanding that it was a fuse/power lead issue.

I planned on paying for repairs as well as return shipping, since its past my warranty date. They repaired it and sent it back to me at no charge. Cant ask for anything more than that.

Nice to know that we still have companies like Barker Mfg., that take care of their customers.

[LarryJM]

DE88ROX wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:
I had a limit switch fail. I got one online for a few dollars. Since only one limit switch failed it would go one way but not the other.

I didn't see any limit switches listed on the exploded diagram/parts list on barkers website.

There are AFAIK two types of Barker jacks, one uses limit switches and the other has a torque limiting shut off system.

Larry

[DE88ROX]

RGar974417 wrote:
I had trouble with a barker jack on my old trailer. Since I am an electrician I diagnosed it to the switch and they sent me a new one no charge.

Sent me a new switch as well. wasn't the issue. I sent the power head back today for them to diagnose. They're pretty sure its the motor.

[RGar974417]

I had trouble with a barker jack on my old trailer. Since I am an electrician I diagnosed it to the switch and they sent me a new one no charge.

[DE88ROX]

Well, I just got of the phone with Barker Mfg.

Spoke with Bob in customer service. Since the light works but the power head is dead in the water, he thinks it sounds like a motor issue.He instructed me to remove the power head and send it in for them to look at.

I will double check all connections (as suggested above) while doing the tear down.

The saga continues....

[Mmaxed]

Test the motor like westend said. If it works then start following wires back to the batteries. I am betting that you will find a bad connection on the way. Our fiver jacks were doing similar a few years ago. Found a wire nut that was lose and a little corroded on a ground wire. Cleaned and tightened and all was good.

[westend]

I would bet it is something simple like a loose wire connection. From looking at the parts diagram of a 3500 lb Barker, it should be possible to pull the cover, loosen two studs and the wire connector to the motor and detach the motor from the drive case. You could then reconnect the power wire and see if the motor spins. That would eliminate or confirm that the motor is the problem.

[DE88ROX]

coolbreeze01 wrote:
Assuming your batteries are charged......If Barker doesn't get you going quickly, the $100 jacks from China work well. Good luck.

Well at least with the Barker, i just pop off the bubble level and use the manual crank.

But what saddens me is, I have only used this jack for 2 full seasons. Off the top of my head, that is about 8 trips. (this season will be the 3rd) I bought it mainly because of all the great things people have said about it on this very forum. For what you pay for that thing, it should last more than 8 times before it takes a ****.

Ive emailed Barker and they have yet to reply. I plan on calling them this morning.

[DE88ROX]

beemerphile1 wrote:
I had a limit switch fail. I got one online for a few dollars. Since only one limit switch failed it would go one way but not the other.

I didn't see any limit switches listed on the exploded diagram/parts list on barkers website.

[DE88ROX]

westend wrote:
Do you have a meter??

No, I do not.