Televator is cutting power to sound system

Billn59

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Joined
Jan 28, 2021
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71
Location
Alpine Tx
After a few camping trips in our 2019 2670MK, I noticed I keep having to reset the clock on the Jensen receiver. As we were packing up one day I lowered the TV and noticed the receiver cuts off when the televator reached the end of its travel. After further investigation the Jensen receiver cuts power everytime I reach the limit on the televator in either direction. I checked the wiring and everything looks normal. No snags or anything like that. Seems like the televator Motor is drawing too much power at the end of its limit. Has anyone seen this?

Bill
 
Try not operating the televator to the limits. I stop ours as soon as the cover closes, and just high enough to slide a filler cover in. (To keep stuff from falling down in)
 
I let the televator hit the stop collars at both ends every time and have never had that problem. That said, though, your theory sounds reasonable. There could be an iffy connection in that 12 volt line that's not capable of handling the current demand, too. Is the battery at full charge?

Rob
 
Yes, the Battery is charged. I only use the televator when AC power is hooked up. From what I can tell looking down through the top is both the televator and the Jensen is on the same circuit. As soon as the weather cools down in this area, I will remove the fireplace and do some troubleshooting.
 
I’m with Rob. As it hits the stops, the motor strains and draws more current causing voltage drop on the circuit.
 
Hi Bill, I own a 2022 2670MK and experienced this same problem. I'm an electronic engineer and did a deep dive to troubleshoot - long story short is that the previous posts are correct - when the TV extension motor hits the limit of its travel the motor stalls and draws lots of current (until the switch is released by the user). This large current, even for a brief moment, causes the voltage on the circuit/wiring which supplies power to the motor to drop (due to resistance in the wire from the fuse box) - something usual and expected for this type of motor application. Root cause of the problem: GD made a design mistake by connecting the Jensen receiver/clock to the same circuit/wiring, the voltage drop caused by the motor stall, if enough, causes the Jensen to power off momentarily which resets its clock. Very frustrating!

Here's the fun part: in my trailer the problem was very intermittent and our first camping ventures were relatively cold-weather. I could not get the problem to reproduce during these trips. Nor could my dealer's service department reproduce the problem (all my service appointments happened to be in cold months). Later during a warm (hot) weather trip the clock reset occurred every time we raised/lowered the TV. The explanation is simple - the resistance of the 12V wiring from the fuse panel to the TV cabinet increases at higher temperatures. The higher resistance causes more voltage drop when the TV motor stalls, enough voltage drop to cause the Jensen receiver to power off (resetting the clock).

I took detailed measurements and made a video demonstrating the problem (in warm weather), and sent all of it to GD customer support. My trailer was still within warranty so I requested that a new circuit/wire be run from the fuse panel to power the Jensen receiver separately. I had to push a bit but not too much, eventually they authorized my dealer to run a new circuit/wire under warranty (they had to open up the underbelly to route the wire, something I was glad to avoid doing myself).

A non-warranty solution might be to reconnect the TV motor to a different circuit in the kitchen slide out - perhaps easier to do than running a new circuit/wire all the way from the fuse box. But the other circuit in that slide out I think includes the over-range fan, so there might be some small chance of blowing the circuit fuse if running the TV motor when all the other lights & fan are on in the kitchen area (my guess is that blowing the fuse would be unlikely since the TV motor stalls are only very brief). Or the Jensen could be connected to that other kitchen circuit - though it might not be ideal to have the receiver (a sensitive audio device) on the same circuit as an electrically noisy kitchen fan. But worth experimenting to see if either of these easier wire runs would work.

Hope this information helps!
 
Thank you so much for your reply. I figured I was going to have to put one of those items on a different circuit. Good to know there is another 12v nearby. I'm going to have to remove the fireplace. Right now, it's too hot in west Texas to be out working on the trailer. Hopefully, it will cool down a bit in the next few weeks.
 

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