Automatic Steps Stopped Working 2008 Sightseer 35J

bnd10706 · 10-12-2023, 09:11 AM

I have a 2008 Winnebago Sightseer 35j.

It has been sitting in my driveway for a couple of months and I am about to sell it and I went out there to start everything up, and the chasiss battery had died, so the Steps did not deploy. NO big deal, I hooked up my battery charger, and the steps started to go in and out and in and out.

I let the battery charge over night and everything with the battery is fine.

However the stairs are 100% unresponsive. Its not just the steps, but the step light too... so it makes me wonder if I blew a fuse or something in between when the battery charger was connected.

I cannot seem to find anything.

Because the step light is not coming on and because the step motor is literally only 3 months old, im guessing I did something during the charging of the battery or while it was dead. I cant find any fuse that its tied to and I cannot see any frayed wires.

Any help would be appreciated.

Morich · 10-12-2023, 09:32 AM

Three breakers for step are in box that looks just forward of the batteries on passenger side? Behind cover with label as shown?
Going by drawings, so do check the location for error?

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bnd10706 · 10-12-2023, 09:38 AM

Where is that panel? Is it outside? I do not see it in the battery compartment,

bnd10706 · 10-12-2023, 09:52 AM

OK I found the panel. I reset all the fuses (I think) And the steps still do not work.... any idea what I can do to figure this out?

Morich · 10-12-2023, 10:55 AM

Are the steps out or in?
Do you have a booklet that came with the RV from the step builder?
This will require info from the builders as Winnebago simply orders the steps from step builders and installs them. Then check that power is getting to the correct point at the steps. In that way, you will know if it is a step problem or an RV wiring problem. Cut the chase in two and then go to the one with the problem?

As a simple thing, taking little time, looking for any loose connections underneath at the steps may show something hanging loose?

It will take some testing of voltage at different points to sort the question as it can be as simple as a broken wire or bad breaker which doesn't pass the power or as difficult as a bad step part like controls or motor.

Part of that means the switch at the lower side of the door has to be making contact to show them closed. If the wires on that contact are broken or the switch bad, the steps will almost always stay out as it gets no signal when the door is closed.

bnd10706 · 10-12-2023, 10:58 AM

So I have chased all the wires.

Everything looks good from what I can tell.

The steps worked GREAT until I hooked up the battery charger to the battery, then the stairs went in and out and in and out until they just stoped.

They are currently sitting half open and half closed.

This is where I am confused.

I think the battery charger did something to the electrical.

Slinky57 · 10-12-2023, 06:24 PM

Recently had a simikar problem with my 2001 427p. It had a bad controller which was only a couple years old. I have a series 32 kwikee unit. If you can release the steps, check the gears for wear. Also check the motor operation wth 12v power source. I had a motor go bad a few years ago, too. Another easy check is making sure you have good ground connections at both ground wires. Hope this helps. Good luck. Oh, yeah, Lippert had really great customer service when I called them. Hopefully, they still do.

bnd10706 · 10-12-2023, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slinky57

Recently had a simikar problem with my 2001 427p. It had a bad controller which was only a couple years old. I have a series 32 kwikee unit. If you can release the steps, check the gears for wear. Also check the motor operation wth 12v power source. I had a motor go bad a few years ago, too. Another easy check is making sure you have good ground connections at both ground wires. Hope this helps. Good luck. Oh, yeah, Lippert had really great customer service when I called them. Hopefully, they still do.

the motor is literally brand new. The problem is power is not getting down to the step. I can tell because the step light is not turning on either, and I had installed some additional ground effects lights, and they do not turn on either.

Something happened when I plugged in the charger, I saw it happen. The steps doing repeated open / close until it just stoped is a good indicator... the steps not working i could get, but no power at all going down to them..

Slinky57 · 10-13-2023, 05:38 AM

Okay, so mine also had no power or light coming on. I did have a 30 amp blade fuse in my coach 12v panel that had blown. I replaced that and still no step power, but think it may have happened when my controller fried, don't know the cause. Anyway, after that I checked for 12v power at the 4 way step connector. It had power both from coach batteries and from the chassis battery when the ignition switch was on.
This told me the ossue was in the step unit itself. From there I checked the ground wires, the motor, and the door override switch and the magnetic switch. These were all working and had power. So other than a short to ground somewhere, this only left the control module. I just happened to have a spare one, so I changed it out and now steps work just like new. Although I still don't know why the old one stopped working.
I had a terrible time getting to everything, because my steps were stuck in the closed position. Once I got the steps disconnected, the rest was fairly easy.
Hopefully this will help you find your step issue. I'm not much of an electrician myself, so I know how frustrating these things can be.-- Slink

bnd10706 · 10-13-2023, 06:01 AM

Ok so your suggesting checking the controller? any idea where a good place to start to locate that is?

Slinky57 · 10-13-2023, 09:22 AM

The control module is the small, black plastic box located under the steps with all the wires coming out of it. If you follow the wires, you will find a 4 pin connector which you can disconnect to check the power coming in to the steps. One is power from the batteries and one is from the ignition to retract the steps when you start your engine. At least you will know then if you have power up to that point in the system.

bnd10706 · 10-13-2023, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slinky57

The control module is the small, black plastic box located under the steps with all the wires coming out of it. If you follow the wires, you will find a 4 pin connector which you can disconnect to check the power coming in to the steps. One is power from the batteries and one is from the ignition to retract the steps when you start your engine. At least you will know then if you have power up to that point in the system.

Ok. I am going to check on this today... i will follow up at the end of the day or tomorrow, if i get confused, ill take some photos.

Morich · 10-13-2023, 10:03 AM

Be aware that the steps are far more complex in their operation than I first thought. It does lots of small things that I have never gotten far enough to have to figure out but it doesn't use anything like a simple set of switches to stop at end of travel but senses current flow and that gets far spooky if I don't have drawings to see what it does or manual to see what to expect. Never had to get that far but the info is online at some point as it has been discussed a number of times on the forum here!

cthiggy · 10-18-2023, 06:49 PM

Fer whut hits wurth: Had a similar issue. Power to step light, but no step motor movement. Replaced the Step Motor and the Steps worked about four (4) times as door was opened/closed, then stopped working again.

Spent many hours chasing that, cuz like OP, the Step motor was new. RIGHT?? FINALLY, disconnected the two (2) wire connector from the control module and injected 12 VDC from a car battery directly into the two (2) wire connector on the step motor side. Nothing, no movement by step motor at all on either pin.

Returned the defective "new" step motor and got another under warranty. The second step motor has worked fine for about eight (8) months and counting.

Notes: IF STEP Light illuminates on door opening, there is chassis power to the control module. Remember, the step light does not remain "ON". So check this immediately on opening the entrance door. Plus if step light illuminates on opening the entrance door, that suggests all the interlocks are valid or control module would not have power to the light.

According to Lippert documents, the chassis battery needs to be charged. I think I read 12.6 Volts. There are quite a few Lippert Troubleshooting documents for the steps on their website. Step operation on the surface appears fairly simple, however the circuit design is anything but.

If you confirm the chassis battery is fully charged and there is 12+ VDC on the correct pin in the four (4) pin connector from the chassis and the step light fails to illuminate on door opening, I would take a hard look at the control module and step system grounds. Good Luck.

Ray,IN · 10-18-2023, 07:11 PM

Kwikee Products Service Training Manual
That will cover everything about your Kwikee steps including how to test everything in a logical manner.
The ground, of which there are two, is very important to proper operation. Some folks forget about the 2nd half of a 12V circuit.
That said, I believe you'll find that charger supplied too much voltage and fried things.

WatchMeRV · 10-18-2023, 07:34 PM

This is going to sound weird, but try resetting the controller. Open/Close the door quickly about 8 times. It's worth a try.

Campering · 10-19-2023, 01:22 PM

As Morich said, the controller does much more than just provide a switch. If the steps were going in and out only partially when connecting the charger I would suspect not enough amperage to complete the travel, or some mechanical restriction not allowing free travel the full distance. After a bit of continuous in and out I suspect something fried.

I would guess you have some sort of mechanical issue as evidenced by the need to replace the motor recently. Check the gears for wear, fit, lubrication, and freedom to function. Then do the same for all the joints and linkages on the steps themselves. On our 2006 Sightseer we once had an issue where the steps would not retract correctly and I disconnected the battery and did a thorough cleaning, rust removal, and lubrication of all the mechanical items. Since then I clean and lubricate at least seasonally and have had no issues.

Morich · 10-19-2023, 01:59 PM

The manual ray referred to will give some really good tests to run if like most of their manuals. But one hangup on that is to get the correct version of the manual. The one Ray gives a link to seems to mention a change they were going to make in 2005, so if the OP has an RV from 2008, that specific manual may not have the later info?
however it does mention a link to the website where the info is much more likely to include the changes made.
The controller is one item that is sure to have had some mods in the last 15-20 years!