Slide Motor

[DavidL]

Got back from the HOOTs Hilton Head Newmar get-together. Had a great time with wife and son. Played two rounds of golf and learned the basics of PickleBall. Met some super nice folks, now friends.

Got back to Michigan and unpacked. Rolled the slides out. Heard a Bang when putting the Kitchen large slide out. Wouldn't reverse. Motor was running, no slide movement. Gotta be that slide motor gear broke like everyone elses...went outside and took some pictures of the motor to lookup the bad news. Thankfully the part numbers were obscured by some old masking tape that is welded onto the part number label. Online motors start at $600 and go to $2000....

Decided to actually diagnose the thing before ordering expensive parts (what a concept!)

Thankfully, I automated my slides. I was able to use my SmartRemote handheld remote control to toggle the slide motor while laying in the now empty baggage compartment to inspect the motor. Hmmm, the motor is turning the shaft but the coupling isn't turning. So the motor / gears are just fine! But the motor isn't reversing....

Got to thinking...if the transtorque bushing was allowing the motor to turn, it never stalls, therefore the controller doesn't realize it ever hit it's full Stop. And it then won't reverse....so, I took a small jewelers screwdriver and turned the slide controllers amperage limit down. Toggled the slide. And it reversed and the slide came in!!!! So, we now know the problem isn't the controller and isn't the motor. The transtorque bushing just got a little weak. Thankfully that's the cheapest part of the solution.

Another day to see if it's just loose or bad.

I'll take the above as good news. I thought I was in for a $1K part minimum.

I wonder how many others have fallen for the "don't move, order a motor" that I am sure most repair facilities would do.

 

[Rich W.]

Got back from the HOOTs Hilton Head Newmar get-together. Had a great time with wife and son. Played two rounds of golf and learned the basics of PickleBall. Met some super nice folks, now friends.

Got back to Michigan and unpacked. Rolled the slides out. Heard a Bang when putting the Kitchen large slide out. Wouldn't reverse. Motor was running, no slide movement. Gotta be that slide motor gear broke like everyone elses...went outside and took some pictures of the motor to lookup the bad news. Thankfully the part numbers were obscured by some old masking tape that is welded onto the part number label. Online motors start at $600 and go to $2000....

Decided to actually diagnose the thing before ordering expensive parts (what a concept!)

Thankfully, I automated my slides. I was able to use my SmartRemote handheld remote control to toggle the slide motor while laying in the now empty baggage compartment to inspect the motor. Hmmm, the motor is turning the shaft but the coupling isn't turning. So the motor / gears are just fine! But the motor isn't reversing....

Got to thinking...if the transtorque bushing was allowing the motor to turn, it never stalls, therefore the controller doesn't realize it ever hit it's full Stop. And it then won't reverse....so, I took a small jewelers screwdriver and turned the slide controllers amperage limit down. Toggled the slide. And it reversed and the slide came in!!!! So, we now know the problem isn't the controller and isn't the motor. The transtorque bushing just got a little weak. Thankfully that's the cheapest part of the solution.

Another day to see if it's just loose or bad.

I'll take the above as good news. I thought I was in for a $1K part minimum.

I wonder how many others have fallen for the "don't move, order a motor" that I am sure most repair facilities would do.

Mine was a single tooth broken off one of the reduction gears and it was $800 for a new unit. They don’t sell the gear box, much less individual gears. I read about one case where the owner had a machinist friend who made a gear for him, but he only made one. I kept the old unit for parts but its a shame that something so minor requires an entire motor/drive assembly.

Nice catch on yours. Trans torque bushings can just loosen up sometimes and just need to be tightened up. I’d recommend loosening yours and inspecting the internals - might be able to re-install it rather than replace it.

My broken gear:

In case you haven’t had a TT bushing apart (you probably have):