First problem with electric stabilizers

[Logan0171]

Hopefully I won't regret ordering this option. I have a 2 week old Jayflight 28BHBE. 2 weeks ago during the PDI and then 2 night camping trip, the stabilizers worked as they should. Yesterday I decided to put the stabilizers down and open the slide so I could work on installing a television. Right away I noticed that the the front stabilizer would not go down. There is no movement at all and it appears as though there is an auto resetting breaker that trips. I can hear the click when the breaker trips and then resets about 15 seconds later. Oddly enough the jack retracts just fine. It will not extend. I found an access panel in the front storage compartment. In there is the wiring for the up/down switch and the auto resetting fuse. The Jack is not binding at all. After manually extending it I can press the switch and retract it normally. The second I push the switch the other way to extend it, the breaker immediately trips. This is only happening in the front and happens regardless of using the switch on the side of the unit or the wireless remote. The rear stabilizer is working fine.

Any suggestions? I will get the multimeter out and do some testing in the morning.

[ExChief]

Sounds like you may have a shorted wire

[Seann45]

I am a campground host much of the summer .. one of the biggest problems I see at the CG is electric stabilizers not working right... I would never get them.. a 1/2" electric impact wrench from Harbor Freight is about $99.00 and does the same thing only better in my humble estimation.

[Logan0171]

Well I did some troubleshooting and could not identify anything that seemed wrong to me. The system is normally not that complicated. It appears as though all the switch does is reverse the polarity of the motor to change direction for up and down. What's even more puzzling is that going up or down current flows through the same wires (same fuse) just in reverse. I don't understand why the auto resetting fuse trips in only one direction. In a normal install there is only power leads (+ and -), motor leads (+ and -), and a two way switch. The grey area here is the Lippert wireless remote system. Both power and motor sides of the switch disappear into the wall of the trailer. Even tracing the wires right from the motor, they go into the frame heading toward the back of the trailer. I haven't pulled the Lippert control panel yet but will be reaching out to Jayco and Lippert tomorrow.

[DanNJanice]

Originally Posted by Logan0171

Well I did some troubleshooting and could not identify anything that seemed wrong to me. The system is normally not that complicated. It appears as though all the switch does is reverse the polarity of the motor to change direction for up and down. What's even more puzzling is that going up or down current flows through the same wires (same fuse) just in reverse. I don't understand why the auto resetting fuse trips in only one direction. In a normal install there is only power leads (+ and -), motor leads (+ and -), and a two way switch. The grey area here is the Lippert wireless remote system. Both power and motor sides of the switch disappear into the wall of the trailer. Even tracing the wires right from the motor, they go into the frame heading toward the back of the trailer. I haven't pulled the Lippert control panel yet but will be reaching out to Jayco and Lippert tomorrow.

I would guess one of the wires has a short to the chassis. Remember chassis is also negative for the battery. For example, if when you reverse the wires you apply positive voltage to the wire that is shorted to the chassis. IOW a direct short between + and - which trips the breaker. In the other direction, the shorted wire carries negative which is the same as the chassis, so no problem.

[Logan0171]

Thought I would close this out in case someone else has the same problem. I brought it in to the dealer and they said there was a bad connection behind the switch for the front stabilizers. It can be accessed from inside the front compartment. Just above the hatch opening is a box / cover that was held down by two screws. I'm not sure which connection was bad. They did not specify. All they told me is they redid the connection and everything is back to normal.

[SouthCo]

Logan thanks for updating. I ordered the electric stabilizers as well and they have worked flawlessly so far. Threads like yours help.