Slide out binding on one side

[Ted Fyden]

My back slide out is for my closet only on driver side. It starts to open and then one side stops while the other keeps going. I was able to push on the side that binds so at least. I can make the bed. Gonna see what happens when I try to get it in. I’m not that tall to push in the middle. Is there a motor or something where I can’t see it? It’s also a different style gear. That one is squiggly the other two look like actual gears.

 

[Morich]

There may be some help in looking at this slide in the parts drawings.
First is a look at the "gear?" strip that moves it. That does tell us that it is a motor driving a gear in that track. I'm sure it has a name but not one I know! Big point is that it is not a hydraulic type movement.

I think there will be a motor hidden in the corner of the slide as I marked in red. I don't know if it is above or below the gear track but there may be a strip of trim at that corner which can be removed to get to the motor if needed. That part is really vague in my mind, so would need some looking for location.
On my RV, there was a rubber seal/flap that could be pulled to the side to expose the motor????

Reading tells me this can be a problem in the motor itself OR it can be an operator problem! I'm always open to me being the problem if it avoid having to fix some part!

This motor system is designed with a bit of slop or looseness in the gears as two motors never actually run at the same speed! They recomend actually holding the switch to a bit after the slide stops moving whether in or out. That allows the slower motor to catch up fully as the gear is built somewhat loose. This is not something that bothers the motor and is designed to keep them in "sycn"!
Operator error would be a good thing!
But there seems to be a builtin problem and it can needed a real fix.
It may be a motor problem OR it may be a wiring problem. The control wires hang down and seem to need more support or attachment?

If you think of a set of wires running down the corner as I marked in blue, those wires hang down and as we hit bumps, etc., it tends to jerk on those wires! At some point they can creat a problem at the motor or at a plug where the motor harness is plugged to the wiring harness.
A third problem is that water can get in and corrode the connections at the motor!
A controller box like on the under side of the slide where the wires plug, maybe worth a check?
Search for motor replacement or problems may turn up tons of videos as a source of more indepth info?

Hope for the best but assume the worst?

Correction or added confusion? I see a different set of motro and track on the front slide and it is on the body, instead of the slide corner. There appears to be several different motor options, depending on exact build date of the RV, so I may have posted the wrong date. Be aware the motor may be near body or near outside but this is a better picture of what it may look like. This is from the front slide but may change with different build dates!

 

[Ted Fyden]

When I looked at the drawing for my RV it looks like there is only one motor on one side. That’s actually the side that’s binding up. I love operator error because I can fix that ( hopefully )( depending if it’s me or co pilot. lol ). I got the part number off of the drawings. The tracks seem like a Continuous s. My other two slides look like gear tracks.

 

[Morich]

Agree! I like finding I screwed it up---just as long as nobody else noticed!

On the motors, I have not found what or why the track looked different but I would be surprised to only find one motor on one side?? Assuming and without looking, I thought both would have the same motor, gear, and track. If there is a track on each side, I would guess it is more a drawing error than fact!
As in all things, I have to assume there are some errors and I have found some that look very much like the folks doing the drawing just kind of missed when they were doing things.
Computers are good for letting us make mistakes on one page and then while looking at other pages we never spot what we left dead on the first page!
One of the "funnies" I find on several plumbing drawings is that they show water lines coming into the area under a faucet but the lines from the faucets often just go straight down and not connect to the lines!
Two build dates for the plumbing? I'm betting the lines were actually meant to connect to the faucets on early and late year builds!

I'm thinking the filter on the left is NOT going to work! But the sink on the right looks a bit awkward with two faucets?

I get around to thinking we have excuses for mistakes. We can always point to somebody else making them, too!
My favorite to keep in mind?
The only people making mistakes are the ones that are WORKING!

 

[Ted Fyden]

Thank you. There are tracks on both side so I will try to get up on top and see. Definitely I will look at both side. I may get two motors depending on cost. Might need a spare. Thanks again. The other two slides must be heavier so there probably a different system.

 

[Ted Fyden]

When closing slide it does not bind at all. Maybe only one wire is shot. Gonna pull it out I guess and do the research.

 

[Morich]

Since the motors can be a trick to get out at times, there may be an easier way to start to look for trouble?
If you can find the slideout control box, there is likely to be two sets of wires, one for each side motor. I think they are pulugs that can be taken out reasonably easy?
If you have one motor being suspect and one good, one way to check and maybe see if the wiring is good/bad is using a meter.
If you have a good motor and see continuity from that plug up to the motor and back on a pair of wires but not on the same wires on the other motor, that can tell you where there might be a break in the wires!
Another idea to check before trusting is that I "feel" you may be able to swap the two wire plugs. Since they both run out and in at the same time could one then check which seems to be the problem child?

Not tried to do much on these as my problem was totally obvious and did not require testing! My rpobelm was the motor top was getting wet and combined with the wires jerking down evey bump, the wires split, corroded, and fried! No test needed!

If you do get into removing the motors, look for a set sticking out on the side you can access. That screw went through the framework and into th eside of the motro. Once backed out, the motor could then be pried up to get the gears loose off the track. There was some type opening in the metal channel where I could then lift and tilt the motor out!
Memory is getting kind of foggy but you might look for something like that!
Best of luck to you!

 

[worc1349]

My slideout in my Minnie winnie would go out cockeyed and stop. I have a motor on both sides. I used crc power lube w/ptfe on motors and track and it fixed the issue. I found that fix here on this forum. I did not take good notes, for this problem.

 

[Upinsmoke]

worc, your problem is not uncommon in the least and there is SO much information out there on the subject.

I'm attaching a link to MyRVWorks video series on everything RV repair. The guy is very long winded but very knowledgeable, so I put up with it. He has a playlist of, I believe, 14 videos devoted to slides alone. Your problem will be in there somewhere. My RV Works, Inc.

Your slides are very likely made by Lippert Component Industries (LCI) and they have great customer service. However, before you call them, I would gain some knowledge of your system so you can explain, and understand, while speaking the same language.

To the best of my knowledge, the ONLY lube you are supposed to use on the slide tracks is mad by CRC in a green can and contains PTFE. This info will also be in the video series above.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ted Fyden]

Thank you. I put it out and tried to find a cap or something to take off and it seems as though it’s gonna be some work involved in this lol. Not sure I am capable of taking everything apart that needs to be taken apart. Will try line first. Thanks again

 

[creativepart]

The tracks seem like a Continuous s. My other two slides look like gear tracks.

Ted, the tracks that look like a continuous ”S” are Schwintec slides. The tracks that look like gears are PowerGear slides.

If you search YouTube for troubleshooting Schwintec slides you should find plenty of advice.

Personally I would hire an independent mobile tech to come to my RV to determine what’s needed rather than just buy motors. You could find it’s cheaper overall. But, you do you.

 

[Morich]

I never want to buy parts until I check the wiring as it is far more common than failed motors.
One way to test the motors is to find the controller and look at how the motors connect. It is often possible to revere the motor wiring as they are plugged into the controller.

Maybe swap the motor leads and that tells you which direction to chase the issue? If the trouble follows the motor, move toward the motor. But if the issue stays on the same connection at the controller, possibly that is the problem. Maybe the plug got wet on the controller and is corroded?

A second way to look at the motor direction without getting access to it is using a meter to look at and compare the wires on one motor to the wires on the other. If you see a dead short on one set, on one motor but different on the other motor, you can bet on problem is in the motor direction, not toward the controller.

If we find a difference in the readings on one motor compared to the other, it may STILL not need a new motor. It may be a problem where the motor wiring plugs to the wiring harness coming up from the controller.
One of the dirty little secrets on repair is that a new motor WILL often clear a problem. But it may be because a new motor has a shiny new connector on the end! The difference in price may only be a few hundred dollars!

That RV mech is not there to save you money but to transfer money from you to him!

 

[Ted Fyden]

The wife says it is under our warranty so we may try that if the lube don’t work. I used to consider myself handy in a sense but now I break things. Lol.

 

[Danjuan]

Slide out binding on one side…

Hi
We have a 2020 Navion J with Lippert slide gear.

I have to ‘chime in’ here; last fall, I went to bring slide in and it would only come in a few inches, then stop with the problem seeming like rear side.

Frustrating because snow was predicted and I didn’t want awning to deal with that but then, it’s always a problem where and when ever the thing won’t retract !
Of course, I dug into the internut to give me a clue and concluded it was a motor or wire or controller ( finding the controller was another unexpected challenge, fyi, it’s in exterior storage compartment below slide ).
Upon further inspection of outside tracks on a ladder, in daylight, I found the culprit ! Waaay simple too.
A small chunk of the rubber insulation seal had broken off and lodged on the track and motor’s pinion gear, bingo, removed, lubed, and now works perfectly.
Thru this, I did learn ‘things’ including that to properly sync motors, not to stop motion until slide is either in or out and to hold switch in for a few seconds after and it clicks to a stop on it’s own : )

Anacortes Wa Dan & Jean

 

[Morich]

The wife says it is under our warranty so we may try that if the lube don’t work. I used to consider myself handy in a sense but now I break things. Lol.

Sometimes the wife has good ideas! Getting to these motors is often a bit of question for me. Our run wasa motor which had to be accessed from the inside as it was located on the inside of the RV outer wall. Hope that makes sense!
The main problem was that you have to access the motor from inside the Rv but with the slide half way and we had a wall near enough to the left side of the slide that space was really tight!

I got it done but it was not fun, so if warrenty is involved, I'd gladly go for it, even if there is a bit of deductible!

 

[dickb46]

We had a problem with our rear slide going out rough but coming in fine.
Our coach is a lot older than yours but....
It was the slide topper pulling on one side. We replaced the topper fabric and all is smooth now.
dickb

 

[moabdds]

Is it possible that the motors are just out of sync? That happened on my 2016 Itasca 27N. I found a video on Youtube that showed how to easily get them back in sync and they've worked fine for a year since my problem. They would start to go out, but one side ahead of the other until it would bind up. They would roll back in OK, but not out. Try Googling Youtube.

They are easy to get out of sync if you stop them before they have gone all the way in or out and shut themselves off. Our Winnebago dealer said never, ever run them part way and then stop. He said that could cause it.

 

[Ted Fyden]

While buying the slide line I saw some dry lube for windows. I sprayed the wrong side lace on the first window and got the back window. Then I figured I would spray back into the track where window was. Worked like a charm. The slide is working also. I sprayed the four tracks with lube and also did the sync thing. All set for now. Thanks everyone.