Entry steps extending/retracting on their own

markbo53 · 05-19-2015, 05:35 AM

Hey everyone,
hoping to get some help or info here. I recently purchased a 2013 WB view profile 24V on the MB sprinter chassis. The electric entry steps into home work fine when I'm parked and the ignition key is off. they open and close with the door, and stay open when in off mode. however, when I start the vehicle and drive away the steps begin to extend and retract on their own. I contacted WB and the tech advised that it may be a loose wire somewhere around the electric motor. I can't find any loose wires and I also took apart the switch and tested it, and it seems to be working just fine.
Any help or insight with this would be greatly appreciated.
Also, the coach is no longer under warranty.

Thanks

Mark

jcorbet · 05-19-2015, 06:37 AM

Mark

I have profile view 24v as well2014. My steps this weekend starting doing the exact same thing. I emailed Kweke steps have not heard anything from them. I called a kweke step repair center and he telling me it could be the circuit board. Not really buying it. If you track down a fix I would appreciate a heads up.

Thanks
James
[email protected]

BeHappy · 05-19-2015, 07:36 AM

We had a similar issue w kwikee steps on Journey. Local CW claimed could not duplicate? And, sure enough, on 1 hr drive home from CW those steps began extending & retracting erratically as we were driving in multilane city traffic. Had to make left turns so we did have to worry about other vehicles on the step / passenger side hitting or being damaged by "steps in motion unexpectedly."

Got home, went to Kwikee website, ultimately ordered the '4-wire testing pigtail" (by Kwikee) from Amazon. Used kwikee's web site pdf "trouble shooting steps" for our model kwikee step. Ultimately...problem was that wires inside door frame (hinge side, MH mounted side) where we could see sort of brass contacts that entry door frame makes with hinge side door frame. Took off that cover plate and voila! 4 wires, but only 2-3 were "staying" connected. Wire length appeared to be just barely long enough, so we had to wrap the wires and the plate they went into with black electrical tape so that all 4 wires would hold in constant contact to plate. (Thus, we believe the sometimes ok, other times ...while road bump/driving...the loss of contact was causing the in/out step motions.). BTW...no more problems after we made sure all 4 wires secured.

YMMV...but do check for loose wires on hinge-side contact if you have same on your coach.

Best wishes for solving and Safe Travels to All

mgtr · 05-19-2015, 08:34 AM

Valuable info, thanks a lot!

markbo53 · 05-19-2015, 10:24 AM

thanks for that info Happy. I'm going to check that tomorrow.

markbo53 · 05-29-2015, 07:35 PM

So I checked all of the wire connections. every one was in good shape. I then checked the two brass round spring loaded connectors on the inside edge (hinge side) of the screen door and door frame. Those are connected to the key fob for locking the door. they work just fine. I then checked the magnetic door switch at the hinge side bottom of the door and found that to be working properly as well. I even put a heavier magnet in the magnet case, and no change. This erratic behavior only happens when the vehicle is running, weather it be in park or drive. I'm going to tinker with it some more. I'm also going to replace the magnetic door switch sense it is a cheap part just to eliminate that. I will give an update soon.
BTW, James, I was told that the circuit board very rarely goes out and should last for years.

jcorbet · 05-31-2015, 03:56 PM

My steps started working again, but it does still happen periodically. I tried all those magnet adjustments with no true resolution.

Mark I need to disconnect the hot water bathroom hose and I just can't reach it can you take the wood paneling off with cutting it or breaking it?

Thanks

markbo53 · 06-01-2015, 07:34 AM

James,
I'm not sure if you can safely remove the paneling due to not knowing if it is stapled or glued to the frame. Why do you need to remove this water line? and what problem is it causing?
Here is a plumbing diagram from WB industries. Hope this helps. http://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/...524g_plumb.pdf

jcorbet · 06-02-2015, 04:32 AM

I get hot water at kitchen sink and at shower but the hot water just trickles at bathroom sink faucet. My thought is it is clogged at the hot water line at the sink.

markbo53 · 06-22-2015, 03:47 PM

Still no answer to the steps acting crazy. I replaced the magnetic door switch, but to no avail. Guess I'll have to attempt tracing all of the wires in hopes to finding a loose one.

Thanks for all the info. I will repost if I find the problem.

Mark

BandBRetired · 06-25-2015, 08:05 AM

Good day,

We have a 2014 Itasca Meridian, and we had the same issue. The cause was indeed loose wire connectors behind the brass pins in the door frame. The connectors are just push on over a bolt--it doesn't seem like a road worthy design.
There is no slack in the wires behind the door pins so be careful you don't pull the connectors off. Good luck,

mgtr · 06-28-2015, 08:33 AM

We had exactly the same problem -- very dangerous with the steps going in and out while travelling down the road. Previous posters have the problem right. The issue is with the connectors on the hinge side of the door. I have four buttons on mine. The connectors just push on, and can be carefully tightened with needle nose pliers. The buttons move independently, so you cannot just tape everything together. The wires go through a hole in the frame, which in my case is so small that the wires hangup on the hole, thus eventually pulling off the connectors.
This will all make more sense if you remove the switch and study the problem. It is shocking that Winnebago, Kwikee, and Camping World have not figured this out.

markbo53 · 06-28-2015, 10:37 AM

The brass round spring loaded pins you guys are talking about on your coach is different from the type of mechanism used to extend and retract the stairs on my coach. Those pins on my coach are connected to the remote key fob which locks/unlocks the coach door. The switch for my steps is a oblong plastic covered magnetic switch located at the bottom of the door frame.
Here is what I have;

Dfreiberger · 07-06-2015, 06:25 PM

Mine was the connector coming off of the step motor. I inspected all the wiring and connectors; all looked good. I finally pulled the connector apart and it turned out to be corroded. Cleaned it up with contact cleaner and worked as advertised since.

NeilV · 07-08-2015, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dfreiberger

Mine was the connector coming off of the step motor. I inspected all the wiring and connectors; all looked good. I finally pulled the connector apart and it turned out to be corroded. Cleaned it up with contact cleaner and worked as advertised since.

You may want to consider dielectric grease on the contacts of that connection if water is getting inside and corroding them.

For the other - The motor stops when it sees the electrical load change indicating that the step has reached the end of its travel and will cycle with a bad connection or potentially when your charging system is acting erratically with sudden fluctuations such as a when the engine battery is starting to fail or a bare positive wire is hitting ground intermittently while traveling.

SAVGirl · 07-11-2015, 08:26 AM

Traveling on I 10 in Florida, our steps began going in and out from time to time as we moved down the road. We pulled over and after about 30 minutes of trying to figure it out - found that the wires in the coach wall the door is hinged on had frayed and pulled apart. The movement of the coach would cause the wires to touch and when touching activated the steps......I sat in the stairwell and held the wires together with needlenose pliars to keep them retracted...we called the nearest CW - fortunately it was only about 8 miles away - they fixed it right up and we were on the way......sure was a scary thing til we figured out what was happening. Happy Trails to you...

Yoders2Go · 07-12-2015, 07:00 AM

Those $@#=/$ steps!!!! We've been having the same problem since we left the dealer with our coach, brand new, a year ago! We've had it in SIX times now. Really scary when it happens in narrow construction zones! We now know how to unplug, remove entirely, replace, and mostly hate our steps. I looked at those three brass buttons (1 wasn't all the way out), that didn't fix it. I asked how to use that step lock, cuz I couldn't figure it out (I was told, not shown) they found a loose ground wire, they rewired and taped. This last time, the steps activated every time the wheels turned sharply. Memphis CW just became certified for warranty work on Winnebago stuff. I mentioned that I still didn't know about the step lock switch and guess what! It was inop! They replaced the switch, the steps are fine. So far! We just got home yesterday.....

markbo53 · 07-13-2015, 04:33 PM

hey yoders2go,
where is the step lock switch located? I haven't heard of that. I'm about to check myself into rehab trying to figure this problem out. for now I'm just disconnecting the plug to the motor under the steps when I travel.

Yoders2Go · 07-13-2015, 09:09 PM

Our step lock is a toggle type button on the bottom row of the entry door control panel. I feel your pain! It's been going on for the entire year that we've owned this coach.