Lippert Slim Rack slide - only one side moving in.

[b_cummings]

Winnebago View 20D with the Lippert Slimrack slide system.

The slide was fully extended. Upon retracting it this morning, the right side stopped moving while the left side continued. After about 6" of movement from just the left side, I reversed directions. Both sides of the slide moved out until the previously stopped side right-hand side was fully extended, leaving the left side 6" short of being completely extended.

The switch will either retract the left side, or attempt to extend the right side (it won't go any farther as it is fully extended). I rocked the switch in and out in order to attempt a reset, but this only serves to retract the left side further making the angle of the slide worse.

The slide controller (Lippert SlimRack #366701) does not show any fault codes. This controller lacks a reset button, the switch is a simple rocker switch with no LED indicators.

I suspect that the controller will try to sync the two sides if I were to fully retract the slide, but I'm afraid to do that because there is already 8-10" difference between the two sides.

I'm boodocking and can't leave unless I successfully troubleshoot this thing, or else disconnect the motors and get some help pushing this slide in.

Any suggestions? It would be much appreciated!

[Americanrascal]

We went through some failures on 2 of our slides that were similar to your experience. In both cases the slim rack mechanism drive blocks failed and broke causing uneven and sporadic extension and retraction. The drive blocks are somewhat like motor mounts that keep the motors in place. No fault showed on the controller.

I was able to remove the exterior cover panel and drop the wiper seals where I witnessed the motors twisting in their mount- a bad situation that demonstrated the drive block failure. I got the slides in far enough and eventually found a shop that could replace the drive blocks on both sides of the slide. It may not be the exact same failure as you are experiencing.

On a third occasion I had a controller failure and went to Forrest City and managed to catch some Lippert Techs while there for the Grand National. They worked on it for a while and ultimately put a new controller in and all was well.

I was lucky enough to get them in enough to travel. If you can not then you may have to access the upper motor, release the motor spring and set screw to lift the motor and push the slide in manually. There are descriptions of that process I believe on the Lippert Power Gear site and some You Tube videos. Doable but not all that easy.

I haven't helped you I'm afraid but I do share your frustrations

[b_cummings]

Thanks for the kind response, Joe.

To follow up... the mobile repairman just left. Although this controller does not have a reset button that can be pressed 6 times and then held, it does have a little slide switch. He was not familiar with this controller, but through some trial and error and the use of that switch, he was able to get the slide working and synced up properly.

He wasn't positive of the cause of failure, but he felt the controller may need to be changed - which he would have done had he had one. $260 for his mobile repair on a late Saturday afternoon. Perhaps Winnebago will reimburse me as I was stuck on the road without the ability to drive.