Right Front Jack Fault

[TheMcLellans]

Hi- we have already had to replace our left front Jack due to a catastrophic failure of the mechanical Jack gear inside it - Thant happened a few months ago. Now our other landing gear - right front - is faulting. The faulting happens during auto level as well as during a manual up down movement. When the Jack faults it will not move no matter what command we use - retract all, raise front, lower front, etc. what we found is that we can unplug the harness from the 1 control unit in the front bay and hot wire it to force the Jack to move. Then we can plug it back in and use the up down controls to force it thru the cycle of at least 6in extended and then all the way back up and home. Even after doing this however the Jack often faults again. The position of the Jack is typically 2-3” down when it faults but it faults in other positions also. We are 1000 miles from home on the road.

If I could diagnose the issue and order a part we could likely arrange service. But being on the road this is challenging to say the least. Any help would be appreciated.

[Jlawles2]

It sounds as if the stroke sensor is failed or failing. By chance if you still have the old jack you might be able to rob the stroke sensor out of it for a road repair.

[howson]

If I could diagnose the issue and order a part we could likely arrange service. But being on the road this is challenging to say the least. Any help would be appreciated.

Suggest calling Lippert on Monday. They will likely be able to accurately pinpoint the issue and advise on part or component replacement.

https://support.lci1.com/contact

Don't forget there's always the manual override option.



Howard

[TheMcLellans]

It sounds as if the stroke sensor is failed or failing. By chance if you still have the old jack you might be able to rob the stroke sensor out of it for a road repair.

I do have the other drive unit - can you direct me to the strike sensor ?

[TheMcLellans]

Suggest calling Lippert on Monday. They will likely be able to accurately pinpoint the issue and advise on part or component replacement.

https://support.lci1.com/contact

Don't forget there's always the manual override option.

I think I can stop at a GD dealer - see if they can help but I will also call Lippert. Tried the manual override but under load it was impossible to move.

[Country Campers]

If you have the old motor and it worked you could just replace the motor to see if that fixes the problem. I would not remove the motor unless you support the RV, truck or blocking. The motor is connected to a gear box that has a gear set in it that may have become damaged or broken causing you to not be able to use the manual drive portion, or you are having the same issue as the other side had previously.

Brian

[Jlawles2]

I would suspect the stroke sensor is buried in the leg. There could be a hall effect sensor on the motor itself and the leveling program counts the revolutions to determine the stroke.

As suggested you can try changing the motor only and see if the issue goes away. It it imperative that you support the trailer as the motor may provides enough mechanical resistance to prevent the jack from back driving the screw. I know when the tire exited the hub on the previous 5er, the jack would hold position without load but did walk itself down on the travel home with the bouncing down the road. Something that does not seem to happen when the motor is present.

[Country Campers]

I have had one of the front jack legs apart and there is no sensor inside. The motor may have a sensor but I am not sure about that.

Brian

[howson]

Tried the manual override but under load it was impossible to move.

Maybe a mechanical issue inside the jack? I suspect the entire component will require replacement. The manual override should turn (relatively) easily with the "problem" being it takes a zillion turns to get the jack up or down due to the gear ratio.

Country Campers -- by any chance do you have a picture of the override gears (on the one you have in pieces)? Just curious...

Howard

[TheMcLellans]

So after many conversations and two techs - the decision is to replace the entire jack - so off to Duluth where we found some one to order the $800 jack and install it !

[TheMcLellans]

Now that Both jacks have been replaced- leveling is working fine.