Leveler Control Error?

[chrisrice]

I just brought home a new Discovery. Thanks to all who helped with the questions I had!!

I ran into my first problem that I can't solve...?

It has automatic levelers by Power Gear.  It's their model 140-1226.

I made the mistake of turning the engine off while it was leveling. According to the manual, it's now in 'error mode' and all the lights on the panel are blinking.

I followed the instructions to retract each leveler manually, and they're all up. However the lights are still blinking, and the alarm sounds if I try to drive it.

I found one article on their website that said it's "out of zero", and I followed the instuctions to fix it, but that didn't help. It didn't respond to the commands.

Any thoughts??

Thank you!!

Chris

 

[Ron]

A call to the manufacturer will likely result in getting walked through the procedure.

 

[Don Jensen]

I did that myself a few months ago.  Call the power gear tech support line.  What happens is when you shut off the ignition it shuts  down the levelers and they don't know if the legs are up or down.  If you look at the legs you will see a round piece about the size of a quarter.  These are the magnets that let the system know their position.  Tech support will walk you through a procedure (pressing 2 buttons together with one hand and pressing a 3rd button with the other) that overides the error mode and allows you to move each leg individually to get the magnets past the sensor location.  When this is done they will have you hit "retract all jacks" and the system should reset itself.

Don

 

[John From Detroit]

Don I think you are confusing Power Gear and HWH.  Power grear uses a float valve in the hydraulic fulid resivore.

The solution may be to just add a bit more fluid to the tank,  I think it uses Dextron III but that may depend on who built the chassis, Label on the tank will tell you for sure. 

 

[Don Jensen]

Don I think you are confusing Power Gear and HWH.  Power grear uses a float valve in the hydraulic fulid resivore.

The solution may be to just add a bit more fluid to the tank,  I think it uses Dextron III but that may depend on who built the chassis, Label on the tank will tell you for sure. 

I might be wrong but he said he had a new Discovery. It's my understanding they use the same Power Gear leveler system as my 2007 Excursion which is electric.  That is one reason I went with the Fleetwood Excursion because after 42 years of dealing with hydraulic leaks in airplanes, I didn't want that headache anymore.

I thought HWH uses hydraulic fluid. ???

Don

 

[Ron]

Not all Power Gear jacks are electic.  Our American Eagle has hydrualic power Gear Jacks.  Not problems and no leaks.

 

[John From Detroit]

My jacks are 1: Power gea and 2:Hydraulic  How else would I know about the stupid float valve and the fact that in August the fluid expands, and overflows, then in January it contracts with the cold and says JACKS DOWN..

 

[Ron]

My jacks are 1: Power gea and 2:Hydraulic  How else would I know about the stupid float valve and the fact that in August the fluid expands, and overflows, then in January it contracts with the cold and says JACKS DOWN..

We have never experience such a problem.

 

[Don Jensen]

My jacks are 1: Power gea and 2:Hydraulic  How else would I know about the stupid float valve and the fact that in August the fluid expands, and overflows, then in January it contracts with the cold and says JACKS DOWN..

I was just trying to help, guess I'll stick to lurking.

Don

 

[Smoky]

John:

But my HWH jacks are also hydraulic.

 

[Ron]

I was just trying to help, guess I'll stick to lurking.

Don

Please don't fade away.  I just mentioned our jacks were hydraulic just to avoid any confusion if the party having trouble jacks were not electric.  Obviously Power Gear make or has made both electric as well as hydraulic systems.

 

[Smoky]

Don:

Don't just lurk.  I agree with Ron.  Because of your input it has now been made clear that Power Gear makes both types of levelers.

 

[chrisrice]

Thanks for all the responses!

The jacks are Power Gear and electric.

I phoned power gear. They had me hold down all the arrows (a system reset), that didn't help. I was able to retract each one by following the manual instructions. However, the unit is still in error mode. They couldn't figure it out over the phone. So I drove back to the dealer and am waiting for them to open right now... (only 240 miled  )

They said it sounds like a mis-wiring problem. They did have be check to make sure all were retracted, and they are. Then I hit the 'retract all' button, but it goes back into error mode. Oh, and I should mention that the unit has the 'jacks down' light lit constantly (even though they are up). It was working fine until I caused the error.

Thanks again, if there are any new thoughts I'd love to hear them. I'll let you know what the dealer says / does.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I was just trying to help, guess I'll stick to lurking.

Please don't become a lurker, Don. Your opinion is as good as anybody's.  John doesn't have a Fleetwood coach and the fact that his Power Gear jacks are hydraulic does not mean you are wrong. Power Gear makes several models of jacks, including one that is all electric with no hydraulics.

 

[ArdraF]

Don,

I second Ron, Smoky, and Gary's comment.  Please don't just lurk.  It's because we all jump in with new information and insights that this is a great forum for RVers.  Anytime any of us adds our two cents worth, we stand the chance of getting "shot down" but that's okay.  We all learn from one another.

ArdraF

 

[chrisrice]

Here is what happened with the levelers...

They are indeed electric.

The dealers mechanic said he had to disconnect each jack, then power them individually with an external battery. He cycled each one down then back up. Following that he reprogrammed the level position. Now it works.

That was that. Now it's back on the road.

Thanks to everyone who responded!

Truly,

Chris

 

[edjunior]

Yeah, we like to see the resolved issues!  Now everyone can go out and fix their own, right??  RIIIIGGGHHHTTT!!  ???

 

[Ron]

Thanks for the feed back and detailed report.  This info may just help somebody else experiencing a similar anomaly understand what may be the cause.

 

[Don Jensen]

Here is what happened with the levelers...

They are indeed electric.

The dealers mechanic said he had to disconnect each jack, then power them individually with an external battery. He cycled each one down then back up. Following that he reprogrammed the level position. Now it works.



Truly,

Chris

Did the mechanic say how he reprogrammed the level position?  Once the jacks are down past the magnets, pushing the "retract all jacks" button should also do the trick.

Don

 

[Smoky]

Don's question is an interesting one.  Another question is that did anyone figure out how you created that error condition?  Would be useful knowledge so no one else here repeats the problem.