Waking up my X17Z

[Arnold R]

My 2021 x17z has been in storage, 20 miles away, while I kept the battery in a charger in the garage.
Yesterday I went to wake it up, took the cover off, and wanted to do a quick weighing of the tongue weight. I put the charged battery in (yes, red wire on the + pole). Then I ran into two problems.
First, the jack (FIC ETJ3500) wouldn't do anything. Neither could I switch the lights on inside, so clearly the 12V power didn't come through.
Then I tried to hand crank the jack. But I couldn't get that moving, either. At least, not with a reasonable amount of force.
Clearly, I have to get back there to take a look at the wiring and the converter, but not today (it's raining).
But in the meantime, has anyone experienced problems with the 12V power after reinstalling the battery?
And any suggestions for getting the jack unstuck and allow manual operation?
As it stands now, I can't even hitch the camper up...

[Lake Huron]

Just shooting from the hip here, but by chance is your battery disconnect switch in the off position??

[Arnold R]

Originally Posted by Lake Huron

Just shooting from the hip here, but by chance is your battery disconnect switch in the off position??

I may be mistaken, but I didn't think the x17z has a battery disconnect switch.

[Marcm157]

2 things - First if the tongue jack was left uncovered and water got inside its very likely everything is rusted tight. Second, I would look for a 30 amp in line fuse close to the battery. If that fuse is blown you will not get 12 Volts to the camper.

And one final thought, is there a chance you reversed polarity at the battery? Can't always go by wire color. If you did, the reverse polarity fuses are blown on your electrical distribution panel and you won't get 12 volts in the camper.

[Arnold R]

Originally Posted by Marcm157

2 things - First if the tongue jack was left uncovered and water got inside its very likely everything is rusted tight. Second, I would look for a 30 amp in line fuse close to the battery. If that fuse is blown you will not get 12 Volts to the camper.

And one final thought, is there a chance you reversed polarity at the battery? Can't always go by wire color. If you did the reverse polarity fuses are blown on your electrical distribution panel and you won't get 12 volts in the camper.

Thank you.

I had just found a post by JE78 from 5 years ago that mentioned the 30A fuse. Seems a bit odd, since it clearly wasn't blown when we packed things up last fall. But definitely worth pursuing. Is this a simple tubular fuse?
No reversal: I took a picture before I removed the battery.

I wondered about rust, but the jack was covered and the cap was on the hole on top. I suppose if it's rusted shut, the motor would have trouble with it too 😔

[Isaacs]

You said the first thing you tried to do was operate the jack; because it was seized up, I'm betting you blew the 30A fuse. This is why nothing else works. The fuse will probably not be tubular; it'll be a two blade plug-in type probably inside a rubber thingy to keep it out of the weather. It may be inside the battery box or at least close to it. There are two or three different sizes of these automotive fuse types--you probably need the largest.

As for your jack, squirt a bunch of penetrating oil or WD40 into it and it will probably free up enough to operate manually. Then you can worry about lubing it up properly when you get home. I've never had a power jack so I can't say for certain how to deal with them. Perhaps you should take some tools, blocks of wood, and a bottle jack with you so you can remove it if necessary and get it the camper home.

[Arnold R]

Originally Posted by Isaacs

You said the first thing you tried to do was operate the jack; because it was seized up, I'm betting you blew the 30A fuse. This is why nothing else works. The fuse will probably not be tubular; it'll be a two blade plug-in type probably inside a rubber thingy to keep it out of the weather. It may be inside the battery box or at least close to it. There are two or three different sizes of these automotive fuse types--you probably need the largest.

As for your jack, squirt a bunch of penetrating oil or WD40 into it and it will probably free up enough to operate manually. Then you can worry about lubing it up properly when you get home. I've never had a power jack so I can't say for certain how to deal with them. Perhaps you should take some tools, blocks of wood, and a bottle jack with you so you can remove it if necessary and get it the camper home.

Thank you, makes sense.
I didn't think that would have done it, since the jack has its own circuit breaker, but I suppose when the jolt is powerful enough, it could flip the breaker and blow the fuse at the same time.
I had been thinking about WD40, but was reluctant, since there is an exposed electronic board, but there is indeed no other way; will have to be careful where I spray it.

[JFlightRisk]

Here's a quick video that might explain what happened to your jack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3mwKufas3o

[OnTheGo]

... offering this as an alternative: Borrow a manual jack from someone and change it out until you can make repairs. They usually can be replaced easier than being fixed.

[OnTheGo]

[QUOTE=JFlightRisk;1111490]Here's a quick video that might explain what happened to your jack.

Nice video, thanks for posting.

[Arnold R]

So, today I spent my time taking the tongue jack apart.
My 12V worked, miraculously (must have done something wrong on Friday), no blown fuses and the light on the jack post worked, too. But not the jack itself. It was definitely seized up. I thought I could lift up the large gear that sits on top of the post and spent an inordinate amount of time getting the snap ring out. as it turned out, wasted effort; I still couldn't lift the gear.
Then I noticed the little gear on the motor. I took that out and now, with the link between the motor and the screw post broken, I could move the tongue up and down manually.
Conclusion: the electric motor of the tongue jack had seized up. I did measure approximately 4 Ohms over the motor.
No idea why it seized up, It clearly worked last fall when we parked the camper.
I'll welcome any suggested explanations.
But in the meantime I will raise and lower the tongue manually; that at least works.

[RogerR]

Another thing to check is that the posts and cable ends aren't corroded. Amazing how much voltage is lost when you have corroded contacts. Same for fuse holder corrosion. And of course rust/corrosion on the jack to frame. All above are from experienced corrosion experiences of mine.

As above, rusted motor since it won't work and blown fuse are #1 culprits but corrosion can be sneaky.

[Arnold R]

Originally Posted by RogerR

Another thing to check is that the posts and cable ends aren't corroded. Amazing how much voltage is lost when you have corroded contacts. Same for fuse holder corrosion. And of course rust/corrosion on the jack to frame. All above are from experienced corrosion experiences of mine.

As above, rusted motor since it won't work and blown fuse are #1 culprits but corrosion can be sneaky.

There were no signs of corrosion, no water or discoloration. Clearly, when I turned the hand crank, there didn't seem any corrosion in the shaft, as it moved smoothly.

What makes motors seize up, so they completely inhibit all movement?

[AncasterDuo]

My x17z has the in-line fuse holder located behind the spare tire, out of sight and inaccessible. Hope yours is easier to access!
Because of that, my x17z now has a battery disconnect switch, mounted on the battery support cross-bar (visible and accessible). You can get this on amazon, and get a short connecting cable. Or, have a dealer do it.

[joe w]

Originally Posted by Arnold R

My 2021 x17z has been in storage, 20 miles away, while I kept the battery in a charger in the garage.
Yesterday I went to wake it up, took the cover off, and wanted to do a quick weighing of the tongue weight. I put the charged battery in (yes, red wire on the + pole). Then I ran into two problems.
First, the jack (FIC ETJ3500) wouldn't do anything. Neither could I switch the lights on inside, so clearly the 12V power didn't come through.
Then I tried to hand crank the jack. But I couldn't get that moving, either. At least, not with a reasonable amount of force.
Clearly, I have to get back there to take a look at the wiring and the converter, but not today (it's raining).
But in the meantime, has anyone experienced problems with the 12V power after reinstalling the battery?
And any suggestions for getting the jack unstuck and allow manual operation?
As it stands now, I can't even hitch the camper up...

Once when I re-installed my battery the 30amp fuse blew, thought I had a short however I think it was the "jolt". Now when I re-install my battery I turn off all the breakers.

[saunterr44]

Originally Posted by joe w

Once when I re-installed my battery the 30amp fuse blew, thought I had a short however I think it was the "jolt". Now when I re-install my battery I turn off all the breakers.

ugh.....

that's not the story I wanted to read this morning, mister !

[joe w]

Originally Posted by saunterr44

ugh.....

that's not the story I wanted to read this morning, mister !

Why??

[Isaacs]

Originally Posted by Arnold R

So, today I spent my time taking the tongue jack apart.
My 12V worked, miraculously (must have done something wrong on Friday), no blown fuses and the light on the jack post worked, too. But not the jack itself. It was definitely seized up. I thought I could lift up the large gear that sits on top of the post and spent an inordinate amount of time getting the snap ring out. as it turned out, wasted effort; I still couldn't lift the gear.
Then I noticed the little gear on the motor. I took that out and now, with the link between the motor and the screw post broken, I could move the tongue up and down manually.
Conclusion: the electric motor of the tongue jack had seized up. I did measure approximately 4 Ohms over the motor.
No idea why it seized up, It clearly worked last fall when we parked the camper.
I'll welcome any suggested explanations.
But in the meantime I will raise and lower the tongue manually; that at least works.

When you tried to use the jack on Friday you may have popped a circuit breaker rather than a fuse; this would take time to reset itself.

[Arnold R]

Oh, that's right, I think the jack may have its own internal circuit breaker.

When I get back home, I'll take the whole thing apart and see what's causing the blockage. Not looking forward to it, but it'll need to be done.

[Arnold R]

Just finish up this thread:
No fuses were blown and there were no electrical problems.

When I press the switch of the FIC3500, up or down, nothing happens, except that after 2 seconds the circuit breaker pops. It kindly resets itself afterward. This is all with the small gear removed, so the motor should spin freely and there is clearly no short or broken wire.

The only reasonable explanation is that the motor is seized up.

I called FIC (or whatever the company is called these days), and they had no explanation, either.

Replacing the motor could be a fix. Though I wonder whether replacing the entire FIC3500 might not be easier.

For now, I am using the manual crank, though.