HWH Leveling System Jack won't retract automatically

LSpecht · May 30, 2015

Hey,

I have an HWH touch panel-controlled leveling system, series 310 on my 2002 Winnebago Adventurer. I don't use the RV very much these days usually only putting about 1000 miles per year on it.

A few years ago, the front left straight down jack started hanging up sometimes during retraction. Other times it worked fine. When this happened, not realizing I should be opening the solenoid to retract it, I simply used a lever and fulcrum to pry the jack up into the stored position. The problem seems to be getting worse now, almost every time I use the jack it doesn't seem to want to automatically retract and during my last trip home the jack extended warning light came on while I was going down the road. It had only come down slightly so I pushed it back up and made it home. Now I want to fix it and according to the manual, the most likely causes are bent rod, pinched hydraulic line, dirt, or a weak spring. That last one might be why the jack extended a little bit on the last return trip. Anyway, I plan to try cleaning the jack first and was wondering what the best way was to do this? The rod itself looks fine, nice and shiny with no corrosion or dirt. I am thinkiing I'll just get my pressure washer on the exterior and springs but is there something more I can do? I was thinking of lubricating the rod with a silicone lubricant. I will of course inspect the hydraulic line for any damage as well while I'm under there. Extension of the jack has never been a problem. Thoughts or advice to help me get this working the way it should?

Lowell.

Rif · May 30, 2015

The retract springs eventually loose their ability to do their job. Replacing them is a simple job. They can be ordered from HWH.

Let me suggest that you call their tech support. I have contacted them with issues and they have been very helpful in diagnosing the problem and identifying a fix. All the information you need can be found on their web site. http://www.hwhcorp.com/

pjstough · May 30, 2015

My first guess would be the corresponding solenoid is stuck in a slightly open position, or not closing all the way. However, the first thing I would do is with the jacks down is to spray the seal on the jacks with WD-40. If that doesnt help retraction, then check the corresponding solenoid. I had a jack do a similar thing, and discovered that the back end of the solenoid had started to come unscrewed from the solenoid, and by tightening the back end up, that solved the problem, otherwise replacing the solenoid should solve your problem.

Although, I have heard of pinched lines and bent rams, I doubt that is your problem, and replacing springs can help, but also can mask the problem of dry seals.

Paul

LSpecht · June 28, 2015

Thanks for the replies and sorry it took so long to respond. I took Rif's advice and called HWH. They had a call back waiting list that was days long for both parts and service departments. That's the bad news. The good news is the parts department called me back a couple of days later and when I explained my problem to her, she felt like the strut itself had something wrong internally. She suggested I extend the jacks and then store them. This left the 3 good jacks stored and the one bad jack extended but with no load on it. Then she had me disconnect the hydraulic line at the top of the strut to see if the strut would retract. It did not and this meant something inside the strut was bad. Even though she worked in parts and not service, she really helped me isolate the problem and I can't say enough good things about their customer service. She sold me a remanufactured strut for $255 and I ordered a new pair of springs just to be thorough. The only difficulty in replacing the strut was the solenoid (or maybe it's a pressure transducer?) that is installed on the top of the strut. I could only unscrew it about 3 full turns before the wires kinked up to the point I was afraid I would damage them. So I had to unbolt the mounting brackets for the strut, carefully lower the strut and unwind it 3 full turns. Then I continued to unwind the strut another 3 turns to give me more removal turns back up at the solenoid. I then bolted the strut in enough to hold it and finished removing the solenoid. I reversed the procedure installing the new reman strut. I used jack stands rated for the vehicle which is a Winnebago Adventurer and I used a tarp to catch the hydraulic fluid that leaked out when I disconnected the strut hydraulic line. I added some more HWH Specialty fluid back in when the job was done. The new strut works like a charm.