Steps Not Working

The automatic steps on our 2006 View suddenly quit. I've checked the electrical connections and fuses and switches and found nothing askew. The yellow light under the steps works, also.

I've also downloaded the manual, which includes some very involved troubleshooting advice. I'm guessing the motor is dead but would like to be sure before I buy and install a new one.

Any obvious fixes that I'm missing? Meanwhile, we're using a little portable step ladder.

Did you check the switch that is embedded in the door frame?

Sometimes it will stick.

With someone to open and close the door, tap on the step motor.  That worked on mine.  Some of the step motors have dead spots and a gentle tap with a hammer can sometimes get them going.  It worked on our 2005 Pace Arrow.  Make sure you're not in the way when the steps open.  Another thing to try is to disconnect and reconnect the 4 wire plug.  While the light suggests it's getting power, one of the pins in mine was pushed back.  The one that was pushed back likely was power to the step motor. 

Good suggestions on troubleshooting. If you eventually decide/confirm the motor is dead, here are some tips on replacing the motor by staffer Marty.

FWIW when I eventually got to replace mine, the new one I ordered wasn't quite the right one. Holes for the mounting bolts weren't quite in the right place. Had I still been at home, I'd have drilled them out to make it fit. However, since we were away from home, I got the local RV repair guy to look at it, and he wouldn't deal with my replacement motor. He took a motor off a new set of steps, and charged me accordingly.

Check the ground wire - many times installers simply use a self-tapping screw without scraping off any undercoating or paint. Remove and replace - recrimp and connectors.


When you check fuses and stuff, make sure you remove them and use a meter to verify they are good. Simply looking at them is not checking them. I always use CRC contact cleaner and lube when doing my electrical troubleshooting - all connections are pulled apart, sprayed and reassembled...


Good luck and let us know what you ultimately find as the cause.

My Kwikee step quit working last summer, just went out to the the RV garage to get something from the MH and step did not activate. I found the problem, it was the yellow wire at the ignition key, I reached under the dash to feel the wires for being loose. I moved the yellow wire and the step extended, as I had left the door open. Tightening the wire connection was tedious, had to use a mirror to see what I was doing. Mine is a spade connection.

Kwikee service training manual pdf https://www.rvtechlibrary.com/exterior/kwikee_svc_manual.pdf

I'm the original poster, asking for suggestions when my 2006 Winnebago View steps quit working. There were several responses which I greatly appreciated and considered carefully. Proceeding as I do in most things, I decided to wait and think about it for a while before doing anything major.

Meanwhile, we went on a few local trips and carried along a small set of folding steps that served well enough, and the automatic steps remained silent.

Then, this past Monday, when we arrived at our destination (San Onofre State Park just north of Camp Pendleton in S. CA, an undistinguished facility with relatively few level spots), the steps suddenly extended. We closed the door and reopened it repeatedly, and the steps responded as they always used to.

So, my report is that whatever was wrong, no longer is. How's that for useful information?

Success!

I'm very happy for you!

On the other hand, I hate mysterious fixes

Dan de La Mesa said:

I'm the original poster, asking for suggestions when my 2006 Winnebago View steps quit working. There were several responses which I greatly appreciated and considered carefully. Proceeding as I do in most things, I decided to wait and think about it for a while before doing anything major.

Meanwhile, we went on a few local trips and carried along a small set of folding steps that served well enough, and the automatic steps remained silent.

Then, this past Monday, when we arrived at our destination (San Onofre State Park just north of Camp Pendleton in S. CA, an undistinguished facility with relatively few level spots), the steps suddenly extended. We closed the door and reopened it repeatedly, and the steps responded as they always used to.

So, my report is that whatever was wrong, no longer is. How's that for useful information?

Click to expand...

My '00 Bounder has an intermittent problem with the step.  It's happened twice in 4 years, coincedentily(I think)both times have been when the RV broke down.
The first time was a couple of years ago when the oil cooler on the Ford V-10 failed and filled the coolant system with engine oil. 
We pulled into our camping spot and as I tried to step out of the coach the first thing I noticed was the steps wouldn't go down.  After that is when I noticed oil all down the side of the coach.  Anyway, the steps were inop for around 4 days while we waited for parts.  When I moved to coach to take it to the shop, the steps mysteriously started working again..
Fast forward to Thursday a week ago.  Driving down I-40 west of Needles, CA when the V-10 spit out a spark plug.  Pulled off the road and went to exit the coach and the steps were again inop.  Had the thing towed 85 miles to Kingman and we sat in the Ford Dealers parking lot from Thursday to Monday morning before they could get us in and the steps refused to operate the whole time.
Monday afternoon, left the dealer and drove to Camp Verde, AZ.  When we stopped at the casino there for the night, I opened the door and the steps came out.  They've worked normally ever since.

I suspect a dead spot in the motor that it occasionally lands on.  The vibration from driving possibly allows the armature to move a bit and they start working again.  Both times it's happened I've checked the power to the unit from both the coach and the ignition switch and the door switch.  All that seems normal.