Lippert Level-up odd behavior

[The Cramblersons]

Trying to make a long story short but it is not so easy. Bear with me....

I have a 2016 Voltage 3305 with the Level-up system. Today I went to retrieve the trailer from outdoor storage. The gear extended no problem. I hitched up and then went to retract the gear. The right front came up all the way (as usual) and then the left side began to come up. It made it about 6" off the ground and stopped with a strange and loud 'clicking' noise on what seemed to be the right side of the trailer. I could extend the gear slightly but then heard the same noise and all motion stopped.

Since I was alone, I could not locate the source of the clicking but it seemed to be in the belly and not up near the hydraulics, but I really couldn't be sure. Sounded a little like a relay problem, or a selonoid but, if either exists in the system, it must be big because it's a loud noise.

So, with the right front gear up and the left sitting 6" up, I trailered it home over smooth roads. When I got it back to the house, I tried to extend the legs again and, this time, the right leg came down but it stopped 6" above the ground and I was greeted again by the clicking noise. It would not retract at all. So there I was with both gear now 6" above the ground.

My next thought was temperature. It was about 39 degrees when I picked up the trailer. But I've had the gear work fine below that temp, though a little sluggish. So I fired up the furnace and blew some heat down below for about ten minutes. Voila! Gear started working normally. Could this really have been just a temperature thing? It had been in the high 40's most of the day.

Any educated guesses are welcomed!

[wahoonc]

Moisture getting into something? I have no clue how your system is designed or works, but I have seen plenty of electro-hydraulic things get real balky and exhibit strange behaviours at lower temps. In almost all of the cases it was traced down to moisture getting in somewhere it wasn't supposed to be.

Aaroon

[lcv800]

You're sure you have enough hydraulic fluid? Not sure how temperature would impact that though. Just a thought, as that was the issue when my jacks wouldn't function properly.
Rusty

[donzinger]

Check all the relays on the bus bar - Mine was doing something similar last year. The large relay on the bus bar that powers the level up system had loose connections and burnt the screw right out of the relay. I also found virtually every crimp on connector could have the wire pulled out of it with almost zero effort. Drove me crazy trying to find the fault until I did - replaced all crimp on connectors and the relay and never had another issue.

[nonsense]

I also have had some issues in the past, I replaced the breaker/relay. There is another post in the toyhauler section that has all the details I'll see if I can find it and then post back.

Mine would work fine on the auto level side but during retraction would work sporaticly. When manually retracting it would come up 3" and click off, I'd have to release the retract button for a couple seconds and then start again. After I replaced the Fuse the issue went away.

Mine will sometimes act up when it's cold but if I run my heat or generator for a bit and the pump/fluid warm up all works flawlessly. I'd assume that the thick fluid is just a bit much for the electrical side of things. I've thought about draining and replacing with "snow plow fluid" which is essentially the same thing (ATF) with some additives that keep the fluid a little more liquid during the winter as well will combat moisture from temperature swings.

[ATCguy]

The clicking is a definite indication of a power issue... not hydraulics. In my case, it was simply that the battery was low after the rig had sat unattended for while.

Charging the battery completely, and/or connecting an automotive "quick start" device's cable's to the RV battery may cure the issue. If not, you may have an issue with your bus bar or breaker relays as described above.

[snakebitten]

This forum is a goldmine sometimes.

I don't have any of these features on my rigs, but I know how the OP must fell when he made that post.

You guys are amazing.

[Ted]

Just following along.... What / Where is the Bus Bar?

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Ted

Just following along.... What / Where is the Bus Bar?

It is busbar, with several alternative spellings. I learned it as buss bar, which was actually a brand name from the Buss Fuses It is basically a plastic and metal piece where various electrical wires come together are and fastened with screws or slip connectors. They can be anywhere and everywhere depending on the specific unit. They are used to segregate or aggregate various circuits.

Aaron

[snakebitten]

Here is what they look like generally:

[nonsense]

Ted,

My buss bar is located in the front storage compartment rear wall, just above my house batteries. If i remember (and i'm doing this from bad memory) mine was the very last fuse on the buss bar.

[The Cramblersons]

Originally Posted by ATCguy

The clicking is a definite indication of a power issue... not hydraulics. In my case, it was simply that the battery was low after the rig had sat unattended for while.

Charging the battery completely, and/or connecting an automotive "quick start" device's cable's to the RV battery may cure the issue. If not, you may have an issue with your bus bar or breaker relays as described above.

Yup. I agree with your assessment. Which is the reason I wondered about the relays. Just seemed odd. Electronics don't typically have issues in cold temps....unless we're talking power source.

So far, now that I have had it plugged into 110V, it seems to be working fine.

I'll report back when I finally move it later this week.

[SuperDuty]

Just adding my similar experience...my level-up system was acting just the OP's. Turns out it was a bad battery.

[Thom]

Originally Posted by The Cramblersons

Yup. I agree with your assessment. Which is the reason I wondered about the relays. Just seemed odd. Electronics don't typically have issues in cold temps....unless we're talking power source.

So far, now that I have had it plugged into 110V, it seems to be working fine.

I'll report back when I finally move it later this week.

Originally Posted by SuperDuty

Just adding my similar experience...my level-up system was acting just the OP's. Turns out it was a bad battery.

I think we can all agree here that your battery is/was too weak to handle the high current draw of the hydraulic pump. Remember, batteries are not real fond of cold weather.

[Ted]

Thanks....

[donzinger]

Originally Posted by Ted

Just following along.... What / Where is the Bus Bar?

Ted,

Attached pic shows my buss bar just to the left of the Lippert Remote Receiver - above/behind battery/batteries and hydraulic pump. The one I had go bad was the bottom one.

[Ted]

Thanks.... I'm a newbee and little things like this are great. I was lowering my front jacks and they did not go down together and I paniced that they were going to not lift truck. Was wondering if I had same problem. I guess they do that all the time. At least I hope so.

TR