Schwintek In Wall Slide

Ironman44 · 08-17-2021, 11:50 AM

I have a slide throwing an error code.
Motor 2 Error 8 - this is a wiring issue it says.
When I over ride the controller the motors work fine and slide works both ways, yet there’s a wiring issue ??
Slide only moves a couple inches at a time without the override.
Where should I start to trouble shoot this??

Cincinnati Kid · 08-17-2021, 12:25 PM

I haven't checked the code, but we have a slide where one side lags behind, goes crooked, and sometimes stops. It always corrects again when we hold the button at the end.

It seems that one side lags going out, the other going in.

NewBlackDak · 08-17-2021, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironman44

I have a slide throwing an error code.
Motor 2 Error 8 - this is a wiring issue it says.
When I over ride the controller the motors work fine and slide works both ways, yet there’s a wiring issue ??
Slide only moves a couple inches at a time without the override.
Where should I start to trouble shoot this??

If you find a fix, let me know. We were in 3 times under warranty for the same issue. The controller has been replaced, all wiring tested for continuity, and both motors replaced. I have seen errors 8 & 9 off an on over the 3 seasons we have had it. On rare occasions it will work normally.

**norty1** · 08-17-2021, 03:09 PM

Verify the connectors at the inside bottom for a tight connection on both sides.

I had one that was loose and I just reconnected it and put a tie wrap to raise it up enough to not hang up on the bottom of the slide.

Radar57 · 08-17-2021, 06:50 PM

X2 on what Norty1 stated. You could have a wire being pinched affecting the security of the wire connection. Also bear in mind the Schwintek slide system has a "position feedback or the hall effects, Error Code 9, that let's the controller know the position of each motor as the slide moves in or out. If it sense an anomaly between the two ends of the slide it will shut down. The motors are "out if synch". There is a process that can be done to re-synch them. There are some good YouTube videos on this.

On other thing to note is when you put the system in override you are supplying battery/bus voltage to the motors up bypassing the hall effects/feedback circuit. That is why the slide will run both in and out without issue.

Back to the synch issue. It is important, especially with the Schwintek slide, to mold the switch down for 5 to 10 seconds once the slide reaches both the full retract and extend positions. You should hear the motors hum and after about 5 seconds they will shut off. During this time the motors are synching with each other. That's not to say you will never have a problem but should decrease the likelihood of a problem.

Battery voltage is important. Before I level or extend slides I am always hooked to shore power. Some will say it doesn't matter but you don't know what battery voltage is after a few hours of driving. Again decrease the likelihood.

Lubricating the slide is another thing to consider. If one side has more friction than the other that could impact the ability to keep the ends in synch.

Not sure if any of that helps but it is stuff I have picked up over the 2 years on this forum and reviewing the Schwintek manuals. Personally I have not had any slide issues to date. With that being said I've probably jinxed myself.

tld · 08-18-2021, 08:33 AM

My 2021 fifth wheel (bought July of 2020) has now been at the dealers for 2 and a half months because of schwintek slide problems. Both the bedroom and kitchen schwintek slides will work for a while and then suddenly quit working properly. And yes, the switch is being held for the proper amount of time after fully closing and opening to allow the motors to sync. And all of the other procedures recommended or required per LCI are done, repeatedly. My dealer, in coordination with techs from Jayco and LCI (LCI makes the slide components), has replaced all motors, all controllers, wiring harnesses, thermal breakers, measured for squareness of slide, checked rollers, made continuity tests, checked for kinking, and on and on and on. It looks like maybe, and that's a big maybe, the bedroom slide may be fixed, but, the kitchen slide still does not work properly. The slide specialist at my dealer says that the schwintek system should never be used on the larger and heavier slides. He believes that because the kitchen slide is so heavy, and that it is obviously heavier on one end than the other, what is happening is that one end moves a few microseconds soon than the other, and then by the time the slide has moved out a foot or so the motors are far enough out of sync that the controller shuts them down. Or, that the slide moves in out or out far enough to get out-of-square just enough that the motors start working too hard and draw too much current through the auto-resetting thermal breaker and trips the breaker. It, of course, resets after about 15 seconds and you can keep trying. One of the techs at my dealer told me that based on the schwintek problems that he sees coming in for service he would never buy a trailer with a schwintek slide on any of the trailer's large slides.

Cincinnati Kid · 08-18-2021, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tld

My 2021 fifth wheel (bought July of 2020) has now been at the dealers for 2 and a half months because of schwintek slide problems. Both the bedroom and kitchen schwintek slides will work for a while and then suddenly quit working properly. And yes, the switch is being held for the proper amount of time after fully closing and opening to allow the motors to sync. And all of the other procedures recommended or required per LCI are done, repeatedly. My dealer, in coordination with techs from Jayco and LCI (LCI makes the slide components), has replaced all motors, all controllers, wiring harnesses, thermal breakers, measured for squareness of slide, checked rollers, made continuity tests, checked for kinking, and on and on and on. While it looks like maybe, and that's a big maybe, the bedroom slide may be fixed, but, the kitchen slide still does not work properly. The slide specialist at my dealer says that the schwintek system should never be used on the larger and heavier slides. He believes that because the kitchen slide is so heavy, and that it is obviously heavier on one end than the other, what is happening is that one end moves a few microseconds soon than the other, and then by the time the slide has moved out a foot or so the motors are far enough out of sync that the controller shuts them down. Or, that the slide moves in out or out far enough to get out-of-square just enough that the motors start working too hard and draw too much current through the auto-resetting thermal breaker and trips the breaker. It, of course, resets after about 15 seconds and you can keep trying. One of the techs at my dealer told me that based on the schwintek problems that he sees coming in for service he would never buy a trailer with a schwintek slide on any of the trailer's large slides.

Ours goes crooked and sometimes stops. When it finally does open or close, holding the button does make it bring the lagging side in line. So that's the same as yours. I've also noticed that when it goes in or out, it doesn't move smoothly, it moves in small lurches. Convinces me that the issue is that it's binding on something, I just can't tell what.

tld · 08-18-2021, 09:43 AM

Yes, right from the start I noticed that the big slide wasn't moving in or out smoothly and that the motors were really straining to move the slide. When I asked the dealer about it he said that it was not a problem and that all of the big slides were that way. I used the trailer for four months before the big slide started hanging up occasionally. When I contacted the dealer, he said that the motors were just getting out of sync because I wasn't holding the switch down long enough. This wasn't my first trailer with a schwintek slide and I knew that you needed to hold down the switch for at least 5 or 6 seconds to allow the motors to sync and that is what I always did. After a couple more months, slides were hanging up so bad that I sometimes couldn't get them to go all the way in at all without doing a manual controller override.

Ironman44 · 08-18-2021, 09:58 AM

OK - so when I do the manual over ride the slide works fine…… Throwing a code 8 for motor 2, I switched the wires on the controller for the motors and it’s showing the same side of the slide code 8, yet works fine in over ride. I’m thinking it’s a bad controller.

klassic · 08-18-2021, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironman44

OK - so when I do the manual over ride the slide works fine…… Throwing a code 8 for motor 2, I switched the wires on the controller for the motors and it’s showing the same side of the slide code 8, yet works fine in over ride. I’m thinking it’s a bad controller.

Do you have another Schwintek slide?
Swap controllers

Ironman44 · 08-18-2021, 09:42 PM

Switched out the controller with a good one and that same thing is happening - so I know it’s not the controller.
Now what??

NewBlackDak · 08-18-2021, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironman44

Switched out the controller with a good one and that same thing is happening - so I know it’s not the controller.
Now what??

Same here. I’ll check the wiring under the slide Saturday when I have more time.

klassic · 08-19-2021, 05:32 AM

Watch this guy. Maybe he’ll hit on your problem.
https://youtu.be/cxEYSstvICI

TxLoser · 08-19-2021, 06:18 AM

I’m following this in case I end up in the same boat. I get a little religious each time I open and close my big slide. It always seems strained, makes some popping sounds which I’m not sure are the walls or seals. It does however, always opens and close. Does best close to level and on shore power. I lube it every couple months and check the hardware. That’s about all I can do for now. Funny enough my in frame slide failed last trip and not this one. Go figure. Thanks for posting this up. I’ll add it to my collection or threads to go to when(not if) there’s an issue.

Parrott · 08-19-2021, 06:42 AM

The hall sensor is located on top of the motor. It can go bad and the motor works just fine. Cannot just replace just the sensor so you have to replace the whole unit. Poor engineering if you ask me.

Ironman44 · 08-19-2021, 08:46 AM

Any way to test the motor?

Ironman44 · 08-20-2021, 07:47 AM

Got this fixed - I pulled the motors out of the wall.
One had a bared brown wire (but was working still) the green wire on the other was broken off the board. I re-soldered that wire and we are back in business. Resynced the motors and all is good.

Cincinnati Kid · 08-20-2021, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironman44

Got this fixed - I pulled the motors out of the wall.
One had a bared brown wire (but was working still) the green wire on the other was broken off the board. I re-soldered that wire and we are back in business. Resynced the motors and all is good.

Congratulations!

Mtpockt · 08-25-2021, 12:20 PM

We had that problem on our jayco 5th wheel. The slide pinched the wire coming in over time. Got it fixed and no problem.

Case79 · 08-25-2021, 12:28 PM

On my 2019 Eagle HT 30.5 CKTS (Out of Warranty), our kitchen slide/Street side was doing the popping and struggling to go in and out. I complained to the dealer from day one, and they kept saying there is nothing wrong with the slide because it goes in and out. Then it got worst and really start to jam up. I figured out the sidewall behind the slide had broken lose from the floor. I contacted Jayco and requested help, Questions: Does Jayco have a repair for this. Customer Service (CS) No; How is the wall attached to the floor? CS I don’t know how it’s attached; (Me can I talk to Tech Support), CS I’m Tech Support; (Me. Can I talk to engineering) CS No. Finally after work with the customer service person for 7 days I figured out how to get to the manager, Tom Britain, left 3 messages, no answer. Called Ken Walters, Tom Britain called me that same day. Interesting! Got my answer. However I had already had it fixed by the fourth day. What a pain.

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