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Bernd & Susan · 01-02-2016, 01:32 PM

I'm posting a follow-up on the controller problem. If you ever have the controller replaced, hold on to the possibly faulty one. I'm saying this, because I had another malfunction the other day, which was caused simply by moisture. Let me explain. We were sitting inside the RV when we suddenly heard a noise similar to something hitting the outside of the camper, followed by the nose of the 5th wheel going down. By the time we had gotten out the camper, all we could do was watch the nose going all the way to the ground. I suspected a loss of hydraulic fluid. To my surprise, though, it wasn't hydraulic fluid but water that was the culprit. Water was running out of the washer/dryer hose exactly above the hydraulic motor and controls, obviously causing a short that made the nose go down. Fortunately, the system still worked, and I was able to get the nose up again. To make sure it wouldn't go down again, I quickly hitched the truck and then thoroughly tried the compartment. The next morning, I pulled out the truck and attempted to level the 5th wheel. That's when the system malfunctioned again, that is, the front jacks extended on the extent as well as the retract position. So, now I had the opposite problem of the night before, that is, the nose was way up. I then removed the new controller and took it apart to make sure that there is no water inside the unit. There wasn't, but there was about a drop of water inside one of the contacts of the eight-wire harness. After removing that drop and installing the controller again, the system worked fine. With this information on hand, I now wonder if the initial problem with the controller was also caused by moisture, as Central Texas had experienced quite some downpours during the last few months. I now wished that I would have kept the old controller (a $130 unit) to test this theory.

For those intrigued by the leak, here's what I found. The drain hose from the washer in my unit is a black PVC pipe, goes under the bed, then continues as a white, flexible hose to make a sharp turn before going again to a PVC pipe through the storage compartment toward the grey-water tank. The white hose is right above the hydraulic control compartment, and I found it jammed against the moving part of the bedroom slide, which must have punctured that hose.

End of story? I'm afraid not. See my latest thread "Bedroom Slide is tilted and stuck."

01-02-2016, 01:32 PM	#12
Bernd & Susan Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 8	I'm posting a follow-up on the controller problem. If you ever have the controller replaced, hold on to the possibly faulty one. I'm saying this, because I had another malfunction the other day, which was caused simply by moisture. Let me explain. We were sitting inside the RV when we suddenly heard a noise similar to something hitting the outside of the camper, followed by the nose of the 5th wheel going down. By the time we had gotten out the camper, all we could do was watch the nose going all the way to the ground. I suspected a loss of hydraulic fluid. To my surprise, though, it wasn't hydraulic fluid but water that was the culprit. Water was running out of the washer/dryer hose exactly above the hydraulic motor and controls, obviously causing a short that made the nose go down. Fortunately, the system still worked, and I was able to get the nose up again. To make sure it wouldn't go down again, I quickly hitched the truck and then thoroughly tried the compartment. The next morning, I pulled out the truck and attempted to level the 5th wheel. That's when the system malfunctioned again, that is, the front jacks extended on the extent as well as the retract position. So, now I had the opposite problem of the night before, that is, the nose was way up. I then removed the new controller and took it apart to make sure that there is no water inside the unit. There wasn't, but there was about a drop of water inside one of the contacts of the eight-wire harness. After removing that drop and installing the controller again, the system worked fine. With this information on hand, I now wonder if the initial problem with the controller was also caused by moisture, as Central Texas had experienced quite some downpours during the last few months. I now wished that I would have kept the old controller (a $130 unit) to test this theory. For those intrigued by the leak, here's what I found. The drain hose from the washer in my unit is a black PVC pipe, goes under the bed, then continues as a white, flexible hose to make a sharp turn before going again to a PVC pipe through the storage compartment toward the grey-water tank. The white hose is right above the hydraulic control compartment, and I found it jammed against the moving part of the bedroom slide, which must have punctured that hose. End of story? I'm afraid not. See my latest thread "Bedroom Slide is tilted and stuck."