electric leveling jacks on front

[Jim Shuff]

  I have an issue with the front electric leveling jacks.  They power down without a problem but will not lift up.  When the up is hit, it will "chatter" but not lift.  I have put in a new 27 series Interstate Battery as the old one died on the way to Florida this winter.  I tried bypassing the 30 amp fuse with the same results.   It will act this way while trailer is on AC as well.    Thank you!.

[gjhunter01]

 It sounds like you have a mechanical issue, not electrical. Without knowing your system, I would guess the drive motor is not engaging the spur gear to the rack gear. This might be caused by a loose or broken motor mounting bolt or maybe a worn spur gear that allows travel in the down direction but slips going up. You may have to access the jack motor and inspect the gear contact area to verify this. I have drilled a 1/2" hole in the square tube jack housing and once a year I spray lithium grease on the rack gear to keep it lubricated.

Greg

 

[billr]

One more additional item check the shear pin in the top gear or if there is one on the cross shaft. 

Some of the gear sets like a ring/pinion you can see inside the top of the square jack tube maybe a plastic cover to take off   Might need a mirror  they use a split type rolled shear pin  like 3/16"

changing it can be tricky 

If it's broke it may be tight enough to go without a load. 

Gregs info is right on too. 

[Jim Shuff]

Thank you.  I will follow up on your suggestions. 

[Daveh]

Three possibilities (1) motor dying (2) problem in gear box connecting to leg or (3) jam or shear  in leg mechanism itself.  This sounds a lot like an issue I had which was a shear in the mechanism of the leg itself (This happens quite often when leg overextends which I watch out for now). It probably is not the motor as you can hear the motor (In my case I could not hear motor but it still ran fine once I cleared the broken gear). There are two set ups on the front electrical legs. Some have one motor powering both legs so the front legs are connected by a shaft. The non motorized leg is referred to as the follow leg. Or, as in my case each leg has a separate motor. I had one leg go bad and it acted as you describe (Can you use the hand crank at all?). I was able to limp along  by using the  one good leg but when I finally tore it down I found the motor was fine, the gear box was fine but the mechanism within the leg itself had broken (kind of violently actually). In my case I needed a new leg and was able to use the old motor and gear box. I had ordered some replacement parts on Amazon and returned what I did not need. When you get in there look for some serial numbers. Then you will need to do some research. I got my leg replaced for free by Lippert (only one year old) but they do sell repair kits for the gear mechanisms in these legs. You just have to know serial numbers or dimensions so you are ordering the right thing (Tweetys and others sell the kits online and you can find on Amazon). One thing you should watch out for is that the electrical motors, gear boxes and legs are the same between brands but can have big price differences. Compare stromberg and lippert and any other offered.  I was able to find YouTubes of people switching out their leg mechanisms which was helpful. Also, if you search a brand name or serial number and schematic you should be able to come up with a picture or schematic of how this all fits together which really helps. The motors can be picked up off brand on ebay. Good luck. Dave