# Light Switches And Slide Questions?



## Dubxl4 (May 28, 2012)

Alright here we go. I have owned my 2003 28bhs for going on three years now. So far the family and I love it. We are the second owners and treat it better than the previous owners by far. That being said I believe a few things were being neglected in its previous relationship, that are now starting to show. The slide extends and retracts just fine but when on the road it starts to work itself loose from the main body of the trailer. I am not sure how to go about tighten things up myself although I am fairly handy. Also the main light switches in side the door confuse me a little. There are a total of four switches. Two doubles. One switch on the top does the interior lights and one on the bottom does the exterior light. My problem is trying to figure out what the hell the other two do. Any suggestions..... Thanks


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

There should be two outside flood lights (one on each side of the trailer) and one amber light. so there should be three switches for outside lights.


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## Kapnkirk (Mar 2, 2012)

And the 4th switch is for the night lights near the floor inside, at least that is how our new 279RB is wired.

Keith


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## Dubxl4 (May 28, 2012)

CamperAndy said:


> There should be two outside flood lights (one on each side of the trailer) and one amber light. so there should be three switches for outside lights.


If that is the case maybe I just pulled my idiot card and the bulbs are just bad... That will be the first thing I check this weekend. On a side note what year did they start the option that you can turn on the parking lights while hooked up at a site an option? Cause that is a mod I would also be interested in doing. I was setup aside a 2011 35ft outback this weekend that had that option and it really interested me. Thanks.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Dubxl4 said:


> ....On a side note what year did they start the option that you can turn on the parking lights while hooked up at a site an option?


What are "parking lights"?


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## gzaleski (Aug 29, 2009)

Welcome to Outbackers!


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Kapnkirk said:


> And the 4th switch is for the night lights near the floor inside, at least that is how our new 279RB is wired.


Keystone introduced the floor night lights with the 2010 or 2011 model.

We loved our 2004 28BHS for several years before selling it this spring. As for the light switches, 1 is for the road side security light, 1 is for the curb side security light, 1 is for the yellow exterior door light and the last switch is for the three main interior ceiling lights (although the ceiling lights also have a separate switch on them). As for the slide out; it sounds like the locking mechanism has been bypassed. Do you know where the motor is that operates the room under the dinette seat? There should be a brass lever that is attached off the end of it. I can't remember if you pull up or push down, but that is the bypass for the lock to manually move the room. I will see if I can dig up a photo of it so that it will make more sense.

EDIT:
I know it is kind of hard to make out in this smaller photo, but this is the slide room mechanical system. The motor is in the lower right corner, the manual motor brake release is in the lower left corner and the two bars that exit the top corners are what move the room.









Here is a close up of the electromagnetic lock assembly, manual release and manual wrenching nut. When operating correctly, you hit the switch to move the room and in addition to operating the motor, it also energizes the electromagnetic lock assembly, releasing it.


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## Dubxl4 (May 28, 2012)

Thanks for the help on the slide I will check that out and see if that helps. It has never done it as bad as it did this weekend and I was getting concerned. Plus it looks like hell when your coming down the road and your slide is hanging an inch and a half away from the main body of the camper!

As for the parking lights I mean the exterior clearance marker lights. Not the night lights like on the newer models. My 2003 is not equipped with those. Is there a way to mod it to put those on a switch to be turned on like the newer models when not hooked up to the truck? It looks nice from the outside to have a little ornamental lighting.


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## Dubxl4 (May 28, 2012)

I am a little confused about the locking mechanism. Since it is damn near a hurricane outside right now, I can't take a look at it. But are you saying that somewhere along the line some one released it and it needs to be put back on or that it needs to be adjusted. I guess I just need to have it I front of me to access the prob a little better.


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## sulvester10 (Feb 20, 2012)

To get the running lights to flash all you need is to buy a flasher relay and wire it into the cord end that goes to the truck and put the flasher relay between the +12v and running lights tap on the plug.
My link


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Dubxl4 said:


> I am a little confused about the locking mechanism. Since it is damn near a hurricane outside right now, I can't take a look at it. But are you saying that somewhere along the line some one released it and it needs to be put back on or that it needs to be adjusted. I guess I just need to have it I front of me to access the prob a little better.


To me, a slide room that moves out an inch and a half while traveling, sounds like the lock is not resetting after you slide the room. The manual release simply moves up a small amount, like 1/4 of an inch. That would be my first thing to look at. Has the room moved every since you purchased the unit? If so, maybe the previous owner had some issues with it.


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## LaydBack (Aug 22, 2010)

Dubxl4 said:


> There should be two outside flood lights (one on each side of the trailer) and one amber light. so there should be three switches for outside lights.


If that is the case maybe I just pulled my idiot card and the bulbs are just bad... That will be the first thing I check this weekend. On a side note what year did they start the option that you can turn on the parking lights while hooked up at a site an option? Cause that is a mod I would also be interested in doing. I was setup aside a 2011 35ft outback this weekend that had that option and it really interested me. Thanks.
[/quote]
In the attached pic, grab your 7-way cord and put a 10A fuse across the corresponding top two pins, and you will light up your park/running lights, without them flashing. They sell a contraption to do the same thing, but the 10A fuse is easy and safe. Now if you want to be able to switch it, you'll need to get into the box on the A-frame where your 7-way cord terminates and run a 2 conductor cable from your switch to those corresponding terminals and put a fuse inline.


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## Dubxl4 (May 28, 2012)

H2oSprayer said:


> I am a little confused about the locking mechanism. Since it is damn near a hurricane outside right now, I can't take a look at it. But are you saying that somewhere along the line some one released it and it needs to be put back on or that it needs to be adjusted. I guess I just need to have it I front of me to access the prob a little better.


To me, a slide room that moves out an inch and a half while traveling, sounds like the lock is not resetting after you slide the room. The manual release simply moves up a small amount, like 1/4 of an inch. That would be my first thing to look at. Has the room moved every since you purchased the unit? If so, maybe the previous owner had some issues with it.
[/quote]

Yes it has moved since we picked it up from the previous owners. Of course there was no mention of that before or during the sale. Now I understand that the motor and manual mechanism is under one of the dinette seats? Do I need to cut the carpet away to access this cause it is run all in one piece from the under the dinette to the end under the folding sofa?

Thanks guys for the help...


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## Dubxl4 (May 28, 2012)

LaydBack said:


> There should be two outside flood lights (one on each side of the trailer) and one amber light. so there should be three switches for outside lights.


If that is the case maybe I just pulled my idiot card and the bulbs are just bad... That will be the first thing I check this weekend. On a side note what year did they start the option that you can turn on the parking lights while hooked up at a site an option? Cause that is a mod I would also be interested in doing. I was setup aside a 2011 35ft outback this weekend that had that option and it really interested me. Thanks.
[/quote]
In the attached pic, grab your 7-way cord and put a 10A fuse across the corresponding top two pins, and you will light up your park/running lights, without them flashing. They sell a contraption to do the same thing, but the 10A fuse is easy and safe. Now if you want to be able to switch it, you'll need to get into the box on the A-frame where your 7-way cord terminates and run a 2 conductor cable from your switch to those corresponding terminals and put a fuse inline.
View attachment 2626

[/quote]

Thank you sounds like the fuse will be my easy solution. And it's always one less switch for the boys to play with.


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Dubxl4 said:


> Yes it has moved since we picked it up from the previous owners. Of course there was no mention of that before or during the sale. Now I understand that the motor and manual mechanism is under one of the dinette seats? Do I need to cut the carpet away to access this cause it is run all in one piece from the under the dinette to the end under the folding sofa?


There should be no need to cut anything to get to the slide motor. To find the slide motor, remove the dinette cushions from the bench that is closest to the sofa. Look under the drawer, there should be a white square, approximately 12"x12". Remove the drawer to give you the best access to the screws holding that white square cover down. You should find the slide out motor hiding under there. The first, smaller photo that I posted above, is from the vantage point of looking straight down on it through the access hole.


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## Dubxl4 (May 28, 2012)

[/quote]

There should be no need to cut anything to get to the slide motor. To find the slide motor, remove the dinette cushions from the bench that is closest to the sofa. Look under the drawer, there should be a white square, approximately 12"x12". Remove the drawer to give you the best access to the screws holding that white square cover down. You should find the slide out motor hiding under there. The first, smaller photo that I posted above, is from the vantage point of looking straight down on it through the access hole.
[/quote]

Mine must be different. There is no 12x12 box. When I remove the cushions and the plywood base, the only thing there is the carpet floor. Which is obviously a storage space, below the seat. The only thing I can think is that is below the carpet. Which makes no sense, cause that would make it utterly in serviceable. The hunt is on.

Hate to waste all your time, but it is greatly appreciated.


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

I wouldn't think there would be much difference in the 2003 and 2004 models. Maybe you could take a flashlight, get down on the floor and see if you can see the slide motor in the gap of the floor and the bottom of the slide. That could help to at least get you in the ball park area of the motor. I would think that it would be in the same location as it is near the center of the room, end to to end.


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## Dubxl4 (May 28, 2012)

H2oSprayer said:


> I wouldn't think there would be much difference in the 2003 and 2004 models. Maybe you could take a flashlight, get down on the floor and see if you can see the slide motor in the gap of the floor and the bottom of the slide. That could help to at least get you in the ball park area of the motor. I would think that it would be in the same location as it is near the center of the room, end to to end.


That's what I thought. I haven't had a lot of time to look at it this week, with work being as crazy as it is. I plan on looking at it tomorrow. I'll let you know what I find. Thanks for the help.


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## Dubxl4 (May 28, 2012)

Well I found it. It's actually different than the 2004. It is under the couch all the way on the right side. You can only get to it at by having the slide out. Keystone left a section of the floor out to access it. They covered it in just carpet so I will have to cut a little away and fix it when done. I'll let you know how it goes.


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