Kwikee steps not extending 2018 Sunstar 29VE

[edju]

I've got a 2018 Sunstar 29VE. The steps are not extending, they are just staying in the retracted state. I saw a post from dkoldman from kwikee for troubleshooting that I need to go through. But I thought the first thing to look for is a blown fuse or tripped breaker. I found some push button breakers in the outside panel on the drivers side, but they seem fine. I'm wondering if there are any other fuses or breakers to check, but I can't find any documentation for where they might be. These steps have worked fine just a few days before. I put a charger on the chassis battery at that time, and after that it has not worked. I can't see why charging the chassis battery would affect the steps. Any other ideas or fuses to check?
Thanks,
Ed

 

[RayIN]

First check the free things. You've already made sure the 12V breakers are set by pushing in on them, if one is tripped it extends out about 1/8"and move inward when needing reset.
Next is the door magnetic switch, the magnet is mounted on the bottom of the screen door, the magnetic/reed switch mounted on the stepwell wall. The magnet should just touch the switch, and the 2 wires connected to the magnetic switch, clean and tight connections. Use a multimeter to test for the presence of 12V.
Next is the 2 ground connections for the steps, they too must be clean and tight.
Exercise care when working near the steps, they are always "hot"; the controller switches motor direction by switching the ground,, and can thus move unexpectedly and are powerful enough to sever a finger..
This is the Kiwkee Products Service Training Manual to assist you in diagnosing and rectifying the problem.

 

[edju]

Kwikee working now

Thanks Ray for your feedback.
I thought I'd start over and double check things. Checked all breakers, measured battery, put a magnet next to the door switch and heard a click, but no movement. Since the engine was off, I switched the step switch on and off a few times and left in on, in auto mode. I crawled under, wires looked fine and the main ground looked solid to the frame. I next unplugged the two pin connector that I think controls the direction of the motor. I also tapped on the motor as some suggested. I then unplugged the four pin connector and when I plugged it back, the stairs extended. I read somewhere that the controller is based on motor current and if it sees a high current due to a blockage, it retracts and shuts down. I'm not sure if that's correct, maybe someone else that have talked with Kwikee can explain. But as long as it was out, I lubed the pivots. I have opened and closed the door several times, and it's working so far.

 

[Morich]

This is a place where we really need to go direct to the manual as the steps are not all the same! They have been installed for years and there have been lots of changes made on the steps, so the only real way to know what to expect from our specific set of stesp is to go by the book.
I highly recommend doing as Ray suggested and checking the book. One of the first good things to know is how to spot which model and version of step controller we have and the book gives very good details on that.
We would not expect to solve a problem on a 2024 Cadillac using the info for a 68 ford and the steps are very much the same.
The manual gives drawings and warnings that are really important if we want to get the steps to work as they should.
With drawings to let us look and find the points to check and things like where we should test to find voltages and those point on different steps are different, it is just a waste of time to try to fly blind and guess.
Ray has worked on the steps before and found it far better to follow a guide!
Just knowing which steps and which controller is a big start!