FLEETWOOD LEVELING SYSTEM

[bigred41]

Hi Folks: I have a 1995 Fleetwood  American Dream that has the Power Gear leveling system one jack in the front ,two in the back.The jacks got to where they were retracting very slowly and finally got to where they would not retract all the way. However ,the coach would level perfectly.I took it to a local RV repair facility and they replaced the dump valve.The jacks now retract the fastest they have ever retracted ,but here is the problem.Since this repair was made ,if I try to level the coach the jacks come down to the ground,then for instance ,if the left side needs raised and you hit the left button,all three jacks will extend the same amount .They will do that no matter what button you push ,all three jacks will operate simultaneously.My RV man does not have a clue.Has anyone ever had this problem and if so what did you do about it??
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[Just Lou]

It appears that your individual leg valves are being constantly activated.  I would inspect the connections from the controller to the valve connections on the manifold, and also the connections at the controller.

I think you have a correct understanding of how the system should respond when you push any one of the leveler extend buttons.

• The individual leg solenoid should open and the motor/pump should operate, and that leg should lower.

The fact that ALL your legs extend, when any button is pressed, indicates that all those valves are already open.

Most folks don't understand exactly what has to happen when they press the DUMP button with all legs extended.

Assuming everything is working as designed, with all legs deployed to level, the individual valves will be closed (as well as the dump valve).  These individual valves are what prevents the pressure from equalizing throughout the system and having all legs extend as one, such as yours is doing.

When, the DUMP button is pressed, ALL the individual leg valves are activated (opened) as well as the DUMP valve. The fluid returns from the leg cylinders, through the open valves to the manifold and through the dump valve back through the pump to the tank.

As I said earlier, it appears that your controller or wiring is holding the individual valves OPEN at all times.  It's possible that something, or someone, blew your controller during the repair.

If you are lucky, it's just a bad connection or miswire problem.  If not, at least you can educate your service man on how the system works.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Agree completely with Just Lou. Either the tech wired it wrong or damaged the controller circuitry when they fixed it. It's actually a simple system (as Lou explained so nicely).

 

[bigred41]

Thank's Guy's : This has drug on so long,I had forgotten about posting this before.But yes I agree completely ! Three leg valves don't just stop working at the same time unless something was done to cause it .I have been down this rd with the RV shop .I have had this Guy fighting mad a couple of times over this .

 

[frankazoid]

Do you mind me stepping in with my own question?

I have 1998 Fleetwood Southwind with a manual control panel (like 500675 & 140-1231 but without WAIT lamp). All jacks were working until curb rear one suddenly stopped extending. Pump is working harder than with other jacks when pressing RIGHT button on the control panel.
I?ve added almost 2 quarts of ATF to the reservoir and see better performance with front jacks (apparently they were extending just half way) but still not CR. RR is fine though.
I?ve disconnected CR Leg valve wire and behavior didn?t change which makes me think that valve isn?t working. I also tried to connect wire from RR leg which is known to be working to CR valve and still nothing.

Anyone knows part # for valves? Is it hard to change them? Should I perhaps take off the valve for RR and exchange it with CR to make sure CR jack is not stuck?

 

[Just Lou]

frankazoid, HERE is a link to the Power Gear Service Manual.  You will need to compare the physical look of your pump and reservoir unit to determine just which iteration you have.  1998 and 99 were the change over years and a mix exists on coaches of those years.

If you swap the wires from CR and RR and the same jack still fails (and the same jack still works) then you have narrowed it down to that solenoid.  Granted, you still don't know if the problem is electrical or mechanical, but you are closer to solving the puzzle.  Remove the solenoid from the failing jack for further inspection and testing.  You can also physically swap the entire valve and solenoid with another position for further diagnosis.

Removing the solenoid is NOT difficult.  It may be physically stuck closed, but my money is on an electrical failure (open solenoid coil).

I'm a little perplexed as to why you needed to add "almost 2 quarts" of fluid to the reservoir.  If that problem is related to the failing jack position, it's difficult to predict what you are going to find.

 

[frankazoid]

thank you Just Lou. I'll be back to my RV in July now and will test the solenoid. I'm pretty sure that it is a problem so I will need to order one. I wish I took pictures of it so that I can find out which one I need now, but I didn't