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Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

March 24, 2012, 09:04:26 pm

A leak in the slide bladder can cause a problem when you turn the key to begin the process of moving the slide in or out. When the key is turned on, the bladder begins to deflate and the amber light blinks, if there is a leak the system can fail to sense when the evacuation process is complete. This causes the amber light the continue to blink and the slide will not move until this light comes on steady.
While we were waiting to have our slide bladder replaced, Foretravel installed a shorting plug to "fool" the system. They pulled a plug with two wires and replaced it with a plug that had similar wires shorted together. See the attached photo.
With this in place the slide operated fairly normally. The bladder would still inflate and deflate.

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #1 – March 25, 2012, 10:40:43 pm

I don't have a slideout, but that should be a sticky for those who do!!!

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #2 – March 26, 2012, 09:34:53 am

Hi Dick, Thanks for the information. Could you tell me where those switches are located in case I ever need to do this or more likely if Ben ever needed to do this.  Thanks.

Bonnie Harris
1999 U320 with slide

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #3 – March 26, 2012, 02:02:19 pm

Bonnie,
This photo was taken in the bay, on the drivers side, that contains all the HWH controls and the auxiliary compressor. What you see in the photo is on the front wall of that by; it shows the top half of the front slide control module and the wiring above that.
I hope that helps. If not let me know.  Dick

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #4 – March 28, 2012, 02:43:59 am

Looking at your picture I think if I ever needed to do this I would simply cut the two wires and short them together.  You would want to pull the plug before you short the two wires and then reinsert the plug once shorted.  After the bladder is repaired properly it looks like you could pull some slack and reinsert the wires back into the plug.  I'll look in my bay and see this is feasible.  thanks for the tip.

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #5 – March 28, 2012, 03:23:16 pm

I agree David. That is what I planned to do if needed and the photo is just to remind me which wires to short together.

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #6 – April 10, 2012, 11:45:20 am

Hi Dick,

Can you tell me what set of wires were unplugged and shorted together ? Looks like there are three sets of wires. The three way air valve, the vacuum valve and a vacuum switch. Off hand I would say the vacuum switch, but don't ask me to defuse a bomb either. I would most likely pick the wrong wires.

Much thanks.

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #7 – April 13, 2012, 12:50:02 pm

Tom, sorry for the delay. I have gone back and looked at those wires and connections and they don't look at all like they did when I took the photos. When they finished installing the bladder and took their shorting plug out it looks like they spliced in some new wire that are all white. I will be going back there next Wednesday and I will ask about it.

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #8 – April 14, 2012, 11:55:40 am

Thanks for the reply Dick. I'll be waiting since I have to retract the slide at the end of April,and it has a hole in the bladder.
Have an appointment at MOT for repairs mid May.
Thanks again.

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #9 – April 19, 2012, 04:58:26 pm

Tom, you are correct, it is the vacuum switch wires that need to be shorted. They need to be shorted on the computer side, not the switch side (photo). The vacuum switch is the gizmo at the bottom of the manifold.
Important note: Sometime in '02 or '03 is when they changed from a timer to a vacuum sensor. The timer method doesn't care if the bladder is deflated or not. It will just turn the amber light on steady after a fixed time lapse and let you move the slide.
I would not try to install this shorting jumper until you need to as evidenced by the amber light continuing to blink and never becoming steady On. Ours only failed to come on steady once and then we just turned the key off and back on and it was ok. When we got to FT they put in the jumper just so there would not be a problem.

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #10 – May 18, 2012, 11:40:35 am

Missed your post Dick,however my front slide apparently has the timer installed in the mechanism since the amber lite quit flashing after about a minute.
Thanks again.

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Re: Slide bladder leak - tip from FOT

Reply #11 – September 25, 2019, 01:20:54 pm

Thanks you for this post. We used the tip this morning and it got us out of a bind.

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