Help! Jack's won't retract. Stranded

[Dallasrules]

We are ready to leave the campground and the Jack's won't retract. The panel has power and the lights flash for retraction, but the Jacks don't move.

I see there is manual retraction with the solenoid, but I have no idea where it is located.

Help please.

2011 winnebago Vista 36d

[Morich]

One that I've had do this is low fluid in the pump reservoir! Solenoids are on this pump/tank unit. It can often be spotted by looking underneath and many are just behind the front wheels. Pretty big item that has hoses from each jack leading tot he pump.
Follow the book if you can but also be aware there may be a plug on the tank side and avoid that one as the one to open is on top to avoid fluid running out and down your arm!!!

I consider the solenoid deal to be a last ditch and fluid has always solved my problems moving the jacks!
Looking a drawings, I see two builds early and late but the location is near the same for the tank!
If serial number of RV has 1 as 7th digit, this is correct but if a 2, the tank is forward a bit more.
Click for best view!

[Dallasrules]

We've got it for now. I turned the master switch off and back on and they worked.

[Dallasrules]

Do you check the fluid with the Jack's and slides in or out?

[IMDiesel]

Slides in Jacks up.....

[Morich]

Hold up a minute though? With that new info, we need to ask some more questions about what happens!
Turning the key off and back on will not be likely to fix it if the fluid is low.
when it would not move the jacks, did you hear the hydraulic pump running or did it never move to pump the fluid?
When moving the switch changes things, it leans more toward an electrical problem like a loose wire, bad switch, or control problem!

It is always good to check the fluid but this may not be the solution for this time!

[Dallasrules]

We are home, so not an urgent issue anymore. I would still like to clarify and try to figure out what happened so we don't have issues going forward.

My control for the Jack's is on the dash. My control for the slides is on the wall across from the Kitchen. I got the MH last June and have made 4 or 5 trips. There is a master switch with a key to control the slides. I start the MH, turn the key on, put slides in or out, and turn the key back off. I have never had the key on to operate the jacks.

We were ready to depart the campground and I had already put the slides in. I started the MH, emergency brake was on and my foot was on the brake. MH was in park. I pushed the button to auto stow the Jack's and the light started flashing, but nothing happened. No pumps running or any sound. Checked the emergency brake. When I released it, light came on on the jack panel saying engage emergency brake. I put the brake back on and light went out. Jack's still didn't work. I tried pushing each jack button, but no rresponse.

DH found the pump and checked the dipstick. It was dry, so assuming low on fluid. DH left to go find fluid. I was reading stuff and saw domewhere that sometimes master switch controls slides and Jack's. I went back and turned on the master switch and came back up and the Jack's worked.

I called DH back, and we went home. At home, backed into spaces and auto deployed the Jack's. They worked. The master switch was not on as I did not put the slides out.

We will still check and add fluid, but the whole situation was just weird.

There was a little Incident when I brought the main slide in. Part way in, it hesitated. It stopped moving for a second and then continued in. It was enough for me to notice it. Maybe it threw some kind of code in the system.

Does anyone know if the master switch is supposed to be on for the Jack's to work?

2011 Vista 36D

[Morich]

Whoops, I think I see a major problem if I'm looking at the correct RV!
Have you checked the operator's manual for correct info? I looked online and see them as electric slides and hydraulic jacks. That would mean they are not connected in much of any way! Other than wanting to level before extending slides, I don't see the two related??
I would work the questions as different issues but check the book to get the details as there are several things that can help.
Small points like starting the engine first to help assure you have good electrical power to things that take more power than most things. Both the hydraulic pump for the jacks and the motors for moving the slides will take a battery down pretty fast, so having the engine and alternator tied to the chassis battery and then connected to power other things is much safer as it avoids working with low battery power.
Getting the jacks to work when the slide switch is on should just be a fluke, more than an actual necessary step!
The hesitation in the slide movement may be due to not using the totally correct methods to run the slides in and out. At eh end of the movement, we should always hold the switch just a bit after the slide stops moving, That is the correct way to sycn the motor when one will run slightly faster than the other.
The motor connections have slack built in to allow for this!
A hesitation in moving can be that the two motors are not quite even and one has to "catch up" which seems like a pause. But the correct runout and back in should fix that .
Lots of difference in RV, so getting the right things done in the right order can be the problem?
Owner's manual here, if not on hand:
file:///C:/Users/Richard/Downloads/11Vista.pdf

Down in section ten for the slide info!

Like an Easter egg hunt? We have to look under all the bushes to find all the eggs!

[Dallasrules]

I agree that there is nothing to indicate any link between the Jack's and the master switch for the slides. I always have the engine running to operate the slides or the Jack's because they seem to need that power.

However, I had tried the Jack's multiple times with the auto stow, individual buttons, engine started, engine off with key on, emergency brake on and off, brake pedal depressed or not. No response. As soon as I went and turned that master switch on, boom they worked. Coincidence? Maybe. I don't know. I do know that I have not had it on before for them to work.

Possibly the fluid is very low and it just needed a little time to return to the reservoir after the slides were in? Or did you say the slides are electric and wouldn't use the hydraulics?

Maybe I will never know, but that is a scary concept.

[Morich]

Yes, the slides seem to say they are electric when I read that section in the owners manual!
Assuming they are electric and the jacks hydraulic, there is no real connection between the two, other than using 12VDC battery from the chassis.

From the owners manual page10-3:
Click this snip to see better but it really has some important things that you need to know before using the jacks and slides!


If the slides moved at all, can we assume the slide lock was disengaged before trying?

[Dallasrules]

Originally Posted by Morich

If the slides moved at all, can we assume the slide lock was disengaged before trying?

Yes I disengage the lock before moving the slides.

[Ray,IN]

What brand is your leveling system and what model? This will help identify the model if the system is HWH.
HWH systems require a clean solid ground connection for the system to function correctly.

[ldfeat]

JFYI, my HWH jack pump does not activate during retraction. The jack-retraction, I believe is accomplished by the solenoid valves opening and allowing the hydraulic fluid to drain back into the tank with the help from the jack-spings and initial coach-weight. Sounds like it could be a loose connection behind the control panel, or more likely a bad ground connection near the tank/pump area? I had this same problem once and it turned out to be heavy corrosion at the 25amp(?) holder outside/underneath at the tank/pump area. If you crawl under there while the jacks are down (RV raised), make sure you have a method like jack stands or something to prevent the jacks from inadvertently retracting and lowering the RV on top of you. Larry, 2014 Reyo P

[7997redtail]

[QUOTE We've got it for now. I turned the master switch off and back on and they worked.[/QUOTE]

Just to clarify in case this happens to me, by "master switch" you mean the on off button on the jacks panel?

[Morich]

Originally Posted by 7997redtail

[QUOTE We've got it for now. I turned the master switch off and back on and they worked.

Just to clarify in case this happens to me, by "master switch" you mean the on off button on the jacks panel?[/QUOTE]

This may be causing confusion as they have a different system than many RV with jacks and slides. They have hydraulic jacks and controls but then the slides on their RV are electric motors, not hydraulic!
that means they have the jack controls up front but a couple switches at the back on a panel. One of those switches on the panel is the master switch which controls the other switches.
Before you can unlock the latch for the slides or move slides, they have to turn on the master switch, then hit the correct switch to unlatch or move slides!
Click this snip for better view!



That is where I'm not seeing a way that changing the switch at back for the slides is likely to change the jacks and controls at the front???
Slides are electric motors with their controls at back but the jacks are hydraulic and controls at front!

But this communications stuff can lead to all kinds of confusion and I can't really say what they see is wrong.
I can't see near as well as they can, so what they see is a big deal until we find some other idea!

[7997redtail]

Much clearer.

Thanks

[sgtstriker]

I had a similar issue with my older Adventurer 38G I eventually found two 20 amp fuses and one 40 amp fuse at the hydraulic pump. The 40 amp fuse housing had degraded and the fuse worked intermittently. Replaced housing and fuse, no more problems...

[Morich]

One of the "funnies" about forums is the way we often get way deep into a question but still don't have the main points like which jack system, etc and then we may get to a point where things begin to sound near a solution but we never hear again!
In this case we got word the dipstick was dry, so that makes me feel it was way low on fluid. That might make the jacks intermittent, as the pump got fluid but not consistently?
But that was 8 days ago and we may never know if that was because adding fluids fixed it or if it became to big and they took it to a shop?

Most of us are hear because we feel the need to learn something but sometimes we hit and other times we miss!

[Tillie]

As I read it the fluid was low. It is possible that resetting the master caused the low level shutdown@alarm” to clear and enable the pump long enough to retract the jacks. The real issue was likely the fluid level.