LCI Electronic Leveling in Monaco Coach

[nrupracht@aol.com]

We have a 2009 Monaco Diplomat and we are having issues with the jacks. After having our coach parked for the summer (in use) we were getting ready to leave for a trip with kids, grandkids for the long weekend. The front jack would not go up. Then, the rear jacks would not go back down. After some work, they managed to get the front jack up and we went on our way. Upon arriving we decided to not try to put down jacks, fearing more issues. We opened the rear slides without problems. Upon extending the front slides, not only were both front slides responding to just one button being pushed (all four slides have their own button), but the front jack also extended! At the end of our weekend, we once again worked on it to manually lift it back up so we could go home. Again front slides intermittently responding together. So here it sits on our lot without jacks down.

Anyone else had this issue? Suggestions would be appreciated!

[allnight4@yahoo.com]

Sounds to me like you have a wiring problem...either behind the control panel (assuming the switches for all 4 slides and jacks are next to each other) or in the mechanical compartment below.

When we picked up our MH (2004, we got it in June 2010), the dealer was having trouble with the slide. They replaced the solenoid that controlled the movement, and called it fixed. A few weeks later (on the road, of course) it started refusing to retract just like at the dealer.

I went down and looked at the shiny new solenoid, trying see if it 'burned out' again. There was a wire running from one of the hydraulic pump's switches (sensors? not sure what it really is) that had a junction it; it was a disconnect. Well, I jiggled that junction, and low and behold the slide worked great again.

A week or two later, same symptom, and again nudging the junction seemed to fix it. So, I found a way to orient the wire so that the junction wasn't swinging out in space, and haven't any problems since.

[wdterry]

Some (if not most) Lippert (LCI) hydraulic pumps have an 'over-ride' valve on the end of each cylinder. It is intended to allow a jack to be retracted after a pump failure. There is a slot in the face of the valve to allow it to be turned 'open' (manual retract) or 'closed' - normal pump operation. If one or more valves are open, the jacks (and slide hydraulics) will behave erratically

The LCI manual has good diagrams of their pumps to show where the valves are. Turn them gently to determine if they are open or closed (the manual will show the correct direction of rotation for 'open' and 'closed'. They move easily, and can be damaged if over-torqued. When I purchased our '08 Daybreak (used) the jacks were not operating correctly when I was checking out the unit. The dealer 'fixed' the problem after we left. Thereafter, my jacks worked - but behaved strangely. If I manually extended the front jacks, the rears would start to descend when the fronts were about half way down. If I manually ran the rears - the fronts would start down first, stop after about 2" of extension, then the rears would extend properly. I thought I didn't understand how jacks were supposed to operate, but it didn't make sense to my theory of how they 'should' operate.

Read the manual (what a thought !) - discovered the part about the 'over-ride' valves. Checked - all 4 were wide open. That's how the dealer 'fixed' the problem. I closed the valves. It works in practice so now it passes the test of theory. Really nice system when it is working properly. Just remember to follow the manual procedures for 'zeroing' out the leveling system if the battery has been disconnected. The control module can lose its memory of 'flat'.

Wayne

[dickandlois]

This is a link to the Operation Manual for the system if you need one.

http://www.lci1.com/OwnersManuals/Leveling/Electronic%20Leveling%20II.pdf

Rich.