Schwintek issue on heavy slide

[ETCrockett]

I need some advice regarding an issue I'm having with a Schwintek slide on a 2016 Pinnacle 38FLSA. The issue is on the heavy kitchen slide which has the residential fridge, stove, oven, and microwave. When I go to extend the slide, the motor on the fridge side comes on but barely moves a couple of inches before stopping and the motor on the opposite side keeps going full speed. I have to push on the fridge side so it will keep up with the other side. The motor is running and moving the slide while I'm pushing, but by itself the fridge side motor cannot keep up with the other motor. I have checked the tracks outside once extended and I don't see any wear or damage to the slide or the tracks. This happens even when I'm connected to shore power. I have not checked the voltage at the motor to see if it is getting the required 8 to 12 volts (per the manual). I assumed with shore power I should be bypassing the batteries for power to these motors. My thoughts were that I just have a motor going bad. The tech at the dealership suggested it may just be the motors on the slide are out of sync putting one side in a bind. He suggested I follow the steps to re-synchronize the motors before bringing it in to the dealership for repair. Has anyone had this issue where it is caused by the motors being out of sync? I have to say I believe the fridge side of the slide has always trailed the other side by an inch or so, but has always finished flush to the interior wall when extending or flush to the exterior wall when retracted. Could this over time cause the motor to loose the zero-point to the point it is too far behind the other side and just gets in a bind? If so, then re-syncing the motors is worth a try. The slide retracts fine, but the fridge side trails the other side by half inch to an inch.

I have an appointment at the dealership on Jan 2nd to take it in to hope it is covered under Jayco's 2 year warranty (which runs out on January 6th). I have a feeling Jayco is going to claim it is a Lippert component issue and Lippert is going to say Jayco should not have installed the component on the heavy slide. Bottom line is if it is not under warranty, I'd rather change the motor myself. The cost of the motor is between $150 and $250 depending on which one it is. I figure with the part mark up and labor, I'm looking at about a $500 to $700 repair bill from the dealership. The Lippert online videos for changing the motor makes it look very simple. Has anyone ever changed one of these motors themselves? If so, any advice you can pass along will be most helpful.

[Grumpy]

As the dealer said re-sync before taking it in. If you ever stopped them partially in or out they will get out of sync.

As to warranty, don't know why you feel there will be an issue. If your dealer provides proper info it will be covered.

[Magnolia Tom]

As Grumpy said, re-sync it and test it out. Warranty should not be a problem. Another thing to check is the outrigger supports under the slide. Many owners of the north point 377 had bent outriggers which caused slide out issues

[klassic]

All I can tell you is you should have got the extended warranty.
The slide will give you troubles for a long time.
Make sure whatever the dealer does is covered by some sort of warranty.
I guarantee you will be coming back.
Have them write your concerns, of what the issue is, in the service report and make sure they write their observations and corrections.
I would send an email to Jayco with your concerns to make sure there is an email chain started, then send them a copy of the dealers service.
Once you’re out of warranty it will get very expensive. Right now you have the chance to prove you have a problem before warranty runs out.

I’m glad I took the extended warranty. I’ve been in 6 times for that slide. I would say it’s at about $4000CAD in repairs.
Still works like crap...waiting for it’s next problem.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by klassic

All I can tell you is you should have got the extended warranty.
The slide will give you troubles for a long time.

Never had a bit of trouble with our 38FLSA Kitchen Slide. Bounced it down the road for close to 20,000 miles with a full fridge and cabinets.

[klassic]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Never had a bit of trouble with our 38FLSA Kitchen Slide. Bounced it down the road for close to 20,000 miles with a full fridge and cabinets.

You’re one of the lucky ones Grumpy.
You don’t know what it’s like to hope it works everytime you press the button.

Once when 8 people were waiting for me to close the trailer up to head out.
Nope...long weekend spent at home.

Haha..20000 miles? I’m wondering if I even have 2000 miles on mine.

[Kahoneys]

Sounds like the issue I have with mine almost every time I retract the kitchen slide. I stop and hit the extend button for 1 second and then retract again and it all goes good. Seems like it has a hard time starting and then gets bound and by extending a tad it fixes the bind and goes good.

[Lake Huron]

I had a similar issue. My kitchen slide is the same as yours but my problem was not with that slide. It was with the next slide back, outdoor kitchen/bunkhouse slide. The 4th trip we used it, I thought it starting to get slower going out AND coming in. As the season went on it started to get slower and at the end of the season that's when I had my issue. I've always fully run it out AND in without stopping and held the button until it quits making noise. At the end of the season I was closing it up for the year, winterized, and It got really pissy. It was plugged into shore power at the house and there was live power in the coach. Both sides would retract about 3 inches then the front side would somewhat quit and the back side would continue. The entire slide went in cockeyed and tried to straighten out but failed. I took it all the way back out again. Front side maxed out first then the rear side. It was fully extended. I tried once again to retract it and both sides went it together for about 3 inches and then the front side just locked up and the rear wanted to continue. After about 3 or 4 times of this nonsense, I got the wife on the the controls and I used every bit of my body leverage pushing off the wheel of my truck parked next to it to force that slide back in. It sat for about 4 months until I took it in for my appt at the dealer for that and a couple of minor things. And imagine that, it worked just fine at the dealer. They ran it in and out about 6 times with absolutely no issues. I got it back about a month later and used it this past camping season and not one hiccup. Prolly just jinxed myself.

[jasum]

Originally Posted by ETCrockett

I need some advice regarding an issue I'm having with a Schwintek slide on a 2016 Pinnacle 38FLSA. The issue is on the heavy kitchen slide which has the residential fridge, stove, oven, and microwave. When I go to extend the slide, the motor on the fridge side comes on but barely moves a couple of inches before stopping and the motor on the opposite side keeps going full speed. I have to push on the fridge side so it will keep up with the other side. The motor is running and moving the slide while I'm pushing, but by itself the fridge side motor cannot keep up with the other motor. I have checked the tracks outside once extended and I don't see any wear or damage to the slide or the tracks. This happens even when I'm connected to shore power. I have not checked the voltage at the motor to see if it is getting the required 8 to 12 volts (per the manual). I assumed with shore power I should be bypassing the batteries for power to these motors. My thoughts were that I just have a motor going bad. The tech at the dealership suggested it may just be the motors on the slide are out of sync putting one side in a bind. He suggested I follow the steps to re-synchronize the motors before bringing it in to the dealership for repair. Has anyone had this issue where it is caused by the motors being out of sync? I have to say I believe the fridge side of the slide has always trailed the other side by an inch or so, but has always finished flush to the interior wall when extending or flush to the exterior wall when retracted. Could this over time cause the motor to loose the zero-point to the point it is too far behind the other side and just gets in a bind? If so, then re-syncing the motors is worth a try. The slide retracts fine, but the fridge side trails the other side by half inch to an inch.

I have an appointment at the dealership on Jan 2nd to take it in to hope it is covered under Jayco's 2 year warranty (which runs out on January 6th). I have a feeling Jayco is going to claim it is a Lippert component issue and Lippert is going to say Jayco should not have installed the component on the heavy slide. Bottom line is if it is not under warranty, I'd rather change the motor myself. The cost of the motor is between $150 and $250 depending on which one it is. I figure with the part mark up and labor, I'm looking at about a $500 to $700 repair bill from the dealership. The Lippert online videos for changing the motor makes it look very simple. Has anyone ever changed one of these motors themselves? If so, any advice you can pass along will be most helpful.

You should also contact Jayco ASAP and make them aware of the problem BEFORE your warranty is up.

[bearkeller]

Have a 2019 Pinnacle with Schwintec BR slide. Dealer told me to never stop the slide half way. If you do take it back to where you started from and start over. Hold the button for a 10 count after all the way in or out to make sure motors are synced. Lippert Components has good info on their web site, lci1.com. They clearly recommend NOT to lube the system. Doing so could cause unnecessary damage to the system. Bottom line try to not stop until completely in or out

[robkelly]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Never had a bit of trouble with our 38FLSA Kitchen Slide. Bounced it down the road for close to 20,000 miles with a full fridge and cabinets.

Not as many miles as Grumpy, but we’ve had an Eagle and now the Pinnacle with the heavy kitchen slide and never had a problem either.

[cariboocreek]

Never had an issue with our big slide. Lots of miles with fridge and cabinets full. Never stop it until it’s all the way in or all the way out. I also count to 5 once the cycle is completed before finger comes off switch.

[ETCrockett]

UPDATE: First of all, many thanks to all who answered my post. As usual, the kindness and advice from this forum was spot on! Yesterday, I brought my FW home from storage to take advantage of a sunny day in Indiana. After auto leveling first, I synchronized the kitchen slide. I had to push hard on the fridge side to get the slide extended the first time. Then per the advice given, I retracted the slide 2 inches and then ran it back out to full extension without letting go of the switch until the motors stopped. I did this 3 times. I could tell each time I did this that the timing was getting a little closer to even. After the third time, I retracted the slide all the way in and extended it all the way out without any issues at all! Just to be sure I fully retracted and extended it 3 more times and it worked perfect every time!

Well done everyone! You saved me a lot of time and possibly money! I sure hope I can return the favor to someone on here some day.


:

[jasum]

Glad you got it figured out.......

It's a lot more fun when all the things work correctly.

[robkelly]

Good news!

[backdock]

Since the OP got his issue sorted, I'll hijak. I have the same issue. I have tried retiming it, but it won't go in or out without pushing on the fridge side. Once it gets moving, it will keep going all the way in or out without help, but I have to push it the first 8-10 inches or so. So do I have to get two helpers, one on the inside and one on the outside to push each way? or does it sound like a different problem?

[ETCrockett]

Sounds like your issue may be different. I never had to push from the outside to retract the slide. Mine always retracted without assistance even though the fridge side lagged behind coming in. Maybe that is why I could sync the motors by retracting them 2 inches and running the slide all the way out. The manual also suggests testing the voltage on the motor. It should be getting between 8 and 12 volts. Anything less could be a bad or weak battery or could have a loose connection in the system.

[rusnob48]

I agree with Grumpy
had the same issue with one of my front living room slides.
2016 Pinnacle
Out of syn

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by ETCrockett

I need some advice regarding an issue I'm having with a Schwintek slide on a 2016 Pinnacle 38FLSA. The issue is on the heavy kitchen slide which has the residential fridge, stove, oven, and microwave. When I go to extend the slide, the motor on the fridge side comes on but barely moves a couple of inches before stopping and the motor on the opposite side keeps going full speed. I have to push on the fridge side so it will keep up with the other side. The motor is running and moving the slide while I'm pushing, but by itself the fridge side motor cannot keep up with the other motor. I have checked the tracks outside once extended and I don't see any wear or damage to the slide or the tracks. This happens even when I'm connected to shore power. I have not checked the voltage at the motor to see if it is getting the required 8 to 12 volts (per the manual). I assumed with shore power I should be bypassing the batteries for power to these motors. My thoughts were that I just have a motor going bad. The tech at the dealership suggested it may just be the motors on the slide are out of sync putting one side in a bind. He suggested I follow the steps to re-synchronize the motors before bringing it in to the dealership for repair. Has anyone had this issue where it is caused by the motors being out of sync? I have to say I believe the fridge side of the slide has always trailed the other side by an inch or so, but has always finished flush to the interior wall when extending or flush to the exterior wall when retracted. Could this over time cause the motor to loose the zero-point to the point it is too far behind the other side and just gets in a bind? If so, then re-syncing the motors is worth a try. The slide retracts fine, but the fridge side trails the other side by half inch to an inch.

I have an appointment at the dealership on Jan 2nd to take it in to hope it is covered under Jayco's 2 year warranty (which runs out on January 6th). I have a feeling Jayco is going to claim it is a Lippert component issue and Lippert is going to say Jayco should not have installed the component on the heavy slide. Bottom line is if it is not under warranty, I'd rather change the motor myself. The cost of the motor is between $150 and $250 depending on which one it is. I figure with the part mark up and labor, I'm looking at about a $500 to $700 repair bill from the dealership. The Lippert online videos for changing the motor makes it look very simple. Has anyone ever changed one of these motors themselves? If so, any advice you can pass along will be most helpful.

My son just bought a Vanleigh Beacon which is a very high end fifth wheel ($140,000 msrp). I asked him what type of slide he had on his very large kitchen slide and they use the same slide that Jayco uses on the dining room and he said it's as smooth as all get out. Makes me wonder why they do not use Slim Rack or Schintek.

[EagleOne]

I had to resync my slide as well. It took about 1 minute to complete the process. Works fine now. YouTube has several videos where I taught myself the process.