2018 2400BH with failed Schwintek motor and slide stuck in closed position

[Greg_C]

Hello

This is my first post, hoping the forum can help. Through troubleshooting Ive determined that the rear Schwintek motor is bad/has failed with the slide in closed the position. (Error code 8) Front motor runs and moves slide 2-3” before stoping. Harness from controller to the motor connection checked for opens and shorts and is good.

I understand that in order to replace the motor I first have to remove a screw that secures the motor in place, but the catch is this screw is only accessible from the RV exterior with the slide partially extended.

My question to the forum is how can I extend the slide out enough so I can remove the retaining screw to allow me to complete the motor replacement. (I,ve put controller in manual override mode but the defective motor does not run. ) I,ve also tried pushing on the non-running motor side of the slide while operating the slide switch but that side won’t budge. Do I need more muscle/bodies to push the slide out? Other options or things to check?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Jomani]

Take a look at page 18 of this manual (link below).

Disconnect the motor harnesses from the In-Wall®
controller (Fig. 36A) to allow the slide room to be
manually pushed into position

It will take some serious pushing after the electronic brake has been released.

https://lci-support-doc.s3.amazonaws...cd-0001769.pdf

[Greg_C]

Thank you for the document link Jomani and pointing me to page 18.
Much appreciated. I’ll disconnect the motors and find some help to push the slide out.

Couple of follow up questions:
Am I correct to understand that an electronic brake is built into each motor and activated while connected to the slide controller?

Can I leave the working motor connected to the controller and operate the slide switch to move the slide on that side while pushing on the disconnected motor side or do both motor connectors need to be unplugged?

Thanks again.

[Ynot4me2]

Can I leave the working motor connected to the controller and operate the slide switch to move the slide on that side while pushing on the disconnected motor side or do both motor connectors need to be unplugged?

Possibly, but it might be challenging to push the failed side at the same rate. Might be worth a try though. Also, you don't need to push the slide all the way out, just enough to access that screw.
Keep us posted.

[Greg_C]

Thanks Ynot4me2 and will do…

[traveldawg]

Take a look at page 18 of this manual (link below).

Disconnect the motor harnesses from the In-Wall®
controller (Fig. 36A) to allow the slide room to be
manually pushed into position

It will take some serious pushing after the electronic brake has been released.

https://lci-support-doc.s3.amazonaws...cd-0001769.pdf

@Jomani
GOOD REFERENCE!!!! Thanks. I posted it in the Reference Library under All Things Schwintek (and gave you the credit for finding this).

[Greg_C]

It will take some serious pushing after the electronic brake has been released.

Update on attempting to push slide-out open with both motors disconnected from controller and motors left in place…

… two seriously big strong guys pushing on the slide frame inside the trailer with all their strength… it didn’t budge / move it at all. Both guys then moved to one side and pushing at same time … nothing moved… reconnected the good motor to the controller and operated that side using the motor while the two guys pushed on the non working side… no outward movement possible on the non working motor side of the slide.

I’d appreciate any feedback from anyone who has successfully done this (pushed slide in or out with motors still in place and unplugged from controller module.)

Thanks.

[nprario]

I know you won't be able to remove it but just spitballing here. Could you pry up on the motor to possibly disengage the shaft enough to then push on that side of the slide? I have had luck moving the slide with a motor not working but clearly yours has not released the brake or is otherwise frozen even with the power disconnected.

[Greg_C]

Thanks for this suggestion norario… I’ll give that a try … however i think the retaining screw will restrict the upward movement…I also observe that on all replacement 300:1 motors similar to what is in my Schwintek slide, that the motor drive shaft is much longer than the motor retaining pins that keep it from rotating.

It’s encouraging to hear that you have had success in moving the slide manually with a non functional motor still in place. I can’t explain why we could not push out even a little bit either sides of the slide-out with both motor harnesses unplugged from the controller.

BTW after looking at the reference document that Jomani pointed out to me, I noticed that my RV has a slide controller part #13398-D0 which is not listed in that document , otherwise it looks almost identical to part# 13398-C2. I only mention this as perhaps the D0 part in my RV has a different electronic lock disable / enable method.

Thanks again for the suggestion.

[Greg_C]

A positive update to report… I was able to gain access to and remove the motor retaining screw, and remove the faulty motor with the slide in the fully closed position… here is how I did it:

The first thing I did was partially open the slide on the one side with the working motor … I then removed some of the side seal at the top to expose the motor retaining screw on that side and take both vertical and horizontal measurements using the top and outer edges of the slide trim as reference points.



I determined that the retaining screw is located 3-5/8” vertically down from the top trim edge, and 2” horizontally in from the side trim edge. Next I pushed the seals back into place, returned the slide on that side to its fully closed position, and turned my attention to the non working exterior side of the slide. On our slide there is piece of molded plastic trim that covers the top left and right corners of the slide-out. It’s held in place with three Phillips screws.



I removed the molded plastic corner trim piece to exposed the aluminum trim pieces below it. I then marked two lines , one vertical 3-5/8” from the top trim edge and one horizontal 2” from the side trim edge. The intersecting point of the two lines should approximate the position of the defective motor’s retaining screw located below the aluminum trim. I used a metal punch to mark that point.




My plan is to drill a hole in the aluminum trim in order to access the retaining screw. I also wanted to protect the rubber seal and siding below while drilling thru the aluminum trim. I used a 1-1/4” bi-metal hole saw, and a small piece of 22 gauge sheet metal that I slid between the slide and the rubber seal on the RV.



…