1979 wont go up or down - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

cscharrer · 07-04-2011, 01:47 AM

Got a 1979 that worked perfect until today, hit the switch to raise and nothing tapped on the solenoid and it started to raise, went to lower and again no power tried the solenoid again with no luck this time! Replaced the solenoid and neg battery cable and a fresh charged battery but get nothing not even interior lights, it seems like its getting no power or a blown fuse but I cant find a fuse box anywhere, did find a breaker box but nothing was tripped! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

RCREYES · 07-04-2011, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cscharrer

Got a 1979 that worked perfect until today, hit the switch to raise and nothing tapped on the solenoid and it started to raise, went to lower and again no power tried the solenoid again with no luck this time! Replaced the solenoid and neg battery cable and a fresh charged battery but get nothing not even interior lights, it seems like its getting no power or a blown fuse but I cant find a fuse box anywhere, did find a breaker box but nothing was tripped! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Go to the reference library and find a year close to yours. Not much changed between the years. Most of the owners manuals have a troubleshooting section in the electrical section. If all else fails, please give more details and I'm sure someone here one the forum will be able to help you out. Good luck and let us know how it goes. You can start here. (Click links below.)
http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f49/...7-2577-a-1117/

http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f17/no-lo-1212/

http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f28/will-not-lower-171/

JIM L · 07-04-2011, 08:36 AM

The links from RCREYES are a good place to start. Do you have a multimeter and know how to use it? Check the circuit breakers to see if power getting thru and if any have a reset button that is tripped. I have read here on the forum that some Hi-Lo's have a fuse in the power feed to the master switch and that fuse is located in the panel behind the master and lift/lower switch. Let us know what you find and should be able to get this fixed ASAP.

retiredcamper47 · 07-04-2011, 11:12 AM

I agree with the above two posts. Most of the time, the problem is a breaker located between the battery and lift motor. These breakers usually have a reset button on them.

Bob

PopRichie77 · 07-04-2011, 03:02 PM

I agree also, the reset breakers are usually in the battery box, but not always. If you don't know what they look like, they are small black boxes about 1 and 1/2 inches long the reset button is on the bottom if in the battery box, if not it depends on how it is mounted as to where the button is.

Rolff · 07-04-2011, 05:08 PM

Mine has 2 switches that pop open when the battery is drained. One in the battery box and one in front of the converter. The one in the battery box was easy to locate the other was under a wiring modification the previous owner did. Is that true for your '95 too PopRichie? I noticed the manual you uploaded had a note saying "No manual reset breaker"

retiredcamper47 · 07-04-2011, 05:16 PM

Not all breakers have the manual reset button. One type resets only after you disconnect the 12v power source wire from it. Another type automatically resets after it cools down. Seems like the newer breakers on the market are gray in color now. So look for black and gray.

Bob

sting32 · 07-06-2011, 11:36 AM

Seems to me, there is a fuse or something on the switch itself, if you can get to the switch that lifts and lowers, check it out. Mine has a cover in the cabinet to lift to get to the switch. I wish I had the time, to find that link to the post that told me about this... as I am pretty sure I read about this on this very website...

cscharrer · 07-06-2011, 08:53 PM

Thanks for all the help guys but I think the motorseized up on the pump! Checked all the relays and switches and they all tested good and have yet to find any kind of fuses! My next question is how do you lower it without the motor? I have searched all over this trailer and have yet to find manual pump to raise or lower!

sam · 07-06-2011, 10:09 PM

If your motor is seized up you might want to check out the post from jwswans on 3-22-2011. 1972 and older HiLo Cylinders easy to reinstall and find parts. He has several posts this day.Hope this info helps you.

PopRichie77 · 07-07-2011, 12:41 AM

Use a jumper cable put one end on the positive terminal on the battery and touch the other end to the terminal on the motor. If the motor doesn't run, it is the problem, if it runs something else is wrong. The pump motors are automotive starter motors and any shop that repairs starter motors can repair them.

JIM L · 07-07-2011, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cscharrer

Thanks for all the help guys but I think the motorseized up on the pump! Checked all the relays and switches and they all tested good and have yet to find any kind of fuses! My next question is how do you lower it without the motor? I have searched all over this trailer and have yet to find manual pump to raise or lower!

Make sure you have cleaned the ground wire connections at the battery and on the trailer frame. As Poprichie said jump from the battery positive lead to the pump motor stud and the pump should run. If it doesn't then the motor is bad. Bad ground connections have been the cause of many problems on RV's. Next, if you don't have a manual pump to lift the top off of the safety lock so you can release it, depending on the size of the Hi Lo, If small enough 4 strong guys might lift the top the fraction of a inch needed to pull the release cable and you then activate the electric lowering valve or open the manual lowering valve on the pump slightly to then lower the top. Do not open the lowering valve until after you have pulled the release cable. You do not need any pump, manual or electric to lower the top. The weight of the top is what causes it to lower when the electric or manual lowering valve is opened. As stated by another member, the motor is a starter motor and any good auto electric shop should be able to rebuild or replace it.

boater454 · 07-07-2011, 05:30 PM

Doesn't seem like a bad motor would make your interior lights go out too?

JIM L · 07-07-2011, 10:58 PM

If you have no interior lights and no power to the pump motor seems you have lost the plus side of your power or have lost the ground. Jump from the positive battery post to the pump motor stud and also connect a jumper cable from the negative battery post to the pump motor frame. Make sure you have good connections with the jumper cables. See if the motor runs now. How are you testing your battery to know that it is good? Since I own a 2005 Hi Lo I do not know the power system on a 79. I do know the system from the battery to the pump and the above check will tell you if your pump motor is good or bad assuming you have a good battery. This check bypasses all switches, relays, circuit breakers, fuses and wiring. You cannot check the condition of a battery just by checking the voltage. A bad or almost dead battery will show 12 volts.