So today I have a call for some RV entryway steps that won't come out. You know, the ones that should extend every time you open the door and fold out? Well, his aren't folding out. They apparently aren't doing anything at all. I am hoping it is something simple like a bad fuse that I can switch out, and solve this problem real quick. But with RVs, you never know. So, I thought I'd take you along for the ride. This customer is in Boulder City, which if you're not from Las Vegas, it is just a little bit longer drive than I normally do. But I did not realize that was where he was until he texted in his address. At that point, it was too late, so we're going for it today. We're gonna go help somebody out.

fingers crossed

The first step is to know that there are two types of electricity in RVs, you've got AC power and DC power. So, the first thing you need to figure out is, is your appliance an AC appliance or a DC appliance? Motorized steps are DC power, as are your lights, your slides, your leveling jacks, and all of the circuit boards in your appliances. They all run off of DC power, which comes from your batteries. So then, we just trace the path of the DC power and see where it stops.

So, we started at the source, which is the batteries. You can go and immediately check the batteries. I personally and a lot of techs tend to just use the shortcut of turning on your lights. If your lights turn on, then you're at least getting 12 volts, either from your converter or from your battery. If we need to, we can get into the nitty-gritty of if it's the converter or the battery, but honestly, that usually only matters for like the slides. For something low power like the motorized steps, as long as we're getting 12 volts from somewhere, we're okay.

So, we turned on the lights, confirmed we've got power coming from somewhere. The next place I usually check are the fuses.

I've actually had customers in the past where I've shown up to fix one thing, and since the first thing I do is check the fuses, the fuses weren't the problem for the thing that they called for. But one of their fuses had popped for like the lights in the back half of the RV, which they said hadn't worked in forever, and they were just working around it by adding plug-in lights everywhere. And so yeah, I switched that fuse out and all of a sudden they have light in their bedroom, which was not what they had called for but was a fun added bonus.

But for the customer we had today, all of their fuses were good. So, the next place that I checked was at the switch for the steps. There honestly may be something in between the fuse box and that switch. I doubt it, but it was the next logical place that electricity would go, so that's where I went.

So, we unscrewed the panel and got access to the switch. I just wanted to make sure that 12 volts were making it to the switch, and they were. So then, it was time to crawl under the RV to take a look at the steps themselves. You know, I always try to avoid crawling underneath heavy equipment if we don't have to and getting dirty. Not that I have any problem with getting a little grubby, but you know, I try to stay clean if I can. So, underneath looked a little like this.

There was a closed-off circuit board moment that I honestly I'm not 100% sure on the ins and outs of, so I decided to skip that part and just see if I gave power straight to the motor, if it would turn.

Oh, I even have it. I'll show it to you. Ta-da! Woooooo, aaaaaaah, sad motor. But I always like to have like a double-check or a triple check before I condemn parts. It's always sad when you have to tell someone that something has just died. So, I unscrewed the motor from the RV, and the steps just like fell, which also confirmed to me that it wasn't like something was stuck in the steps itself preventing the motor from turning. It was really the motor that was preventing the steps from moving.

So, have a pretty strong suspicion that the motor is our problem, like 90% sure. But I would still like to confirm that power is making it to that motor, so they don't have two problems - a motor and a signal problem. So, at this point, I took my multimeter, shoved it into the plug that had connected to the motor and then opened and closed the RV door a couple of times just to see that I was indeed getting 12 volts when it opened, and then negative 12 volts when I closed it.

So, we've confirmed that signal is making it out of the fuse panel, through the switch, and all the way to the motor. The motor just isn't moving. And then, when I supply my own 12 volts to the motor, it also doesn't move. So, nearly 100% sure that this guy is the problem. Unfortunately, I just didn't have good enough service near the customer to look up if I could source a new one. So, back to the office to see if we can go find a new one of these.

Okay, so it's a couple days later and the part came in, and I wanna bench test it before I drive it all the way out to Boulder City and put it in to make sure the thing works, and also be able to confirm that it acts differently than the motor that I took out. Because if they act differently, then it also doubles down on my diagnosis that the motor was the problem.

Okay, now we've got workspace to work with.

motor moves Come on. Yeah, yes, let's go.

Lets go install this bad boy.

Added pickle for today, my truck would not start so we're back in the Kia. Threw everything I needed for this job, hopefully, I have everything. Gotta love having an old truck.

Okay, now I just need to re-remember how this goes up here.

Moment of truth. Hey, woohoo! And the other way.

Dude, I love when things work. I could do this all day long.

If you found this video helpful, I also have my Ultimate Guide to RV Maintenance, where I walk through how to maintain everything in your rig, from your leveling jacks to your air conditioners. The number one way to save money on RV repairs is to give your rig a little love.

So go check that out and see if it can help you.

You Got This!