Steps won't extend

[jimtaylorville]

Front door steps, when opening front door appear to attempt opening but don't move. Orange light comes on, and you can see the motor engaging the gear, moving it slightly.  Closing the door,  motor reverses, gear moves very slightly,  motor stops, light goes off. I am assuming controller good. I oiled all pivot points and tapped with hammer. I see 4 screws to remove step, 2 however recessed over step between step and inside step, tough to reach.  Is step binding,  motor bad, or possibly bad controller? 15 year old coach,  purchase new steps? Thanks for your assistance!

[Rodger]

Open door and pull on them to help extend. If they come on out then they are binding (slightly) somehow. If not either the steps or the gear is locked up somehow, most likely the gear. 

Edited May 5 by Rodger

[Doug and Nicki]

I have found that it is best not to lubricate the slide rails on the steps. I use brake cleaner, which is in a pressurized can, to spray the rails from underneath to keep them clean. For me, this keeps them from binding. Brake cleaner is not harmful to the rails.

[Rikadoo]

So Jim usually i discovered i remove the screws holding the motor, once the motor is out the step should be able to fully extend. If the steps do pull out to position with no problem then its just the motor. As far as lubing them i have two prefferences of lube. On the pivit points i use Tri-Flo it works AMAZINGLY well and lasts 3 to 4 months in dry weather, or my second best soon to take over #1 position is the Boeing T9 spray ( reason not #1 yet is i test it on my own stuff then evaluate how well it holds up) what i like about it is that when dry it leaves a wax residue for parts to slide on, unlike others that leave oil. So for now im testing it on the slide rails of the steps

[Tom Cherry]

20 hours ago, jimtaylorville said:

Front door steps, when opening front door appear to attempt opening but don't move. Orange light comes on, and you can see the motor engaging the gear, moving it slightly.  Closing the door,  motor reverses, gear moves very slightly,  motor stops, light goes off. I am assuming controller good. I oiled all pivot points and tapped with hammer. I see 4 screws to remove step, 2 however recessed over step between step and inside step, tough to reach.  Is step binding,  motor bad, or possibly bad controller? 15 year old coach,  purchase new steps? Thanks for your assistance!

ODDS ARE…bad motor.  Mine failed (same year as yours) in a similar manner.  Would start to move or such….but never locked in.  Whether it starts to move and only a little or moves almost to full opening, but stops…. It is a SAFETY HAZARD. Mine “looked” OK, until my 100 pound 16 YO GD stepped and the steps collapsed and retracted.  She was able to catch herself and did not fall….her 75 YO GM might not have been so lucky. The motor is designed to go full cycle.

NOW…there is a “current limiting” citcuit.  I think that is in the motor….and not the controller.

There is a very simple….but “often not used….until new parts lime a controller is replaced….and nothing changed….” Coachstep or Lippert Coachstep trouble shooting guide.  You do not have to remove the step….just follow the simple “instructions”.

 

Follow the instructions in the troubleshooting guide or section at the end.

You do NOT have to drop the step to install a motor.  It ain’t the easiest task…but 90% or more do it.  The techs do it. The only caveat…a new motor, which can be purchased many places and from many “offshore” vendors will have to be CAREFULLY positioned. I ordered a “stickered” OEM motor from ebay.  The three hole bosses or the 3 holes where the bolts go through the motor and then screw into the frame….were “off”. I gave up. CW down the road had a “Stromberg Carlson” OEM motor for $20 more and I paid $75 for the labor….

SOME have carefully drilled out or used a circular file to open up the holes.  Just don’t go in there and drill them to say “1/4”.  The motor is supposed to be rigidity mounted. If you open them up so there is say 1/8” clearance in every hole…the motor is gonna shift or move.  You take it slow and get it to barely fit.  Mine had two holes that perfectly aligned… always the same one.  I would have carefully opened that hole (it is a zinc die cast housing….easy to file off a little)…until the screw engaged the frame. It was 100 degrees….could have been a small burr in that hole,

NOW do NOT USE THE STEP.  Assuming you have lubricated the pivot points and have lubed the “rack”.  Everyone has their pet spray.  The Boeshield is the darling of the “bikers” or cyclist…. Triflow is the darling of shooters….and professional locksmiths. 

If there is rust and corrosion on the pivot bolts or points, then Liquid wrench works well.  Many here have a witches brew that they swear by.  As long as it was working snd moving slightly…a Liquid wrench would be my choice…. But later on …a good lube.  WD40 will also work.  But LW and WD40 are not “leave in place” lubes…they clean…and free up.  The Boeshield and Triflow are not penetrants…they lube. The “bikers” say that the Boeshield is “stickier” than Triflow…and one does NOT want a sticky lube used in a firearm’s action.

I use garage door spray on the rack and the pivot points….

JUST QUIT USING IT…until you determine the cause.  Rarely, very rarely, is it anything but a motor or a little rusted pivots….so it is easily repaired.

[MIRIAM]

This just happened to me on Thursday when packing up to leave.  Turned out to be the motor/gear and VERY easy to fix.  I could hear the motor, but wasn't moving (after first few times with us trying to "see") and it ended up being able to move freely (shouldn't be able to) I got home and ordered the replacement motor ($60) with teeth (they sell some without) on Amazon and just replaced it Saturday.  They had some cheaper, but I wanted it next day, so paid the extra $15-20.  The complete replacement took me about 20-30 minutes.  I was amazed how easy it was and works good as new.  

[amphi_sc]

I had a similar condition once on my "Coach Step" brand when the motor/gear bound up for some reason.  Unbolted the motor (and heard a pop) and the steps moved freely.  Tested the motor and it ran fine both ways.  So I put it all back together and it worked fine (for years). No idea what must have temporarily gotten out of alignment.  Give unbolting or temporarily loosening the motor a shot.  And while you are there take a mirror and look at how the motor engages the gear teeth.  Years later and a different motor later I saw the engagement of the teeth was about 1/2 so I added a flat washer on top of the gear plate to lower it just a tad and the engagement alignment was much better.

With all that said your rig might not have the same "Coach Step" brand I have.

[MIRIAM]

I had hoped mine to be simple like that, too.  We tried a few things and because it moved back and forth freely, we knew it wasn't that.  We tried googling and testing a few different things that worked for others.  Once it came off, we could tell the difference and ours wouldn't "stop" or lock like it's supposed to.  The gear/teeth on the motor piece of ours would move freely which we learned from new one shouldn't happen.  I bought the motor and kept trying other things in the meantime with knowing Amazon would take the motor back if it wasn't that....covered all bases.

[Jetjockey]

I have replaced motors and worked on the lippert controlled step often. I would not recommend enlarging or redrilling any holes. Doing so precludes ever doing it correctly. The correct parts are available if you search some.  Non fitting parts are typical of eBay.  Many windows motors are the same motor. I have never had any trouble getting a direct replacement. E trailer would have them. Might  not be as cheap as eBay but they will fit. Some eBay are just stickered witho oem stickers to fool us.
Keeping the pivots lubed good advice. I would use breakfree or something similar . I do not consider wd40 a penetrant ,lubricant or preservative. It is one of the poorest choices..better than nothing but that is it. It does not prevent corrosion or have a very long life as preservative. Washes out with any water. I use it as a solvent or parts wash. 

Edited May 6 by Jetjockey