[encantotom]

i am planning on leaving on a trip on monday and i had problems intermittantly for a few tries with the step going up then it was ok.  

so today i decided i would make sure the steps would retract.   no go.  

even engine overide doesnt work.  

i have the bode air door.  

i disconnected the steps and they work just fine with 12v being applied to them.  i used the kwikee troubleshooting guide.  

i checked the voltages at the plug and they are fine except for the door switch.  there is no voltage there.  

so a few things are coming together....i have a light over the steps on the inside.  you can either turn it on all the time, or off all the time or AUTO so it goes off a few seconds after the door is closed.  the other night i noticed it stayed on and it was in auto.  

so, i dont believe the controller is getting the 12v signal from the switch that knows when the door is closed to retract the steps.  

so now.....the big question.  where is that switch?  i do not see one in the door frame.  and the 4 wires from the kwikee step go up to this control board in the bay to the right of the door.  one time the door wouldnt retract and i had dislodged the relay.  (a few years ago).  

i took the relay out and there was a little corrosion so i tried to clean it up and i used some dielectric grease on it.  still nothing.  

is there a trigger switch on the bode air door mechanism to say when the door is closed?

the puzzler is that it wont go up when the engine is running either.  that doesnt make sense.  unless it goes through that relay as well.  

any wisdom here?

thanks

tom

[Chester Stone]

After sitting for many months, mine would not retract all of the way. Lubrication solved the problem, somewhat.

[bikestuff]

Tom,

Our situations are obviously different since you have bode, and I have manual. But in my case the plunger switch in the door frame did not care about the engine. When it failed, it deployed my super-duper executive steps while driving at 50 mph with concrete barriers just inches from the coach. (I survived with only a scuff on my steps).

It turned out that the switch had gone bad and was a simple replacement.

I would think that there is a similar switch in a different position on your bode door.

[encantotom]

ok,  some success.  

the relay i showed in the previous post controls the step.  normally kwikee uses a plunger or magnetic switch to sense when the door is closed.  

newell, uses a microswitch on the bode air cylinder.  

i did traced the wires to the relay and found that it was not getting a ground to engergize it to close the step when the microswitch is activated.  

i jumpered the relay and it retracted the step.  so i traced the ground from the coil side of the relay and it went to the microswitch on the bode air cylinder.  

there are two identical switches on the cylinder as i show in the pictures.  each switch has on off on and only 2 of the three legs on each switch are being used.  ends up the microswitch for closing the door was not working.  but it did work in the opposite position.  and the other microswitch worked in both positions.  so....i swapped the two microswitches and the part that was not working on one is not needed in the other so now it works.  

btw,  i also found one of the contacts on the relay isnt working.  i have not traced the wiring harness yet to see what it is for.  

so the steps now retract with the door closing.  

now, new problem....i cannot use the step switch to stop the steps from going in.  it does nothing.  

it is getting dark, so that is for another day.  i can live with the steps going up and down for now.  

of course, the microswitches are no longer made.  so i need to measure them and find a sub.  

i found the relay, but wont be able to get it before i leave so i will have it delivered to tahoe.  

tom

[encantotom]

ok, i sat here stewing about why the steps would retract when the step switch was on.

it was dark so i went out with my phones flashlight.

the steps were retracting like the ignition was one (which as you know overides the switch and makes the steps go up)

i had left the key slightly rotated so the steps thought the engine was on. turned it off, took the key out and everything works perfectly now.

it was fun to test and troubleshoot something on the newell. i have not done much of that in a long time.

since my coach was a race coach, the door opened and closed about a million times. that is why i had to rebuild the bode air door cylinder previously. the switch just wore out.

now to find a suitable sub.

it is a Hartmann-Codier 164-574 now one of you research experts find me a suitable substitute.

i might take it all apart and measure it too.

since the once is bad, it is likely it will fail the other set of contacts, so i do need to find one. i can change it out in 30 minutes now.

tom

[encantotom]

as i trace the relay out, the one contact that isnt working (i put 12v on the coil and tested each pin on the relay) is one that is not used.

these things really do wear out.

the air door is really nice, but it does add a great deal of complication to just opening and closing a door....ha

the relay socket looked a bit toasted, so i ordered a new relay and socket from grainger this morning. i found a suitible sub OMRON relay that should work in place of the Potter Brumfield.

tom

[prairieschooner]

That looks like a typical Limit Switch with a Roller on the Arm. You may be able to go to Hei-Tek, the supplier of the MAC Valves in your area. But I would bet if you can walk that into a Graingers and leave with a replacement.
Here is something I found for you;
http://www.grainger.com/product/HONEYWEL...6DXD3_AS01?$smthumb$

http://www.newark.com/honeywell-s-c/bz-2...0001062040

[encantotom]

http://www.bodenorthamerica.com/item6.htm

have a look at the worlds most expensive limit switch. it has to fit perfectly so the sub's that grainger came up with were not suitible.

working to find one cheaper. i have allied seeing if they can get some from their german source.

i missed one on ebay in feb for 16 bucks.

tom

[encantotom]

bode wants 111 dollars plus 20 bucks shipping for this switch.

i had richard check at newell today and they want 199 dollars for it.

i will wait and see if i can source it out of europe somehow.

it literally is a under ten dollar switch. just not avail in north america

tom

[prairieschooner]

I am still wondering if you could retrofit another switch using an adapter or another mounting plate. My step is the manual kind, I pick it up and bring it in...HA!