newly installed electric tongue jack won't work!

rayvan · 10-15-2011, 01:47 PM

My husband and I just installed a Barker 3500 electric tongue jack. The light comes on but nothing happens when I hit the switch to go up or down. Not even a motor sound. HELP!

Seann45 · 10-15-2011, 02:01 PM

Take it back you have a bad one.... Next one bench test it first... to make sure.. they seem to have a problem with quality control

Terry · 10-15-2011, 06:10 PM

I would check the manual and operate it manually up and down just a bit and see if it frees it up. If that does not get it, not much else you can do.

NewToMeJF26BHS · 10-15-2011, 07:38 PM

There are two screws that hold the cap on. Take the cap off and see if the black connector came loose. The black connector will have two wires attached to it. For some reason that one connection isn't either put on at factory or isn't being securely put on. Hope this helps.

John

rayvan · 10-16-2011, 06:30 AM

Thanks for the advice. We manually cranked it down. Still nothing. He looked inside to see if any wires were loose, but no luck. I guess its defective....I'm very dissapointed. Thanks for the advice. I'll try contacting Adventure RV about it.

rayvan · 10-16-2011, 07:53 AM

Just to clarify...Bench testing is hooking to power to ensure operation before installing?

Terry · 10-16-2011, 07:58 AM

Yes....bench testing is hooking up before you go out and install. Always a good idea if you can do it. Barker makes a good product and I have had no issues with mine so I would just swap it out for another.

rayvan · 10-16-2011, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewToMeJF26BHS

There are two screws that hold the cap on. Take the cap off and see if the black connector came loose. The black connector will have two wires attached to it. For some reason that one connection isn't either put on at factory or isn't being securely put on. Hope this helps.

John

There are 2 black wires connected to eachother with a clip. Should this also be connected to something else? I want to try anything else since the return policy includes paying for shipping and a possible 15% restocking fee.

NewToMeJF26BHS · 10-16-2011, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayvan

There are 2 black wires connected to eachother with a clip. Should this also be connected to something else? I want to try anything else since the return policy includes paying for shipping and a possible 15% restocking fee.

Let me pull mine back off and I'll tell you where, give me some time, maybe I'll have time tonight. But yes, that clip should be connected to the switch also.

John

Terry · 10-16-2011, 07:04 PM

Ok.....you jinked me! I was setting up my camper in my site tonight and it started acting weird. When it got under load I noticed a few sparks around the bolts then it quit. I thought maybe a wire had rubbed, but it looks to me like the ground is via the bolts and they are not making a good connection. I will be taking it off this week in the camp site and working on it....so it leads me to the question --- are you getting a good ground?

Terry · 10-16-2011, 07:08 PM

By the way - first time I had to totally setup with the emergency crank. It actually worked much better than I expected.

**Crabman** · 10-16-2011, 07:36 PM

The ground IS via the bolts and you have to clean up the frame(scrape paint/rust til bright metal shows where contact will be made) around one of them to get a good ground before mounting.

Terry · 10-16-2011, 08:34 PM

I had mine installed by the dealer - it was negotiated into the deal when I purchased the camper. My guess is they slapped it on without making a good ground and it is no longer making a good connection. Sounds like a fun campground project

Back to Rayvan's issue - after messing with mine to tonight, I would definatley double check the ground. Does the light work and when you press the up/down button? does it stay on or go off? My guess - if it stays on - problem with jack. If it cuts off - problem with ground.

Seann45 · 10-17-2011, 06:54 AM

Should not be the ground since they said the light worked...

Lady Fitzgerald · 10-17-2011, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seann45

Should not be the ground since they said the light worked...

If the current draw from the light is low enough (such as one would have from an LED), a high resistance ground connection would allow the light to come on until a heavier load (the jack motor) was put on it; then the light would wink out or severely dim (see tafische's last comment). If the ground was completely open, then the light would be dead.

Frankly, I'm not impressed with a manufacturer that would depend entirely on the product mount to carry current instead of using a ground wire. Plus, it's not that much farther to the battery that they couldn't have arranged for it to be grounded directly to the battery.

NewToMeJF26BHS · 10-17-2011, 10:40 AM

Try reconnecting the double black wire connector to the terminal next to the orange wire and it should work. Sorry it took me so long to pop mine back off and look at it again.

John

NewToMeJF26BHS · 10-17-2011, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tafische

Ok.....you jinked me! I was setting up my camper in my site tonight and it started acting weird. When it got under load I noticed a few sparks around the bolts then it quit. I thought maybe a wire had rubbed, but it looks to me like the ground is via the bolts and they are not making a good connection. I will be taking it off this week in the camp site and working on it....so it leads me to the question --- are you getting a good ground?

Does your jack sometimes raises your trailer when you push the lever down?

John

NewToMeJF26BHS · 10-17-2011, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

If the current draw from the light is low enough (such as one would have from an LED), a high resistance ground connection would allow the light to come on until a heavier load (the jack motor) was put on it; then the light would wink out or severely dim (see tafische's last comment). If the ground was completely open, then the light would be dead.

Frankly, I'm not impressed with a manufacturer that would depend entirely on the product mount to carry current instead of using a ground wire. Plus, it's not that much farther to the battery that they couldn't have arranged for it to be grounded directly to the battery.

It's the same with your car, many things are grounded directly to the frame.

John

Lady Fitzgerald · 10-17-2011, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewToMeJF26BHS

It's the same with your car, many things are grounded directly to the frame.

John

And to the engine, such as the starter, alternator, etc. (engine has a ground jumper going from it to the frame; same for the body). Most other things use a ground wire bonded to the frame (or body or engine) to ensure a good ground connection is made.

Terry · 10-17-2011, 04:31 PM

Took mine off today while I was sitting around the camp site. To make a ground point, the dealer put a washer under one of the bolts, but they did not clean the paint away. A little rust formed and it no longer had a good connection. Cleaned it all up and it seems to be working great.

A few comments from the other posts -- my light was working until I put the jack under load then it stopped

I have no problem with the way they are grounding, since I am grounding through a bolt that then goes through the frame so it is an excellent ground point. The problem I have is they don't seem to have a good ground connection on the frame of the jack out of the box. If you take a little paint off under the bolts, it should do quite well. Time will tell.

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