Slide out not working, only clicking

[Dave27]

Dave27 The more I look at those gears, being a plastic and metallic interface at the motor, I would suspect there would be a notch cut in the teeth if the motor were spinning. Have you looked at that drive clutch on the left side of the picture? When you describe the clicking, is it the same clicking noise you get when extending or retracting when you let go of the button too late after the slide races full travel? The clicking at all positions would seem to point toward the drive clutch vs the drive gears. Also if it were drive gears, you should be able to move the slide ever so slightly and get it to grab another set of teeth and start moving.

You may want to inspect the guides, tracks, and rollers (if present) for binding. You mentioned that the override only worked 1 time, then it got hard. This might point to a different problem than just the motor.

Jlawles2 What should I look for on the drive clutch? In the normal operation to the slide, when it was fully retracted, there was a loud "clank-clank-clank" sound. When it started to malfunction, there would be a softer clicking sound when trying to open the slide. When the switch was reversed there would be the normal louder clank. When retrying the switch it operated normally. It happened sporadically for a while, I never heard it, only my wife. Then a few days ago, it would not open, only clicking on open, clank on retraction. I explained above what happened the last time. After that there was only the softer clicking in both directions. I hope this explanation is clear.
Dave

[Cate&Rob]

Dave

I would think the wheel bearing grease would be fine , there is not a lot in there so I would keep it about the same , not add too much. I do not know why the manual override did not work. When you replace the gears check that the manual override gear turns freely with out the others attached. It should be just a straight thru shaft but I did not tear into that end I just took the cover off as you did.

Brian

Dave27

The manual override would back drive the motor, so if there is anything jamming the gear rotation, this would also jam turning the main screw rod with an external wrench.

Rob

[Country Campers]

Dave

The left metal gear in your picture has a tab inside the lower portion , I wonder if this is the clutch mechanism? When I get home today I will tear apart the motor that I have to try to shed some light on how it operates.

Brian

[Dave27]

Country Campers Cate&Rob Jlawles2 attached is a photo of all the gears.

[Jlawles2]

Dave27 I've not taken on apart and was going off of the previous picture. If you can pull the plastic reducer gear out and examine the small large teeth for damage it will help. Also, have you checked to see if there is any play in the mounting of the motor or gears. Its hard to tell if the gear axle's are all on the one side. If on one side only inspect the housing for cracks where the shaft mounts as this will allow for movement of the gears changing the meshing of the gears.


From the previous picture, it did not appear that there was damage at the metal to plastic gear mesh location.

The Red boxes appear to be the clutch drive engagement locations. you may want to check these for excessive wear along with the area around the inside of that gear for metal fragments. Behind that snap ring I think there should be a spring, check it for tension. The clicking not grinding is what makes me question if its actually a stripped gear or if its something else going on. Below the lower right bo it appears thats where the drive ear for the shaft should rest.

I though you stated that you could not move the slide with the manual override after the last incedent. Again this leads me to question if the gearbox is the issue or something else as the over ride for the gearbox is on the shaft not the motor, correct? If so then any level of damage to the gearbox short of a jammed gear should not affect use of the manual over ride handle.

[Country Campers]

Dave27 , Jlawles2

The pictures above and the explanation is exactly what I have found and was going to post, no need to do it twice.

The three fingers are indeed the clutch which seats in the 3 slots to engage the slide movement. The "clicking" noise that everyone hears when the slide reaches it limits comes from this clutch. Looking at it I would highly recommend that you leave off of the switch as soon as you hear the clicking sound. I usually jog it gently until I hear the first click , in or out.

The back side of this clutch gear is the input for the manual operation , just a pin that sticks out.

If there is no movement from the motor or the manual input then there is some kind of binding going on with the screw or shaft mechanism that actually moves the slide out. The gear/motor connects to the end of a tube and I am not sure what is inside that tube , a piece of all thread is my guess and a nut of some kind. I do not have these parts and I have not seed inside of one of these tubes. Being as you have the motor/gear box off of the tube you will have a better idea as to what is in there, maybe you could get a picture into the end of the tube.
If the motor/gear box operates fine on the bench then I do not think that you have a problem there , replacing the gears will be good being as you have it out. If you turn the motor on and hold the shaft on the clutch side , I used vise grips locked on before I turned the motor on , then you will see if the clutch is working properly.

Brian

[Dave27]

Country Campers Cate&Rob Jlawles2
Here are pictures of the actuator end, and the other side. Is there anything under the coroplast on the other side I need to look at?
thanks, Dave

[Country Campers]

Dave

The tube is uncharted territory for me , I have not seen the inside of one. I will be at the factory next week and will see if I can get a look at one of these to see if there is something that can be fixed. You might make another phone call to Lippert and pass the "new" findings along and they may have a fix for you. I will let you know if I learn something next week.

Brian

[Dave27]

Country Campers Jlawles2 Cate&Rob
Here are some better photos of the places Jlawles2 pointed out. If I understand this correctly, when the retracting slide hits the stop and the switch is still activated, the gears would keep spinning, but since the shaft can't move any more it would trigger the clutch to jump around the raised metal. This probably causes the "clank" sound as the three metal tabs move up and down from the raised metal ledge. I don't see any damage on the clutch or shaft.

[Jlawles2]

Dave27

So from what i can tell by the pictures, the slide actuator is just a tongue jack on its side. There should be a threaded shaft, a nut, and 2 tubes that slide in and out of each other.

Looking at the first picture from 8:01, it appears there is something between the inner and outer tubes. Is that grease? Is that a poly bushing of some sort? Is it on the top or bottom side of the assembly. Also by chance have you looked at the tube in general to see if its bent. Picture 3 of the same post looks like the end connection is not straight, but it could be an illusion.


Also with the motor removed, have you tried again to move the slide? Sounds like a strange idea, but that helps us determine if its a motor or tube issue.

https://lci-support-doc.s3.amazonaws...cd_0001614.pdf Manual for the slide. Of course they don't show the guts of that "magic" tube.

[Country Campers]

Country Campers Jlawles2 Cate&Rob
Here are some better photos of the places Jlawles2 pointed out. If I understand this correctly, when the retracting slide hits the stop and the switch is still activated, the gears would keep spinning, but since the shaft can't move any more it would trigger the clutch to jump around the raised metal. This probably causes the "clank" sound as the three metal tabs move up and down from the raised metal ledge. I don't see any damage on the clutch or shaft.

Dave

You are right that the clutch is the clanking sound. I also misspoke earlier that this is the end that drive the slide and the other end is the manual end. The end that you have pictured is the manual end and the other is the slide end. The snap ring holds a small keeper washer and under that is 2 cone washers installed cone to cone to provide the tension for the clutch. The gears can turn while the clutch does not , this is due to the shaft having flats on 2 sides and the gear is round , I did take mine apart to see this.

I agree with Jlawles2 that there is something amiss in the tube assembly , as I had posted prior. If the motor turns on the bench then the culprit is in the tube. I am not sure if this is repairable or not , this will be my question to Lippert.

Brian

[TedS]

In post #24, lower right hand picture. The steel pinion on the right does not look to be very well engaged with the large plastic gear. Can that pinion move out of engagement, mesh?

[Country Campers]

Ted

The steel pinion gear is actually spiraled so it does look like it is not meshing correctly but in one of the previous picture the mesh looks better.

Brian

[Cate&Rob]

Just catching up to this latest discussion. Is there a mechanism (over riding clutch or similar) to allow the manual wrench connection to turn the drive screw without “back driving” the motor ? There would be a lot of resistance to back driving all those gears all the way to the motor armature.

Rob

[Dave27]

Dave27

So from what i can tell by the pictures, the slide actuator is just a tongue jack on its side. There should be a threaded shaft, a nut, and 2 tubes that slide in and out of each other.

Looking at the first picture from 8:01, it appears there is something between the inner and outer tubes. Is that grease? Is that a poly bushing of some sort? Is it on the top or bottom side of the assembly. Also by chance have you looked at the tube in general to see if its bent. Picture 3 of the same post looks like the end connection is not straight, but it could be an illusion.


Also with the motor removed, have you tried again to move the slide? Sounds like a strange idea, but that helps us determine if its a motor or tube issue.

https://lci-support-doc.s3.amazonaws...cd_0001614.pdf Manual for the slide. Of course they don't show the guts of that "magic" tube.

There is grease there, but I can't tell what it is on. I haven't found anything that would fit into the slot that I can turn. I will put the gearbox and motor back on and try to turn it with the manual over ride. The end looks straight, I think it is a distortion from the camera lens that makes it look bent in the photo. Thank you for the manual.

Cate&Rob I don't want to damage the interface with the tube. I thought of using a thick screwdriver, but was concerned about the sharp edges. I found a thick curved hook that seems to fit, but I don't have a way to hold it in place and turn it. There is some play in the tube, so I can turn it by hand until I hit the resistance to begin moving the slide.
Dave