Pit Stop

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Paul,

We have different electrical systems so take the following with a grain of salt until you have checked it out.

Step one, lube the pin that slides into the handle to lock it with a suitable oil or grease. I have used white lithium grease, WD40, and silicone spray. Using the key you should be able to feel less drag when locking or unlocking after the pins are lubed up.

On my 24 volt Liberty I have two octagonal base relays that handle the load of the lock / unlock solenoids and if the contacts get dirty and it imposes resitance in the circuit the locks will not function. They are very sensitive to low voltage. (Obviously make sure you had good voltage because low house voltage will also cause this problem) Start with lubing, but if that doesn't work have Janice actuate the bay lock switch off and on while you locate the two relays that are switching. You will see and hear them switching. On my coach they are located on the forward wall where the circuit breakers are located, about halfway up and to the center of the coach.

I got the replacements at a WW Grainger, but any industrial supply house should have them because they are generic. Yours are likely to have a 12V coil.

[phorner]

Jon,

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll try the lube and see how it works. Regarding the relays, is it a single relay to actuate all the locks, or does each lock have its own? It's only the one door that won't unlock when I hit the switch, all others work fine.

[Jerry Winchester]

Paul,

I'll bet the actuator is bad. We had the same problem on our '92 and I lubed them until you could follow me by the trail of WD-40, lithium, etc dripping from the doors and in the end the solenoid was bad.

[jimshoen]

After owning my coach for 1.5 years I have become comfortable with the maintenance and repair. Initially I was overwhelmed and a bit intimidated. Now I find it relaxing to read through the Prevost manuals. Maintaining the coach has become my new hobby and I like it. So does my wife. She always knows where to find me. MPD

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Paul,

I don't know if each relay is dedicated to a bank of locks or if they together handle the entire switching load.

Jerry is also correct, it could be a bad solenoid. If it unlocks but doesn't lock or vice versa you can rule that out I would think so you do not have to tear apart the door. If you think it is the solenoid to verify it I would suggest ohming out the circuit using the wires going into the door before tearing the door apart. The resistance can be compared with one that works.

Only Jerry (who gets his oil for free) would use enough lube oil to leave a trail before he figured out the solenoid was bad.

[dale farley]

Paul, I think Jerry is probably on the right track with this one. I had one bay lock that was intermittent on my last Marathon. After having no luck with lubrication, I ordered a new actuator from Prevost (about $65) and solved the problem. The installation was fairly simple.

[phorner]

Well, this morning I hit the unlock switch and the door lock in question worked perfectly..... several times..... never missed a beat!

The only difference that was apparent was a significant drop in temperature over night, so a lock mechanism with inadequate or marginal lubrication might have failed to open when hot, or so I'm hoping. Always locked OK.

Lubed the lock (with oil hat I paid for ) and so far all is well.

Or it very well could be an intermittent electrical/actuator problem that will continue to raise it's ugly little head and annoy the crap outta me 'till I finally break down and fix it

In any event, if this is the biggest challenge 'till I get back home to Florida, I'll feel very fortunate indeed!