Two leveling jack will not go down

[Calpantera]

New to me 02 Sunriser with 16k miles. The LF and RR jacks do not go down, I am pretty sure it has sat for a few years. Pump runs fine, fluid level good, slides and the other two jacks work. Checked all the fuses on the controller and they were all good. Suggestions?

Thanks!

[spankan]

I hope this helps somebody..I fixed my jacks with a clamp... https://youtu.be/Qu5f2Iu4NRo

[Calpantera]

Oh BTW the database on this forum was hacked and passwords were stolen, just a heads up!

[Calpantera]

It all came down to grounds. The ground lug had 9 wires going to it. I cleaned them all up, replaced a few connectors and now all jacks and the rear slide work as expected.

[Calpantera]

OK so apparently the motor did fry. Took it to a local shop that rebuilds motors and thy said they could not get the parts it needed and sold me a new one for less than half of what HWH wanted. Installed it, switched the wiring to the middle relays and the LF worked and the RF did not so I assume I do not need to replace the relay and it’s electrical. Did not switch the rears yet because its so **** hot, was 105 out today. Phew!

[Calpantera]

Tried jumping it directly with a jumper cable to the lug on the motor, still nothing, not even a spark. Tapped on it with a hammer and still nothing. Going to take it to a shop that rebuilds electric motors here in town tomorrow. The crappy part is even once I get the motor fixed and I back to the issue of those two jacks not working.

[Calpantera]

dougrainer wrote:


You did not burn up the motor. IF it is fried, it is because it reached its long term operational limit. You can jump to 2 large terminals on the solenoid with a heavy gauge screwdriver. Bypassing the internal touchpad. IF the motor fails to run and you get heavy arcing, your motor is fried. It is held on with 2 screws. Remove and take to a local starter/alternator rebuild shop for them to rebuild it. Doug

Ya my brother said the same thing, I tried jumping the solenoid with a screwdriver and didn't see any arcing but I do see 12 volts with a meter. Thinking maybe a bad connection somewhere. Once it cools off a bit outside I am going to take my long jumper cables and try going from battery positive to the lug on the back of the motor, if it spins I will chase down the bad connection.

[dougrainer]

Calpantera wrote:
OK so maybe they were not open all the way. 🙂
I talked to a tech at HWH today and he said they should open about 5-6 turns. So I opened them further and the jacks retracted. But now the motor is not working. I assume I ran it to long and fried it. I tested it at the terminals on the motor relays and I get 12.5 volts to it when someone hits the switch. So now I am in the hole even more that when I started.

You did not burn up the motor. IF it is fried, it is because it reached its long term operational limit. You can jump to 2 large terminals on the solenoid with a heavy gauge screwdriver. Bypassing the internal touchpad. IF the motor fails to run and you get heavy arcing, your motor is fried. It is held on with 2 screws. Remove and take to a local starter/alternator rebuild shop for them to rebuild it. Doug

[Calpantera]

OK so maybe they were not open all the way. 🙂
I talked to a tech at HWH today and he said they should open about 5-6 turns. So I opened them further and the jacks retracted. But now the motor is not working. I assume I ran it to long and fried it. I tested it at the terminals on the motor relays and I get 12.5 volts to it when someone hits the switch. So now I am in the hole even more that when I started.

[MrWizard]

Be safe, remove the wood block
You do Not want the RV coming down on you when you bleed the pressure off

[Calpantera]

Yes I am sure, I worked them open and closed a bit just to make sure they were open. I will crack the line on the front one at the jack and try to push it up again tomorrow, will let you know what happens.

[dougrainer]

Calpantera wrote:
I am only working on the forward one so far and it does not move at all, I jacked up the rig a few inches with my floor jack and used a big prybar and block of wood as a lever and nothing. I put a wood block under the jack and lowered the rig and it just sits on the block. Going to leave it like that for awhile. Any other things I can do? I assume cracking the lines at the jack will do nothing. I see what looks like a plug on the side. If I crack that will that help?

Thanks again for all the help!

Are you POSITIVE the T handles are OPEN all the way? If open, then take a 5/8 wrench and gently crack open the Hydraulic line just a little. That will allow the bad jacks to retract. Have a catch pan under each bad jack. About 1 pint of fluid will come out. usually less. Doug

[Calpantera]

I am only working on the forward one so far and it does not move at all, I jacked up the rig a few inches with my floor jack and used a big prybar and block of wood as a lever and nothing. I put a wood block under the jack and lowered the rig and it just sits on the block. Going to leave it like that for awhile. Any other things I can do? I assume cracking the lines at the jack will do nothing. I see what looks like a plug on the side. If I crack that will that help?

Thanks again for all the help!

[dougrainer]

Calpantera wrote:
OK dougrainer I tried it with all four T handles opened and all four extended. I hit the store button and only the two that were working previously retracted and the two that were not working are now stuck in the down position. I hit the off button and turned of the ignition switch so I do not burn out the other two. I have not closed the T handles. I assume they are stuck because they need to be lubed or something? Now what? 🙂

Thanks!

NOT good news. The 2 that will not retract have BAD internal seals and they are sticking. Leave the T handles OPEN. You will have to get either a floor jack or a long wood or metal pole to lever up the stuck jacks. IF your unit has air bags, start the engine and let the RV raise up when the air bags inflate. That should give you enough room to get under the stuck jacks unless you only extended them a few inches on your test. With the T handles OPEN, the jacks will retract when you lever them up with a lever or floor jack. Once fully retracted, close all 4 T handles. You will have to either replace those 2 bad jacks from HWH or remove them and send back to HWH for rebuild. Some local Hydraulic shops may be able to rebuild them also. You will also have to replace both solenoids that control those jacks. The previous owner KNEW of this problem. You will have to get the solenoids from HWH. If you cannot find a local shop to rebuild, you remove the cylinders and ship back for rebuild. ON the jacks are a Model number called a AP number. You really need that number of of each jack. The T handle solenoids are all basically the same. The NEW solenoids have a spring loaded release and no T handle. The front Jacks will be one model(the same AP number) The Rear Jacks are usually a heavier model but they will have the same AP number. Since your unit is 18 years old, I would also replace all 8 jack springs. Your old springs are probably rusted and have lost a lot of tensile strength. When you have a HWH jack, you can PUSH a GOOD jack to full retraction with just your hand. Doug

[Calpantera]

OK dougrainer I tried it with all four T handles opened and all four extended. I hit the store button and only the two that were working previously retracted and the two that were not working are now stuck in the down position. I hit the off button and turned of the ignition switch so I do not burn out the other two. I have not closed the T handles. I assume they are stuck because they need to be lubed or something? Now what? 🙂

Thanks!