Entry Steps Won’t Deploy in Cold Weather on 2024 Adventurer 35F

[phak1]

When I attempt to enter my RV when It’s cold, the entry steps won’t come down. After I start it and it warms up a bit, they seem to work fine.

Ant ideas?

 

[Morich]

It will take a bit of testing to find the true cause as there are two main points that may make the steps not move at allor be slow to move.
One is themechanical parts of the step may need attention. They may be slow or hard to move if they need lubrictation/oil or if there are some part binding/bent to make them drag!
It is often good to do somelube on the points where the steps are connected together. this is just like other things and may need a bit of grease or olied to make them move easier?
This can happen more often when we may have been driving in snow that has been treated with chemcals as they may rust sooner?

But when you mentione they work after the engine is started for a bit, that may mean the battery voltage used to move them is not as hgh as it should be. Older batteries, those that have been stored for longer periods to let them run down?
One the engine is started, the engine alternator will give higher voltage and possibly make the steps work better. This can trick us if the real problem is the steps are hard to move as they may then move when we give them higher voltage.
One way to help decide if it is a mechanical problem or if it is a battery vlotage problem is to leave the RV set for at least 8 hours and then check the battery voltage. The battery voltage may just be low and you need to deal with that question? New battery or making sure the one you have is not slowly running down while stored?
But a bit harder problem may be that the battery test shows good but ther emay be corroded or dirty/loose cables between the battery and the steps! To really do a good job of testing that, we ahve to find where that wiring gets to the steps and check the voltage is actually getting from the battery to the steps. That often means we need to get down and crawl around the steps! ARGH!

Normally I don't think of starting the engine as warming the steps but it does give better voltage! But lube on things that move is almost always a good thing!
Good luck on the search!

 

[be happy]

I for the most part go along with what richard said. Never thought much about it but the battery may have more to do with it than thought. It does not take much to make RV items not work as designed and steps are part of that. I know my coach unless I clean the moving parts and spray with a good silicone lubricant they do not want to work. You living in upstate NY where it gets really cold may have a issue with the lubrication you use and or the low power batteries.

 

[phak1]

I went to check the voltage with it being cold (about 24°) and the steps did not come down. I thought perfect, test it when the problem is present. I checked the voltage on the battery and it was 12.84 so that is not causing the problem. About five minutes after I got there (without starting the engine), the steps came down and continued to work from the rest of the afternoon.

I looked to see if there was easy access to diagnose, but it’s tucked up nicely into the body. Where I’m parked, there is snow and ice and with temps in the twenty's, I packed it in for now.

I don’t think lubrication would be causing it not to work when it’s cold. It’s not even trying to start.

Any other Ideas?

 

[be happy]

Boy you have my old brain working on over load. I have no reason for not working in the cold. Check the magnetic switch on the screen door maybe it built up some type of moisture barrier when cold. One more maybe if you have a toggle switch near the door to turn the steps on or off. Its wiring may be affected by temperature, if possible, check the connection.
Again no reason for only when cold. Good Luck

 

[Morich]

When real actual cold, not just chilly, there are times when things get just really funky. PPart of cold is that things like wires can move and they can actually get smaller! What that can mean is that some metal part that feeds power to the step may actually move just enough to stop the power from getting to things that need it.
That can get really difficult to find, so let me add some thiughts that may be easier? Avoid the tough if we can do it easy?? Nice idea of we can get it to work!

But there are times when we don't give battery problems enough deep thinking. One is remembering that they are a slow chemical reaction and we need to make sure of that basic battery power and not fool ourselves. Not at all saying this is true and you certainly know more about how, what and when you are doing the testing.
But when you say the battery is over 12.7-12.8, that says it was not fully settled and stable as lead acid will only hold near 12.7.
Idea is not to let the battery fake you out if there is any reason to question it getting good power to the steps!
I am certain I would wait until out of the snow but iot may hel;p to go under and check to make sure that voltage is actually getting tot he connection at the step motor! Maybe take it loose and use alittle spray contact cleaner as one way to help get that idea off the list? Lots of little scary thoughts could be involved buty there are times when just making sure of the small points like connections, even if it is only taking them off and cleaning them,, can cure some weird stuff!
Metal contacts, etc. can shrink when cold but then batteries andlots of other stuff get funky, too.
ARGH! Where and what is still the big question!
But we gotta start somewhere on ruling some of those parts out, so maybe work on the easier for starters, before going for big thing like changing step motros and such. The big stuff can happen but there are lots more of the small stuff!

The fact that the stesp do not seem to be trying can tell us something? If they wer hanging up mechanically, that should mean the motor draws more power and maybe blows a fuse? But if there is no fuse trouble and it started working, I might lean toward a connection problem?

 

[phak1]

Thanks Richard! I agree that it seems like a connection problem and I believe, as you pointed out, the first step would be to see the actual voltage where it connects to the step. Only 13° today, so I will have to wait for a warmer day!

 

[RayIN]

Kwikee Steps recommends monthly cleaning and lubrication.
Kwikee also uses the ground connections to switch motor direction, poor connection=poor performance.
reference: Kwikee Products Service Training Manual

FWIW, my Kwikee steps work the same whether it's 90° or 0°F.

 

[cthiggy]

Ladies & Gentlemen: Lots of good info above. My 2020 Winnebago Navion does exactly the same thing here in warm Florida. IF on a trip in which we are driving virtually every day (charging chassis battery), the steps function perfectly/reliability. IF I allow the vehicle to sit for as long as two (2) weeks in storage, the steps will NOT extend when the house door is opened. Like others, starting the engine and running it for just a minute or two, the steps will extend normally when opening the house door. I read something a couple of years ago that stated the steps need a minimum of 12.6 VDC to function. With ALL the vehicle electronics drawing down the chassis battery, that may very well explain everything. The cold weather just exacerbates the issue. Your mileage may vary.

 

[ldfeat]

I went to check the voltage with it being cold (about 24°) and the steps did not come down. I thought perfect, test it when the problem is present. I checked the voltage on the battery and it was 12.84 so that is not causing the problem. About five minutes after I got there (without starting the engine), the steps came down and continued to work from the rest of the afternoon.

I looked to see if there was easy access to diagnose, but it’s tucked up nicely into the body. Where I’m parked, there is snow and ice and with temps in the twenty's, I packed it in for now.

I don’t think lubrication would be causing it not to work when it’s cold. It’s not even trying to start.

Any other Ideas?

 

[ldfeat]

Look for wire connectors under the steps and disconnect those and spray electrical cleaner in both sides of the connector. Electric cleaner is available at any auto parts store. Larry 2014 Reyo P

 

[John Gozza]

I just went through the same thing with my View 24D. Even though I run the chassis engine (and the generator) every other week, apparently I was not running the engine long enough to adequately charge the chassis battery, and is is cold here at night. When I moved the RV out behind the gate, I had the same issue; steps extended but would not retract (even when I started the engine (and the low battery symbol was on, on the dash.

I lubricated hinges, checked the wires, and door switch, and tapped on the motor for the steps…no luck. Then I ran the engine for 20 minutes and bingo, the battery charge warning was gone and the steps worked.

So chassis battery is likely your culprit too. I would suggest that if you can, attach a battery maintainer (battery tender) to your chassis battery, to keep it adequately charged.

 

[Morich]

It is certain that battery voltage has to be good but the part that we can miss is how that voltage gets from battery to where we need it!
If we try with a weak battery, that can stop the step. If we then start the eengine and it STILL will not move, it is not a weak battery but a bad connection!
With the engine alternator running the voltage right at the post should pop up imediately to higher than the float voltage of leadacid at 12.7-12.8. that plenty to move the steps but not if only 10 volts is getting ALL the way to the step!
All those little hidden connections have to be done right to pass that voltage on.
We can fake it by keeping a charger on the battery to keep it higher but eventually the real problem with connections will have to be found and fixed!
Corrosion rarely goes away by itself?

 

[cthiggy]

phak1, I am not confident the voltage check at the chassis battery is adequate. Suggest checking the voltage at the STEP Controller and/or the electric motor itself on opening the door. I have to start engine and run it for at least one (1) minute to effect the chassis battery voltage. I worked the same issue for several weeks on a 2020 winnebago NAVION Sprinter which I can barely crawl under so I feel your pain. Never sure about the DC losses from source to the equipment so measuring the applied voltage at the electric motor is a more accurate indicator. Also, don't forget to check the GREEN ground wire that is screwed to the vehicle for corrosion. P.S. Might want to check the positive voltage at the electric motor with the negative lead on the GREEN wire screw as door is opened. Just my humble opinion.

 

[phak1]

It was warm enough today, about 55°, for me to do a few checks today when I opened the door, the steps did not respond. I started the truck and they still didn’t come down for at least ten minutes. I turned off the engine, pulled apart the connector that feeds the step and got 12.9 volts. I sprayed both sides of the connector with contact cleaner, and filled the connector with dielectric grease before reconnecting. I did the same for the two connectors going to the motor. I’ll have to check tomorrow if anything I did helped.

I found a connection that was hanging with no apparent place for it to plug into. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the issue.

 

[Morich]

Some small points on batteries can drive us silly as they are so simple that we may kick ourselves when we find what they have done to us!
One is the way we can get fooled so easily when looking at voltage. One basic to keep in mind is that the nature of lead acid is that the best battery ever will only maintain in the range of 12.7 to 12.8! So when we get any reading above that we can say for sure that we are not getting an honest and true reading of the whole battery that has had time to become stable after charging!
A read up on "surface charge" may help with details!

But lead acid are often talked about as if they are barrels where we put some really thick item like syrup. If we look at voltage at the post, it is like looking in the small hole of a barrel. If we look at the hole while pouring syrup in, we may see the barrel as totally full.
If we stop filling the barrel and look too soon, we may still see a pile of syrup that has not settled yet.
Much the same with batteries! We look while charging and we see way more than the battery actually has. If we wait but not long enough after taking the charge off and we may still see 13 volts if the battery has not become stable! It may take 6-8 hours to get a good reading but in the meantime we make think we are the luckiest person in the world becausue OUR battery is super great and charged up way above normal in just a few minutes! WRONG!
You've just fallen into the "surface charge " trap! When you see 12.9, you are not getting the true reading of ALL the chemicals as the change works it's way down through all of the cells. We put the elctrons in cell one but it take time for them to get around to cell 6!
A couple points that may help sort. Looking at the battery posts, will often show a high reading when you rev the engine and it goes up immediately to as high as 13.5+.
But that does not mean the battery is charged as it is the same as looking in the hole of a barrel while pouring in the syrup! Chemical process that works very slow, so if you stop the engine and come back in 5-10 minutes you will likely not see a very high reading, once things settle!
But a way to test the connections on cables between the battery and the steps is to check voltage to ground on the metal of the post itself, then on the metal of that clamp and finally down under at the step. If the post and clamp read different, you have corrosion beteen them, if the reading at the step is not within a tenth or two, you have a poor conncection between the two points!

When I hear steps work after running the engine for a time, I jump very quickly to bad connections. When the steps won't work, they are not getting enough power. Is it a weak battery, a poor connection or do we think the steps are bad?
But if we run the engine for fifteen minutes, that will get the surface charge at the battery bumped up higher, which may in turn get what the step motor gets into a range it can use to move!

Too easy to say warming the engine gets the step warm. Very easy for weak battery supply reaching the step motor to fool us!

 

[RayIN]

It was warm enough today, about 55°, for me to do a few checks today when I opened the door, the steps did not respond. I started the truck and they still didn’t come down for at least ten minutes. I turned off the engine, pulled apart the connector that feeds the step and got 12.9 volts. I sprayed both sides of the connector with contact cleaner, and filled the connector with dielectric grease before reconnecting. I did the same for the two connectors going to the motor. I’ll have to check tomorrow if anything I did helped.

I found a connection that was hanging with no apparent place for it to plug into. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the issue.

If you look in that service manual to which I linked, you will discover where that purple wire goes, and why.
Keep in mind Kwikee steps are always "hot", there is no off switch.

 

[phak1]

It’s still got a mind of its own. Today the steps came down when I opened the door. When I went to leave about 30 minutes later, the steps would not go down.

I skimmed thru the Kwikee Products Service Training Manual and saw some troubleshooting steps so I’ll give that a try.

 

[RayIN]

Kwikee recommends cleaning and lubricating the steps monthly. They are subject to everything on a road. The most important are the ground connections, as the step motor is always hot, the controller switches the ground to reverse the motor.

 

[Morich]

A point that can be really goofy, is the little magnetic switch down at lower side of the door. It may be getting weak or sticking as it is called a "reed switch" and is really just a thin piece of wire that a magnet moves when the door is opened or closed. They can get funky, sometimes sticking open, sometimes closed and drive us silly!
If you take the cover off, you may see two wires. One way to go, might bet to take one wire off and do the connection manually by touching that wire to the other , as if opening and closing the door.
Or you may find a wire that is not quite screwed on solidly?
They get lots of abuse and dirt so close to the floor!!
And if your batteries are right under the steps, somebody may have found they could work in the battery compatment without the steps in the way if they put a manget on that switch!
But I found out the hard way that I could use too strong magnet and bend the little reed !