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Old 01-27-2018, 08:14 PM   #1
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Model: Windsport 29M
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THOR #8264
Confused about low voltage at leveler panel

I'm baffled. As I talked about in an earlier thread my leveler panel shows low voltage. Yesterday I plugged my Windsport 29M into our house in preperation on doing some work on it today. For fun I decided to Check on the low voltage signal and boom all was fine. This morning all was still fine. I had left the store/use switch in use. Today I had the furnace on, a tv and some lights while a friend changed out the in dash stereo and added a new monitor.A few hours later I started the engine, to check the new monitor, and the leveler panel showed low voltage. I can't remember how long I was in the use or store position today because at some point I switched it. I don't know if it makes a difference but the use/store button is acting a little funny. Sometime I have to push it a few times for it to switch. HELP!

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Old 01-29-2018, 05:17 PM   #2
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Low voltage is normal when you first start the engine and press the button to turn on the levelers, at least that is normal the the DP models. I would think the gasses would be the same. You can always increase your RPMs to get rid of that low voltage light.
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Old 01-29-2018, 05:37 PM   #3
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How about if you just let the engine run for a little bit, and let the alternator perform it's magic for the batteries?
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Old 01-29-2018, 06:48 PM   #4
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I have had the low voltage issue since coach was new. The only workaround for me is to either plug the coach into shore power or run the gen before operating the jacks in auto mode. Of course, I always run the engine while operating the jacks. I contacted Lippert and Thor about the issue and that went nowhere. Checked all my connections for secure and voltage, everything was fine. Lippert suggested that I add two additional house batteries but won't do that until the two originals need to be replaced.
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Old 01-30-2018, 06:37 PM   #5
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The load on your batteries from the motor/pump for the levelers is a big one. Lippert has set the warning message on the controller so that the voltage before you start leveling needs to be pretty high. This is playing it safe to minimize the chance of you running your batteries down.

As long as you run the engine when you want to use the levelers, you'll not see the low voltage warning message.
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Old 01-30-2018, 07:45 PM   #6
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The OP mentioned that he had started the engine... I'm surprised that it still gave him the "Low Voltage" warning.
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Old 01-30-2018, 08:20 PM   #7
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Thor customer service says it is more than likely not a battery issue because the slides require more voltage than the levelers and the slide is working fine. I've tried the levelers with Gen running, the rv plugged into my home and always with the engine running. They say it is probably either a loose wire or the control panel. This problem started without ever moving the coach so a loose wire seems odd.
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Old 01-30-2018, 08:26 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNTR10 View Post
I'm baffled. As I talked about in an earlier thread my leveler panel shows low voltage. Yesterday I plugged my Windsport 29M into our house in preperation on doing some work on it today. For fun I decided to Check on the low voltage signal and boom all was fine. This morning all was still fine. I had left the store/use switch in use. Today I had the furnace on, a tv and some lights while a friend changed out the in dash stereo and added a new monitor.A few hours later I started the engine, to check the new monitor, and the leveler panel showed low voltage. I can't remember how long I was in the use or store position today because at some point I switched it. I don't know if it makes a difference but the use/store button is acting a little funny. Sometime I have to push it a few times for it to switch. HELP!
Are you still using the stock coach batteries, do you have any other battery related issues? When ours was new I was getting the low bat error all the time and couldn't get it to work. My batteries would go dead in just a couple weeks. The coach was new but I replaced the junk batteries with Interstates and now all is fine and has been since 2015. Keep in mind that the engine has to be running with the parking brake on. I rarely get the error now and when I do, I just let the engine run a couple minutes and all is well again. Good luck and don't give up, you will get it figure out.
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Old 01-30-2018, 09:38 PM   #9
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I am confused also I think! On my Lippert leveler display, and I can't remember if you have to scroll through the display to get to it, but there is a readout of the current voltage. The LCI manual for the levelers states that the required voltage is 12.7 DC. It doesn't take long for a single or dual battery system to dip below that level.

It's my opinion that the batteries are below 12.7 DC when you see the issue. And unless you have a battery with a shorted cell that prevents proper charging, voltage should always be well above 12.7 with the engine running.


Oh, and the slides don't draw any amount of current compared to the levelers. Those little two motors driving the slide draw very little current and for a very short amount of time. I know, as I watch my current monitor that is in line with the battery bank negative lead while the slide is moving.
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Old 02-04-2018, 12:33 PM   #10
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I have the same situation and called Lippert about the low voltage warning. I was told to let the engine run for a while before using the levelers. Even though it is plugged into shore power or having run he generator, the battery(s) need the higher charging voltage from the engine alternator.
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Old 02-04-2018, 02:14 PM   #11
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I don't have levelers, etc, on my RV, but it seems to me that if you need to run the engine while plugged into shore power to use the levelers the converter isn't delivering the required current. Just a comment.
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Old 02-04-2018, 02:33 PM   #12
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check to make sure they did not put batteries with metric electricity you could got a export model for canada
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Old 02-04-2018, 03:18 PM   #13
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I don't have levelers, etc, on my RV, but it seems to me that if you need to run the engine while plugged into shore power to use the levelers the converter isn't delivering the required current. Just a comment.
They require a pretty HUGE amount of electricity to run...
Which creates some interesting situations:
The engine has to be running with the parking brake engaged in order to run the levelors...
But the engine has to be Off; in order to run anything else but the generator.
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Old 02-04-2018, 03:55 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Metalman View Post
I have the same situation and called Lippert about the low voltage warning. I was told to let the engine run for a while before using the levelers. Even though it is plugged into shore power or having run he generator, the battery(s) need the higher charging voltage from the engine alternator.
I was told the same thing by Lippert but that was a hit or miss for me in the beginning but now does not work at all. Lippert also told me to add more house batteries which some folks on this forum dispute. I was planning on adding two more house batteries anyway once the originals need to be replaced. Will then see if the jack issue gets better. Currently my leveler panel has an error message that says, "return to service, error timed out". Going to try a reset to see if it clears.
I must say that of all the systems on my coach, I find the leveling system to be the most annoying and the one system that seems to need the most attention. POS.
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Old 02-05-2018, 03:48 AM   #15
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I agree with those that comment about running the engine for awhile before using the levelers. The generator creates 14.1 volts which is more than the generator or being plugged into electricity. I always leave my engine running when camping until I lower the levelers and I've never had a problem.

Also, as previously stated, the hydraulic pump for the levelers takes much more power than the small electric motors for the slides.

I have 4-6 volt batteries to avoid any issues with the slides and they allow me to dry camp with the demands of the residential fridge.
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Old 02-05-2018, 01:23 PM   #16
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If your batteries are old and not totally up to snuff, it will take more time for them to reach the required voltage so they can produce the required amperage to run the leveling jacks. Since replacing our flooded lead acid batteries with deep cycle AGM batteries, the wait time for using the jacks is less. In my opinion, if you add batteries to the coach battery bank, and if those batteries are not fully charged, it could take longer for them to reach a level that will allow the jacks to operate, because the charging current will be divided between more batteries.
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Old 02-05-2018, 01:55 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by Metalman View Post
If your batteries are old and not totally up to snuff, it will take more time for them to reach the required voltage so they can produce the required amperage to run the leveling jacks. Since replacing our flooded lead acid batteries with deep cycle AGM batteries, the wait time for using the jacks is less. In my opinion, if you add batteries to the coach battery bank, and if those batteries are not fully charged, it could take longer for them to reach a level that will allow the jacks to operate, because the charging current will be divided between more batteries.
Except the voltage being measured is the DC buss voltage, which, while charging by any means should be above 13.1 VDC regardless of battery condition, unless the batteries were shorted.

But adding more batteries will not affect the leveler problem one way or another.

As I understand it, although the hydraulic pump motor and controller are powered from the house batteries, the control panel (which senses the low voltage condition) is powered from the chassis battery and requires over 12.7 VDC to clear the low voltage condition.




A lot of Lippert's troubleshooting advice is to trace wires for voltage drops. Considering the geniuses that wire these coaches I believe that is where you will find your problem although it may also be a bad control panel.
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Old 02-05-2018, 02:44 PM   #18
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Thanks, Tfryman. That's basically what Thor and Lippert are saying, either a loose wire or control panel.My Windsport is going in the shop March 10 to be set up for toad braking and this issue. I'll post what they find in hopes it will help others as well.
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Old 02-05-2018, 03:55 PM   #19
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Good luck!
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Old 02-05-2018, 07:52 PM   #20
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First of all the leveler jacks work when the store/use switch is in the store position so we can assume the jacks are powered off the front battery buss (chassis battery only). On my coach, I have to let engine engine run for at least a minute before turning the jack panel on; otherwise, I get the low voltage warning. If the jacks have drifted down, do to several temperature changes, the emergency retract will come on with the low battery warning. The panel must be reset before jacks will operate normally.
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