2016 Journey 38P Slide out/Bed Issue

[ke4jr]

We're having an issue that could be a real problem, so please could someone help and explain what and where is the problem.
After we've parked, leveled the coach and extended our bedroom slideout the bed won't slide front or aft. If I retract the slideout back in about a foot and extend it again, then the bed will work. This has happened the last few trip stop setups. I'm becoming leary that one day I won't be able to extend the bed fully flat to sleep... any suggestions? We do still have the air matress it came with. Thank you in advance

[creativepart]

This is a fairly common occurrence and you'll find plenty of posts on this here and on IRV2.com.

Let's start at the beginning: under your bed there is a limit switch, basically a light switch that turns the bed tilt function on/off. It's meant to protect you so that you wont deploy the bedroom slide with the bed still extended.

When the bed is fully retracted (tilted) there's a little "arm" under the bed that hits the limit switch and tells the bed's controller that it's safe to put the bed in the extended position.

The switch can go bad, but most likely is the "arm" is not contacting the switch correctly. When you are doing your slide action workaround all that's happening is the arm is correctly contacting the switch.'

When my bed will not extend I go to the foot of the bed and "bump" the bed platform up toward the head of the bed. This seems to move the arm just enough to contact the limit switch and... voila the bed will move.

I'm not suggesting that this is all you need, but it's worth a try.

Many simply bypass the limit switch and be done with any issues forever. You remove your mattress, lift the bed platform and look for the switch with two yellow wires. Yellow wires are always 12v wires on a Winnebago. So, the switch is bypassed if you remove the two yellow wires and connect them to each other. Bingo. No more problems.

PS. We got rid of the air mattress during our first year of ownership. MUCH better.

[Morich]

Alternate view of maybe the same but I'm working only from drawings?

I spot a switch and then also I have some thoughts that one might want to check for any cables or wires that might be getting hooked at times and unplugged part way.

Depending how reliable the failure, you may have something getting "semi-snagged" one time and pulling the connection apart enough to stop but then work when the strain is relieved?
I would want to look at any wiring that I could see. But I also found different points on the drawings that may be worth a check??

Do you have an access panel under the foot of the bed as marked on this drawing? It shows a controller ( with wires?) mounted on the back of the access and also a switch for the bed movement?

Looks like those two would be fairly easy to look at and wiggle a few things to see if it changes.

[Wayne M]

Look at page 7 to calibrate bed controller as it may be the problem. Nothing lost by trying it.

I had a switch failure. Had to jumper the wires. Must remember that the big slide is not supposed to be brought in until the bed is in the upright tilt position. With the switch jumper the system is in override. Pulling the big slide in before the tilt bed is up is going to bust something.

I put a note on the slide switches to remind me to tilt the bed before bringing in any slides.

I have a new switch, just not ready to install it yet. Probably when DW reminds me in 6 months. I try to tell her that I don't need to be reminded every 6 months. She forgets most of the time and reminds me.

[ke4jr]

Thanks, and it's exactly what I did. Took both yellow cables and joined them together with a 5amp auto fuse and taped the connections to hold in place. Then I took a label maker and made a label "REMINDER, retract bed upright prior to retracting slide out or destruction will occur" and placed it next to the slide-in/out switch and the bed tilt switch.

[Wayne M]

Us HAM's stick together,
KE5QG

[ke4jr]

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