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davidsteverson

Jack Questions

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Greetings everyone. I used to be here with user name judatt. I retired a few months ago and have had to update my account so a new user name. 

We were in New York for the full timers/elks/military rally. When we prepared to leave for West Springfield I had one jack that the indicator said wasn't up. I looked and it was - went through lots of gyrations but finally got the light to go off. In West Springfield I had the Newmar guys look and they said it needed cleaning which they did.

Then a few stops later it did the same thing but this time the light went off after only one step. I took it in for routine service about 10 days ago and they said there were a couple of the cylinders that needed filling and they cleaned them all. No problem going up or down.

Then yesterday I'm driving down the road and the shrill noise goes off and it says jacks down in the message. Pulled over and looked and they are NOT down. The light that says travel mode is lit just like it's supposed to be. The noise stops and I go on down the road but every 5 or 10 minutes we got about a half second shrill. The travel mode light remained on at all times but I noticed when it shrilled one of the yellow lights that indicate the level status would flash on. This normally only happens when you are getting ready to level to let you know where the slopes may be.

When we arrived at our RV park I leveled uneventfully and just to be sure I stored the jacks and that step worked fine. I then leveled again and everything worked fine. Anyone have any thoughts?  We are headed to the FMCA rally in Shawnee and will arrive tomorrow. Thanks for any suggestions. 

P.S.  Don't know if this has any bearing or not but I hit one heck of a pot hole about 30 minutes before this started happening. 

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Something has to tell they computer that the jacks are up. On my system (not HWH) there are magnetic switches at the top of the jack and when they are up the switch shunts to ground. There is a pin on my control board that should show continuity when checked to ground.

With that said, the best approach on this is to call HWH and get their input. It could be something simple. Call them.

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With the HWH jacks, you are storing exactly correctly.  Be sure to NOT turn off the HWH panel once the lights are off/buzzer quits, as that can trap fluid in the lines.  With the heat of the day, that fluid can expand enough to trigger the panel/alarm.  So proper procedure is to turn on the panel and hit Store.  NOTHING ELSE.

Sure, there can be other causes such as weak return springs, bent piston, etc.

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9 minutes ago, wolfe10 said:

With the HWH jacks, you are storing exactly correctly.  Be sure to NOT turn off the HWH panel once the lights are off/buzzer quits, as that can trap fluid in the lines.  With the heat of the day, that fluid can expand enough to trigger the panel/alarm.  So proper procedure is to turn on the panel and hit Store.  NOTHING ELSE.

Sure, there can be other causes such as weak return springs, bent piston, etc.

This makes a lot of sense. Yesterday was the hottest day we have driven our motorhome. My phone said it was 98 and the on board computer said 104. Hopefully the worst of the hot weather is behind us and it won't happen again. 

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Cummins service HWH...had the same problem on another coach.  Turned out to be the mother board...3 years ago it was $647 for rebuilt and $816 new, I opted for new.  Never heard that alarm (it will drive you nuts/including the dog) again! :D

Now, I have other problems, but it's a Powergear and I'll live with it until Shawnee on Sunday!

Carl

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I"m not as lucky. My problems started in 2010 and many, many service (attempted) repairs, including the Winnebago Service Center in IA, has not resolved the problem. I put a switch on the power to the control board to stop the alarm. I have been assured this will not cause any problems and to date it has not.

My next stop in the spring of 2017 will be the main Lippert Service Center and either get them fixed or a complete replacement.

It is a long story if anyone is interested.

David, I hope you get your jack problem resolved soon.

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David,

Welcome to retirement.:) Since you show that you are full timing, take a trip to Moscow Iowa the the HWH factory. Call them talk to a tech. The tech may be able to help you over the phone. If not talk to Ashley, make an appointment. They are great folks to work with and very reasonable.

                              800-321-3494      563-724-3396          www.hwhcorp.com

 

Herman

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Wayne.  10' is the first time I had that problem...on a Winnebago (Duh!) Tour 40' DP, I had disconnected the alarm in dash and could not find anyone, including Winnebago for help.  I was in Cummins South Plains, Houston for annual service and brought up my problem with the tech, just in conversation, hoping he knew someone...that's when I found out that Cummins was a authorized Service and Replacement dealer for HWH ! :) Cummins has done my system ever since and no problems!

Have you been to one for yours?

Carl

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Greetings everyone. Drove from Little Rock to Shawnee today. The jacks down alarm went off numerous times. I stopped a few times to check and they were not down. The alarm stayed off for up to half an hour but sometimes it was on for 10-15 minutes at a time.

I'm going to get someone to look at it while we are here at the FMCA rally. Thanks for all the input.

Looks like we may be able to meet up with some of you here in Shawnee. 

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We are going to be there tomorrow (Sunday) with 20 coaches all the way from Durant OK. Do you have the hydraulic jacks? If you do have you checked the level of fluid in the reservoir?

Bill

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Try, with the jacks up, top off the reservoir with transmission fluid. There is a sensor in the top of the tank that tells the system that the jacks are retracted by the level of fluid. 

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42 minutes ago, WILDEBILL308 said:

We are going to be there tomorrow (Sunday) with 20 coaches all the way from Durant OK. Do you have the hydraulic jacks? If you do have you checked the level of fluid in the reservoir?

Bill

Hi Bill. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Did you all rendezvous at Durant?  David. 

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10 minutes ago, WILDEBILL308 said:

We are going to be there tomorrow (Sunday) with 20 coaches all the way from Durant OK. Do you have the hydraulic jacks? If you do have you checked the level of fluid in the reservoir?

Bill

By the way, Bill, I just had it serviced 10 days ago including having them check the jacks and making sure the fluid was at the correct levels. they also cleaned the jacks. They said they had to put some fluid in 2 reservoirs. Don't know if you remember but I know absolutely nothing about mechanical things. Ask me a tax question and we can talk all day. Ask me a mechanical question and we will have a very short conversation. David

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52 minutes ago, davidsteverson said:

Hi Bill. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Did you all rendezvous at Durant?  David. 

Yes we are traveling with the Red River Rovers. We  had a little rally at Choctaw Casino.:D

Bill 

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David,

If you would like to meet up with Bill, Check out the Red River Rovers on Tuesday "Chapter Day". They should be having a Social around 5:00 PM. They will be in the Lot 400. 

Bill if RRR is having something different let David know.

See you sometime today.

Herman 

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David.  Compared to Herman & Bill, I'm the Village Idiot...Tax?  Is near, but not dear to my heart.  Do have a few Q. :ph34r:

I'll be there this pm! :)

Carl

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On September 11, 2016 at 5:53 AM, Manholt said:

David.  Compared to Herman & Bill, I'm the Village Idiot...Tax?  Is near, but not dear to my heart.  Do have a few Q. :ph34r:

I'll be there this pm! :)

Carl

Hi everyone. I met up with Bill this morning. Look forward to seeing others. We are in spot 237 in Shawnee. David

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Greetings everyone. I extended the cover at the front of the coach. Found the HWH equipment. There is a bolt with a dipstick on it. I understand in order to get an accurate reading I need to have the jacks up. My question at this point is do I need to pull in the 4 slides before I pull the jacks up. I was taught (don't know if I was taught well or not but I tend to think so) that the last things I do when packing up is to pull the slides in then disconnect the electric from the pole and then pull the jacks up. Since I'm not going anywhere I don't think I need to disconnect electric but do I need to put the slides in?  Thanks. David

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David,

There is no "here is how they all work.  But on most, yes the slides should be in when checking fluid level.  That information should be in your coach owners manual.

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I pulled my slides in and pulled the jacks up this morning. I put a quart of auto trans fluid in. It was where it was supposed to be in the dipstick after I put the fluid in. I put the jacks down and it was very quiet. Could hardly hear them. Pulled them up again and put them down again. Same thing - very quiet. Seems to work well though. We will see tomorrow if the alarm goes off again. Thanks everyone. 

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There is a slight chance you might have some air in the system and after it is purged out might lower the level and require adding some more fluid. You might check the level in a couple weeks just to keep it from making that annoying noise.;)

Bill 

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Greetings everyone. Just thought I'd let you guys know I travelled today and had the screeching alarms off and on. I think there must be some kind of short because I can be driving and the alarm go off and I go to the edge of the road where the warning strips are and run over the strip and the alarm is silent for a while.  Just have a short day tomorrow and then we will be where the Newmar techs are so hopefully they can get a permanent solution. 

Bill, Herman, and Carl it was great to see you all. Really enjoyed the rally in Shawnee. Hope to see you again soon. David

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David, sorry you could not make lunch with us...a face and personality, to go with the "blank" image on the forum, makes it more enjoyable.  Also hope to see you again.

Travel safe.

Carl  

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