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Goal15 · 09-04-2012, 07:20 PM

So we went to pick up Thumper on Friday for first trip of the fall, and toggled the Super Jack switch.... and nothing, no clicks, no whirrs... just silence. Checked batteries and sure enough, we had left the radio on ... so no juice.

So I popped the head off the jack and used the emergency crank handle to get hooked up to tow home so we could charge the batteries overnight.

With charged batteries, Super Jack worked on Saturday morning when I unhitched at campground.

Monday morning, worked again when i hitched up.

Got back to storage Monday night, backed AS in, toggled the switch.... nada. Batteries charged this time, interior lights worked etc.

popped the head off the jack and cranked it again to get AS unhitched.

Only thing i could find was that the red wire inside the head was pinched so I figured it might be broken. Did a cut and splice and still nada.

After I got home, checked schematics and see there is supposed to be a fuse in there somewhere. So I guess I will have to make a trip up with the proper fuse to see if that does it. Also saw somewhere here that the power wire that runs off the battery, can get shorted as it goes under the propane tank covers. So I will check that as well.

But in the interim, has anyone found an emergency crank or fashioned their own that actually allows you to crank it manually without having to stop, take the crank off, turn it around and crank another half turn?

Not a real great design if you have to turn it 50-60 times to achieve desired height.

I may have crimped the wire when i reinstalled the head on Friday night after manually cranking, but would have thought that the splice would have taken care of that.

But in any event... to get the head off, with the wiring the way it is done, just looks like its trouble waiting to happen.

Thoughts?

hhendrix · 09-04-2012, 07:46 PM

There is an inline fuse, usually visible on the jack shaft. It's a 30 amp and you should have spares. The second thing that seems to occur is the limit lever toggles on the micro switches inside the head tend to get out of adjustment and nothing happens. Try the fuse first and the best way to check is to turn on the light (if you have one) on the jack head. If the light doesn't go on, the most likely culprit is the fuse.

Goal15 · 09-04-2012, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hhendrix

There is an inline fuse, usually visible on the jack shaft. It's a 30 amp and you should have spares. The second thing that seems to occur is the limit lever toggles on the micro switches inside the head tend to get out of adjustment and nothing happens. Try the fuse first and the best way to check is to turn on the light (if you have one) on the jack head. If the light doesn't go on, the most likely culprit is the fuse.

Thanks.

Light didn't light up so, it may well be the fuse. Of course, now I also have to go back and fix the cut and splice with the right connector, as well.

Dana

Phoenix · 09-04-2012, 10:56 PM

If you ever decide to replace your electric tongue jack, we have an Atwood 2500# electric jack; and the crank mechanism is on the outside of the front of the jack head, so the motor cover doesn't need to be removed to use the manual crank handle. We cover the jack head with an old boat fender (bumper) that has one end cut off, secured with a long bungee cord; so the motor and crank mechanism doesn't get wet or dirty.

If you continue to have problems with your batteries going dead, I hate to keep re-posting the same suggestion; but conscientious use of a marine battery isolator switch will pretty much eliminate battery overcharging and phantom drains, and extend battery life in storage. See link below, provided for reference only.

Amazon.com: Perko 8501DP Marine Battery Selector Switch: Automotive

Goal15 · 09-08-2012, 12:40 PM

So I've looked around here and found that this probably has a 30 amp 250v slow blow fuse....

can anyone venture a guess as to the gauge of the red wire? need to fix the splice i made... the right way.....

will look for super jack wiring diagram... hopefully that will tell me.

thanks
Dana

dznf0g · 09-08-2012, 02:30 PM

My guess is 12ga.

Aage · 09-08-2012, 02:45 PM

We always have the umbilical plugged in to use the jack. I never thought of using it any other way.

Goal15 · 09-08-2012, 05:04 PM

12 GA it was.

So this afternoon I:

1. bought a new fuse, and some plastic wire shielding and a pkg of butt connectors, and a multi-purpose wire stripping/crimping tool

2. repaired the wire i had cut and spliced, replaced the fuse, put wire shielding on the wire from the battery compartment through the propane tank cover and up to the jack head.

3. and it works.

as to using the jack with umbilical... tried that but if the fuse is gone.... the jack isn't going to work or at least in this case it didnt. Not sure why the fuse blew.... i may have raised the stab jack too high when i hooked up before coming home.....

so now i have a supply of fuses for back ups and things are back to semi normal.

now its onward and upward to a 15K AC.... hopefully before next summer.

and have to put some packing tape on the edges of the reflectix we cut for all the windows last weekend so the little pieces of compressed foam don't keep flacking off

dznf0g · 09-08-2012, 05:12 PM

Hey Dana,

Did you time the head to the high and low switch. That could cause a blown fuse again if you didn't.

Here's the instructions, if you don't have them:

http://www.barkermfg.com/superjackpg4.pdf

page 2, at the bottom. This provides for automatic shutoff of the motor before reaching the end of the run up or down and causing overload to the motor, which blows a fuse.

Goal15 · 09-08-2012, 06:29 PM

Thanks, I will do that next time out. Has anyone made a tool that will allow continous manual cranking?

dznf0g · 09-08-2012, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goal15

Thanks, I will do that next time out. Has anyone made a tool that will allow continous manual cranking?

Hmmmm no, but I bet if you cut off the end of the manual crank and welded a hex shaft on it, you could use a cordless drill. I'll have to consider that myself.

Goal15 · 09-08-2012, 07:02 PM

I don't mind hand cranking out but the whole make a half turn, take the crank out and do another half turn is a bit much, especially if you are already defeated by the jack not working

Goal15 · 09-08-2012, 07:03 PM

Maybe i could fashion something that would fit the end of my stabilizer crank

dznf0g · 09-08-2012, 07:05 PM

That would work too.
I've, fortunately, never had to manually crank the jack. Does it take a lot of force...or torque? Would a drill do it?

Goal15 · 09-08-2012, 07:10 PM

Actually cranks pretty easy, so drill probably would work. I'm hoping with supply of fuses that i won't have to again

dznf0g · 09-08-2012, 07:14 PM

On my Classic, it is wired to a resettable breaker....but I have never tripped it. I think if you have the limit switches timed properly and your shorted wire fixed, you shouldn't pop any more fuses. Heck, I lift the back of my TV up pretty high when hitching the WD bars and have never tripped the breaker.