Electric step on pvc problem

[Antalex]

Collected brand new Fiat Ducato van in May and had a few short trips out close to dealership in case of any problems. Six weeks or so later I had a lithium battery,B2B etc ,installed by one of the only dealers here in Rome who specialises in lithium battery installments. Shortly afterwards I started my 10 week trip through northern europe. A couple of weeks in to the trip,the electric step started intermittently not coming out. When the button,to release step, was pressed it made a sound but step remained firmly in place. After 10 minutes or so when I tried again it would work and continued to work until I did a trip again and the same thing happened again.Then on several occasions the step wouldn’t retract or would retract only half way. I managed to make it retract a couple of times by turning the ignition key but on one occasion even this would not make it retract and so after waiting and trying for 30 minutes or so I called the fiat assistance number as obviously the engine would not start if the step had not retracted. After 2 hours of trying,the step eventually retracted. Thankfully the step not retracting never happened again but the problem of it not coming out persists. Now here’s the strange thing,every once in a while the Dometic compressor fridge also switches itself off when the step is not working. On my return I went back to dealer I bought from in Perugia and he is baffled by the problem. If Im doing a short 15 minute trip the step will continue to work but anything longer than 30 minutes and it invariably won’t work. I also took it back to the dealer in Rome as it was after the battery installment that the problem started,and at first he thought it could be due to a sudden loss of power in battery but he says now that can’t be the problem as he’s monitered everything. He is perplexed as to why if faulty the step still makes the sound to be released and also why it always works again after 10 minutes of being stationery. The electric step is manufactured by Lippert. If anyone has any suggestions or has had the same problem,advice would be mightily appreciated.

 

[FrankNicklin]

Problems with other steps have been put down to the plastic gears sheering in the motors. The gearing only moves approx 30% of rotation and once the gears shred they stop the step moving. The constant testing might force the gear to rotate further to a better set of teeth until it fails again. That said it does explain the situation with your fridge.

Here is a link to a similar issue with the Lippert steps. The same happens with other manufacturers as well. I think any resistance on the steps can easily break the teeth, they are only nylon/plastic.

https://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f16/my-electric-steps-have-the-hiccups-191356.html

 

[scotjimland]

Has the step mechanism been cleaned and lubricated.. ?

I have a Thule sliding step, and during winter with dirty roads I have to clean mine quite often ..same symptoms as you describe.. comes out half way or gets stuck half way going back..

Now here’s the strange thing,every once in a while the Dometic compressor fridge also switches itself off when the step is not working.

I suspect low voltage to be the problem, as that would also affect the compressor fridge .. they switch off on low voltage

Have you had the voltage checked across the battery terminals when the problem occurs ?

 

[Antalex]

Has the step mechanism been cleaned and lubricated.. ?

I have a Thule sliding step, and during winter with dirty roads I have to clean mine quite often ..same symptoms as you describe.. comes out half way or gets stuck half way going back..



I suspect low voltage to be the problem, as that would also affect the compressor fridge .. they switch off on low voltage

Have you had the voltage checked across the battery terminals when the problem occurs ?

Problems with other steps have been put down to the plastic gears sheering in the motors. The gearing only moves approx 30% of rotation and once the gears shred they stop the step moving. The constant testing might force the gear to rotate further to a better set of teeth until it fails again. That said it does explain the situation with your fridge.

Here is a link to a similar issue with the Lippert steps. The same happens with other manufacturers as well. I think any resistance on the steps can easily break the teeth, they are only nylon/plastic.

https://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f16/my-electric-steps-have-the-hiccups-191356.html

Yes,steps have been cleaned and lubricated. With regards to the teeth breaking or perhaps as per your link the pivot bolt breaking,would that explain as to why,when stationery for 15 minutes the step will work again and will continue to work for days on end until the next trip out. This has been going on now for almost 5 months- you’d think the teeth would be well and truly knackered by now if it was that and therefore the steps wouldn’t work at all.

Yes, the voltage was checked when the problem occurred and it was ok.

 

[FrankNicklin]

The step will have a constant 12V feed for operation i.e no need to select either battery for the step to work so should function irrespective of whether the engine is running or not as its obviously the entry/exit to the MH. When ours is in storage and all electrics turned off at the panel the step will still work, it also beeps and retracts when the engine starts

The Fridge should only run on 12V with the engine running otherwise it will kill the battery. These should be 2 circuits so shouldn't interfere with each other so makes no sense why when one happens so does the other.

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[scotjimland]

The Fridge should only run on 12V with the engine running otherwise it will kill the battery.

Its a 12v Dometic compressor fridge, not a 3 way.. they run on the leisure battery

 

[FrankNicklin]

Its a 12v Dometic compressor fridge, not a 3 way.. they run on the leisure battery

OK but I though the 12v even from the leisure battery only operated when the engine was running as the compressors can be power hungry.

 

[scotjimland]

OK but I though the 12v even from the leisure battery only operated when the engine was running as the compressors can be power hungry.

not at all power hungry .. popular misconception, they run all the time from the leisure battery, but they do need a decent sized battery bank and preferably with solar when off grid for more than a few days .. and not driving.

Mine is
36watt , 3 amps when running , 25- 30% of the time. .. about 18ah in 24hrs, depending on weather and how often the door is opened..

I have 2 x 80w solar panels and 200ah FLA batteries which are more than capable of powering it when off-grid ..

the figures quoted are for my fridge, I don't know what model the OP has

 

[andymun]

I had a Malibu 540 PVC for a while. I had a lithium battery fitted to it which caused the hab control panel to start flashing lights randomly. It also caused a problem with the electric step. I seem to remember the step was made by Thule. The dealer never found the issue so in the end I had the lithium battery removed and the original LA battery put back in.

 

[Speve]

Sounds like a wiring problem or a sticky relay or bad connection that is jolting loose when on the move and settles back when stopped

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[Antalex]

Sounds like a wiring problem or a sticky relay or bad connection that is jolting loose when on the move and settles back when stopped

Thanks for all your replies- still trying to get to the bottom of it. I have 2 dealers now who don’t seem to be able to resolve the issue and are waiting on replies from Dometic and Lippert as to how to move forward.

 

[Antalex]

An update from last year when I was having problems with my step which was sometimes failing to come out and at times not retracting also. My dealer contacted McLouis who said they were aware of the problem and it had to do with the Lithium battery installation which was done professionally here in Rome. They were to send a part which would resolve the problem-they did not go into specifics. (I’m afraid I’m not au fait with electrics whatsoever but I’m learning slowly!) Anyway the part arrived and the dealers workshop tried to fit it but they said there was a component missing,so I am still waiting several months later for the problem to be resolved. In the meantime I have been reading various threads on this wonderful forum and I think I now may know what is causing this problem. The electric step does not function when the voltage after a long drive goes up to 14.4,but as soon as it goes down to 14.2 the step works again. So I presume the part that I’m waiting for is a 12v regulator? I also think this is the same problem with my Dometic compressor fridge,which also turns itself off,once every couple of weeks. It’s strange that this has not been recognised by two different motorhome workshops. The installer of my lithium batteries is known to be one of the best here in Rome,and so I am really surprised that he has not suggested in any way that this could be the problem. Even stranger as he installed a second lithium battery for me a couple of months back and there was no mention of a 12v regulator being a possible solution to the step and fridge. Btw,have never had a problem with Maxxfan and voltage.

Will have to put up with this for now as I’m heading to Romania for 6 weeks tomorrow.

 

[berni109]

Hopefully when you get the new part (regulator) fitted it will resolve all the problem.
I can understand that the fridge might be voltage sensitive but a simple step motor?
Enjoy Romania.

 

[Antalex]

Hopefully when you get the new part (regulator) fitted it will resolve all the problem.
I can understand that the fridge might be voltage sensitive but a simple step motor?
Enjoy Romania.

 

[autorouter]

A voltage of 14.4V is totally standard for charging a lead-acid battery, and is also to be expected when charging lithium. If the step will not function at 14.4V then it is not fit for purpose on a motorhome. The step on my motorhome works fine at any voltage that the battery throws at it, and has done since it was made in 2006. Just as well you didn't fit an AGM battery, they require a charging voltage up to 14.8V.