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Replacing an in-wall motor

On current columns the motor lifts out of the top of the H-column and tips out of a notch, with the room halfway out and the column left in place. Match the motor type and ratio, line up the coupler, and resync when you're done.

The short version

Identify the motor before you order

Lippert's rule is to replace a motor with the same motor, and the same ratio: 300:1 for 300:1, 500:1 for 500:1. The one exception is the obsolete round-square plate motor, which is replaced with a round-round. Ratios only change when a bulletin says so, as Jayco's TSB 23-100 did when it moved certain 2023 units from 300:1 to 500:1.

Read the motor label and look at the connector before you order. Lippert's QR-144 covers motor part number identification and TI-160 covers motor and controller compatibility. 8 Amp controller systems (326876) use their own motors.

MotorLippert partNotes
Round-square229466Original style
Round-round, 300:1236575IG-42, 10 mm; supersedes 375369; sold with its wiring pigtail
Round-round, 500:1 high torque287298Replace only with 500:1
Round-square plateObsoleteReplace with a round-round of the same ratio

Prove it first

A motor is a few hundred dollars and an hour of seal work, so prove it before you pull it (lesson 4). The code should follow the motor in a plug swap at the controller, the harness should check good, and the motor should fail the drill-battery jumper or still give code 8 with a good harness.

A side that slides several inches by hand also points to a broken motor shaft. Either way, check that the coupler and torque shaft turn freely once the motor is out.

Current style: column with a motor notch

You need access inside and outside the coach, a drill or cordless screw gun, and fast-bonding adhesive. This is Lippert's procedure from the service manual.

  1. Extend the room halfway.
  2. Outside, slide the bulb seal down to reach the motor retention screw, and remove the screw.
  3. Inside, remove the bulb seal from the wipe seal.
  4. Peel back the wipe seal and unplug the harness from the motor.
  5. Pull the motor up and tip its bottom out of the notch to remove it.
  6. Look down the column and note the orientation of the coupler and the set screw holes in the bearing block. Turn the new motor's shaft to roughly match.
  7. Set the new motor in the H-column with its wiring facing the back of the column.
  8. Press down on the motor and push on the room. The torque shaft turns slowly until the coupler lines up, and the motor drops into place.
  9. Plug the harness back in.
  10. Push the wipe seal back into position and fasten it to the H-column with fast-bonding adhesive.
  11. Refit the bulb seal and reinstall the retention screw on the outside of the H-column.

Old style: no motor notch

Older columns have no notch, so the motor can only come out the top once the column is clear of the wall.

  1. Extend the room halfway and support it, without lifting it.
  2. Outside, slide the bulb seal down and remove the motor retention screw.
  3. Remove the H-column screws, top to bottom, and unplug the motor.
  4. From inside, push the room out until the top of the H-column is accessible.
  5. Pull the motor up and out. Install the new one wiring to the back, coupler lined up the same way as above.
  6. Reconnect, push the room back, and reinstall all H-column screws and the retention screw.
  7. Slide the bulb seal back up, reseal the H-column per the RV maker, and re-glue the wipe seal.

Careful: Support the room before the H-column screws come out, and don't jack it up. With that side's motor out, nothing holds that side of the room.

The coupler and the first run

If the coupler stays on the old motor or sits low in the column, the original Schwintek procedure applies: push the drive shaft up from the bottom of the column with a piece of wood or brass about 1 in, lift the coupler out with needle-nose pliers or hemostats, and don't push the shaft up more than 1-1/2 in. Seat the coupler on the shaft splines and push it down below the top of the motor mount. Lippert lists coupler 238461 and hex coupler 285083.

Before a full run, move the room a few inches each way and confirm the new motor drives its side the right direction. If it runs backward, fix the wiring or flip that motor's direction switch on the board. Then run Lippert's resync and confirm both motors stop together at both ends.

On the job

  1. Prove the motor: swap test, harness check, jumper test.
  2. Photograph the motor label and connector, and order the same type and ratio.
  3. Room halfway out. Seals back, retention screw out, unplug, tip the motor out of the notch.
  4. Note the coupler and set screw orientation, line up the new shaft, wiring to the back.
  5. Press down and push the room until the motor drops in.
  6. Plug in, glue the wipe seal, refit the bulb seal and retention screw.
  7. Run a few inches each way to confirm direction, then resync and confirm both motors stop together.

Numbers

Shop tip

Shine a light down the column and turn the new motor's shaft to match the coupler before you drop it in. Then a gentle push on the room is all it takes, instead of fighting the motor and the room at the same time.

Where this comes from