Leveling jacks not working

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chuckster
Posts: 293
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2020 4:53 pm

Leveling jacks not working

Post by chuckster »

Hello SF,

Last week my jacks were working just fine in my garage but now they are not. The lights come on in the control panel as normal but attempting to lower them results in no "click", no noise, no anything...DEAD. With the motor key on, in the jack panel "on" position I get the steady green light as usual and in the "all" position I get the steady green light and a flashing yellow indicator which I believe is normal when the jacks are down. The jacks are all up and fully retracted and there is plenty of 12V power on the chassis battery. I checked to see if there was a blown fuse in the rear closet 12V fuse panel but there is nothing concerning jacks there. Surely there is a fuse to check somewhere? I would think if I was getting the jack panel LED lights that there is no blown fuse but perhaps that is not the case. I have started up the motor, made sure that the parking brake was being seen as "set" and even put the coach in drive, then reverse, then neutral and set the parking brake again.

Thoughts?
Chuck & Mitzi
'01 Safari Zanzibar 3646 (side entry)
Cat 3126B / Allison MD3060
Magnum M-Series "Blue Max" chassis
2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland toad
TDJohn
Posts: 561
Joined: Sun Oct 27, 2019 11:34 pm

Re: Leveling jacks not working

Post by TDJohn »

If I remember correctly, the RVA leveling board is powered up by the engine batteries, via turning on the ignition switch. The hydraulic pump itself runs off of the house battery bank. So check that the house batteries are charged and that fuses are blown. The pump should be located near the battery tray, usually just rear of the battery tray. The RVA hydraulic pump relay should be near the battery tray too. Test and see if there is power going to the solenoid/relay on the main power supply line. Also check to see if there is power at the solenoid signal wire when you are trying to deploy the jacks. Follow the basic circuit logic of how these solenoids operate and test and see if the relay/solenoid is faulty or if your are not getting power at the signal, same for the heavy lead wire that supplies power to the hydraulic motor via the solenoid/relay. Check and see if the hydraulic pump is fused via the ANL fuses that you have under your bed area. Also see if the jacks will deploy, using the remote jack switches that are in your service bay.
John
'95 Serengeti, Cummins C8.3-300
Allison 6spd.
chuckster
Posts: 293
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2020 4:53 pm

Re: Leveling jacks not working

Post by chuckster »

I started tapping the RVA jack control console switches and it came “alive” and started working so I took the four screws out holding it to the drivers console panel, pulled all the wires off of all the switches and reseated the connections. None of them looked corroded or dirty but I blasted them with electroclean and made sure the connection was good and tight on each one. No issues now. We’ll see. Thanks for the in-depth answer and hopefully I do not have to chase into this much further again. Maybe the 22 year initial install just needed a little rejiggering of the switch connections.
Chuck & Mitzi
'01 Safari Zanzibar 3646 (side entry)
Cat 3126B / Allison MD3060
Magnum M-Series "Blue Max" chassis
2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland toad
chuckster
Posts: 293
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2020 4:53 pm

Re: Leveling jacks not working

Post by chuckster »

Been on the road a couple of weeks and everything still working well. There has been a lot of interest in my coach at campgrounds. People stop and look at it a bit as they stroll by. Not sure why. Maybe because it looks a little retro? :lol: Had a conversation with a guy who really liked the “lines” the coach has.
Chuck & Mitzi
'01 Safari Zanzibar 3646 (side entry)
Cat 3126B / Allison MD3060
Magnum M-Series "Blue Max" chassis
2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland toad
astrnmrtom
Posts: 167
Joined: Thu Oct 31, 2019 8:49 pm

Re: Leveling jacks not working

Post by astrnmrtom »

Glad you found the fix. I had the same thing happen several month's ago, but only for the front jack. It was the switch and I was able to carefully remove the rocker to access the contacts and clean them. If anyone reads this and tries doing the same, beware of little flying parts.
Tom and Pris Masterson, w/ Buddy the 18 year old Siamese cat.
1998 Serengeti 3706
300hp Cat 3126, Allison 3060
900 Watts of Solar
17cf, Fisher & Paykel residential Refrigerator
Dragging four telescopes around the US seeking dark skies.
chuckster
Posts: 293
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2020 4:53 pm

Re: Leveling jacks not working

Post by chuckster »

Those who want to clean the actual rockers can use an electroclean aerosol with an attached thin straw to the can and spray into the rocker while working it back and forth. Wd40 makes such an electronic cleaner.
Chuck & Mitzi
'01 Safari Zanzibar 3646 (side entry)
Cat 3126B / Allison MD3060
Magnum M-Series "Blue Max" chassis
2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland toad
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