2008 Beaver Contessa has developed a problem with the electrical/control system for the hydraulic system that extends and retracts the front two room slides and the generator unit. This system should be the same as that used on other Monaco industries coaches of that vintage. This slide system has never had any issues.
While unloading the coach and retracting the slides for winter storage here in Alaska this hydraulic system worked normally. The next weekend I attempted the extend the generator unit and it would not extend and neither would either of the front two slides. When the generator extend/retract switch or either of the front slide switches is pushed all that happens is an audible โClickโ in the area of the hydraulic motor and control manifold which is in the generator bay โ the pump motor does not attempt to run. This audible โClickโ is very similar to the sound emitted by the starter solenoid on older cars.
Because winter was rapidly approaching, and the coach would be in storage all winter, I elected to delay trouble shooting and repair until this spring. Well, most of the snow is gone and it is time to fix the problem. While there is some very basic information on this system in the ownerโs manual, it appears the information was copied from the manual for the 2007 model which is different from the 2008 model. No battery or other electrical issues are present โ all basic things have been checked. I could not find any similar issues when doing a forum search.
I have a several questions for the community:
Have any of you had a similar issue?
Any idea how to manually extend the generator unit to gain access to the hydraulic pump and control manifold?
Any other idea of what to check besides this unseen solenoid?
I believe the issue is most likely a power solenoid or solenoid connection located near the hydraulic pump but so far I have not been able to gain access to that area.
