Leveler will not retract

[jymbee]

Never ending fun since the great Texas freeze out...

Latest issue to add to the list, our levelers are not working. Looks like the left rear is the problem. Fluid all over the cylinder. Began when we tried to do an auto level after arriving at this site, the rear leveler on the right (passenger) side came down, but then everything just stopped. I assume the next operation in the leveling sequence would have been for it's partner rear unit to extend, but given it didn't, all stopped.

Even with all levelers up, confirmed visually, the lights and BEEPS go crazy when I start up and put in gear. For whatever reason it still thinks one of the levelers, that same one I assume, is still down.

Anyone wanna' buy a motorhome?? Assuming that's a negative, perhaps some general thoughts as to cause & time/expense to resolve this kind of issue?

 

[ChasA]

What brand and model levelers? If they are Powergear, low fluid in the reservoir is highly suspect. If they are HWH a switch on each leveler is likely.

 

[John From Detroit]

With Fluid all over you are likely going to want help, professional help. Sounds like a blown line to be honest . But there are other possible issues.

Most levelers of the hydraulic type retract by means of a spring.. You open the valve and let the transmission fluid back into the storage tank and the spring pulls up the jack. if you have fluid all over.. it should be retracting and showing you where the leak is..

But there are some "internal" issues that can A: Spray fluid (out the bottom where it will splash off the pad and go all over) and B: Jam it up. I've never seen or heard of it happening on jacks. But I "See" the possibility.

 

[Laura & Charles]

On our previous coach we had similar sounding problem. The alarm is ‘jacks down’ and occurs when you shift out of neutral, right? It interprets jacks down by sensing low hydraulic fluid. Our issue was a blown seal on our the jack ram and powergear said a complete replace was less than trying to repair. (I was surprised at the the whole unit cost of around 200.). our leak just pooled in the cup of the landing pad. If you see evidence of spraying you more likely hav a ruptured line or bad fitting.
our reservoir was located just inside the left front wheel and you accessed it from behind the wheel Turning the wheels right made it easier. The wire for the alarm was a single wire on a spade lug directly on the reservoir.pulling it off silenced the alarm (but make sure all jacks are retracted if you do that.).

 

[jymbee]

On our previous coach we had similar sounding problem. The alarm is ‘jacks down’ and occurs when you shift out of neutral, right?

Exactly.

The wire for the alarm was a single wire on a spade lug directly on the reservoir.pulling it off silenced the alarm (but make sure all jacks are retracted if you do that.).

If we can't get some repair assistance, silencing the alarm (after making sure all jacks are up as you pointed out!) might end up being our only viable Plan B.

 

[jymbee]

With Fluid all over you are likely going to want help, professional help. Sounds like a blown line to be honest . But there are other possible issues.

Most levelers of the hydraulic type retract by means of a spring.. You open the valve and let the transmission fluid back into the storage tank and the spring pulls up th

I crawled under there this morning and took some pictures. As you can see, "fluid all over" pretty much describes our situation.

Appreciate the description of how the spring & piston interact-- something that was never clear to me. I've rebuilt hydraulic cylinders in the past, replaced o rings and such but there the return was a function of the 2 way valve.

 

[jymbee]

Ok, follow up question on this subject...

Am I correct in assuming that the BEEP BEEP and flashing lights on the controller is due to the low fluid level feeding the problem leveler? Also, it seems likely to me, rightly or wrongly, that the fluid leaks out when the cylinder is activated.

All four levelers are currently retracted and as we need to drive to a repair shop that's going to look at the problem, might adding fluid stop the noise/lights temporarily while driving until we can get it repaired?

 

[Laura & Charles]

Pretty sure adding fluid will stop the alarm. Unless the reservoir is cracked (that’s not your issue per your pics), it’s only going to leak when under pressure. (Pulling the previously mentioned wire will do the same thing... that system doesn’t really detect a Jack is down, it’s just alarming due to low fluid (a condition created when jacks are down). Either adding fluid or pulling the wire will have you contorted reaching into the same space.

 

[jymbee]

Pretty sure adding fluid will stop the alarm. Unless the reservoir is cracked (that’s not your issue per your pics), it’s only going to leak when under pressure. (Pulling the previously mentioned wire will do the same thing... that system doesn’t really detect a Jack is down, it’s just alarming due to low fluid (a condition created when jacks are down). Either adding fluid or pulling the wire will have you contorted reaching into the same space.

I found the fluid reservoir behind the front wheel, driver side. I could see the fluid level in the tank was indeed low. Managed to clean things up around the tank to avoid any contaminants falling in while filling, and after maneuvering around was able to add fluid using a funnel with a flexible feed tube. I had bought 3 quarts figuring I'd have extra but it took almost all 3 to get it up to the fill line.

The test will be when we pull out Monday morning. Pretty confident that at least initially the warning BEEPS and flashes on the controller inside will go away but remains to be seen whether the level will hold for the duration of one of our longer drives to next site-- 5+ hour trip. I'll be meeting with an RV repair outfit the following day.

 

[Old_Crow]

Hope you didn't fill that reservoir with the jacks down. The fluid in the cylinders has to have someplace to go when you raise them.

 

[Skookum]

anaged to clean things up around the tank to avoid any contaminants falling in while filling, and after maneuvering around was able to add fluid using a funnel with a flexible feed tube. I had bought 3 quarts figuring I'd have extra but it took almost all 3 to get it up to the fill line.

The test will be when we pull out Monday morning. Pretty confident that at least initially the warning BEEPS and flashes on the controller inside will go away but remains to be seen whether the level will hold for the duration of one of our longer drives to next site-- 5+ hour trip. I'll be meeting with an RV repair outfit the following day.

Like the above post says, we all hope you didn't fill the reservoir with the jacks down!! When they're down, the reservoir fluid is pushed into the jacks to extend the pistons. You only want to fill and check fluid level when the jacks are fully retracted.

I wouldn't be surprised if the jacks were retracted and the fluid reservoir did indeed take 3 quarts. That looks like a pretty big leak. The fact that it's been blown up into the underbody like that makes me wonder if it's not a bad connection with the supply line at the top of the jack? Or has one of the seals in the jack failed?

 

[jymbee]

Hope you didn't fill that reservoir with the jacks down. The fluid in the cylinders has to have someplace to go when you raise them.

Good point and something I expect a few have learned the hard way.

I'm basically still a farm kid from way back when and still own/use tractors, backhoe, splitters, etc. Often wonder how in hell my father ever ran the farm without all the "toys" we have today. No hydraulics, just manpower.

 

[jymbee]

That looks like a pretty big leak. The fact that it's been blown up into the underbody like that makes me wonder if it's not a bad connection with the supply line at the top of the jack? Or has one of the seals in the jack failed?

Yeah, but given we're a long way from any kind of repair service presently, my hope is that if I just leave things the way they are now, retracted and reservoir full, that we'll be able to get to the next stop where we do have some repair options without incident. Once there, I'll feel more comfortable testing things.

 

[ChasA]

Jymbee. Look for a wire coming off the top of the reservoir. Disconnect or cut that wire and the alarm will stop. I had a similar situation a few years ago when one of my jacks wouldn't retract and had to remove the jack. Luckily, I made the entire trip from Alabama to Albuquerque and home to NC without jacks and without that annoying alarm.

 

[Old_Crow]

The float on mine is bad. I can fill the thing all the way to the point of fluid running out of the spout and the alarm still won't stop. I priced the float, disconnected the wire and added checking the jack position to my preflight check list.

 

[jymbee]

Pretty confident that at least initially the warning BEEPS and flashes on the controller inside will go away

Delusional thinking. Unfortunately beeping & flashing continued even after the fill. Took the advice of many here and yanked the wire connected to the fill sensor. Silence.

Six hours later we're pulled in the next stop and will meet with repair guy tomorrow afternoon.

 

[jymbee]

By way of follow up, happy to report that the problem with the leveler has been resolved. Had to replace this hose and now the leveler works properly. Appreciate all the input en route to getting this fixed.