# Slide Out Problem



## Al Corey (Jun 11, 2010)

Hi -

I'm having a problem with my 2010 Keystone Outback trailer slide out. The slide out and all other electrical components work when connected to shore power, but the slide out does nothing when attempting to operate it off battery power. The two batteries have tested as good. The interior lights operate off 12V; but if the switch to operate the the slide out is pressed, the lights go out. When that happens, the indicator panel for battery and the tanks also does not work. All fuses and breakers have been checked and are OK. I've checked under the trailer, and didn't find any issues with the wiring, but since most of the wiring isn't visible due to the enclosed underbelly, that doesn't rule out a problem there.

It almost seems as if there must be a short, or a breaker that only affects a circuit directly between the batteries and the slide out motor. I haven't found any evidence of either (but may not have recognized a breaker as such.

Has anyone run across this problem and know how to fix it? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The failure is due to the auto reset thermal breaker mounted on the trailer tongue. They look like a terminal post.


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## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

X2 with Camperandy: at the tongue, follow the +12v batt cable and you'll see it or a second "hot" wire from the + of the battery go to a rubberized circuit breaker that is about 2" long, and 1" wide. Two wires attach to it. Some TTs have two of them. The rubberized outside is to protect the breaker from the elements.

That circuit breaker, when overloaded, trips to protect the wiring and motor(s) for the slideout. It is supposed to reset itself when it cools down (maybe 5 minutes), but you can press on the rubber insulation and reset it manually. The slide draws a monstrous amount of 12v power, in the order of 35 - 40 amps, so all manufacturers protect that wiring with a separate resettable circuit breaker.

If it won't reset, then it is probably defective--my brand new-from-the-factory thermal breaker lasted about a week on the first "real" trip. A replacement, installed by a dealer, was in the $35 range. We needed his knowledge and so, while I could have yelled "warranty, warranty", we kept quiet, paid him, and were 100% satisfied.

Check out that thermal breaker--as Camperandy noted, it's quite likely that's your problem.


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Are you sure those batteries are good? How were they tested? It sounds like they're able to power your lights, but when a decent load is applied, they crap out. I would expect the slide motor and lights to work when you're connected to shore power because all the juice is coming from the converter. My other thought is a corroded connection somewhere - maybe a ground or at the thermal reset breakers. Even though your trailer is a 2010 model, we've seen some pretty funky wiring on the new trailers.


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## Al Corey (Jun 11, 2010)

Thanks for the replies; now I know what those things on the trailer tongue are!


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## Al Corey (Jun 11, 2010)

Just a quick follow-up. Finally got time to replace the breakers on the tongue yesterday. Not a hard job at all, and it did the trick. Thanks for pointing out the fix.


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## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

For the Department of What I Need To Take For My Trips: put one or two spare resettable thermal breakers in your tool box. The odds of needing one are pretty low, but if your slide is open, and the breaker dies (as yours did), you cannot move the TT.

So you unhitch, drive to town, and it's Sunday afternoon and nothing is open, and you sit there wondering "what now?" [grin!!]. And maybe Wal-Mart has them, and it's 100 miles across the prairie to civilization, etc., etc...









I put two new ones in my tool box electrical "parts" jar and feel better.


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## jake's outback (Jul 24, 2010)

You know this topic goes to show how few questions I asked when I picked up my trailer. Those were never mentioned and I never asked to be shown how to manually crank in the slides if I need to.
I know I can crank them in manually but probably will make a mess of the underside looking for the spot!

Truly great info here!!!

Pat


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