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The in-wall controller: versions and fault codes

The controller powers both motors, counts their encoder pulses to keep the sides even, and stops each motor when it stalls at the end of travel. When it quits, two LEDs tell you why: green says which motor, red says what went wrong.

The short version

Versions you'll find in the field

Every Schwintek board in Lippert's documents runs two motors, labeled Motor 1 and Motor 2. A tall room with a middle gear rack still has one motor per side. Check the label on the board: the version letter decides the harnesses, the override and the replacement part.

VersionPart numberWhat to know
A (daisy chain)239657Replace only with another Rev A.
B211852 familyFive-wire in-line motor connectors at the controller. No electronic override.
C211852 familyNo electronic override.
C1211852 familySame harness connector as C, with a molded shield on the motor end. Has the mode button (override, jog, stall calibration).
C2211852 familyMolex connectors at the controller, molded at the motor. Doesn't matter which motor is plugged into 1 or 2. Switch has its own 12 V feed.
D-0 (13398-DO)211852Lippert's recommended replacement for B, C and C1. Electronic override.
8 Amp326876Runs its own motors. Replaces only another 8 Amp board, and no other board replaces it.

What it does during a move

When you hold the switch, the board powers both motors and counts the hall-effect pulses from each. It holds the two sides to the same speed and position, and it stops each motor when that motor stalls at the end of travel. On C1 and C2 boards the stall threshold is set by a potentiometer under a sealed hole in the cover (lesson 7 covers when to touch it).

It also watches its supply. It refuses to start below 8 V, faults if voltage sags below 6 V while running, and faults above 18 V. It watches motor current for a stall that isn't at the end, and it watches each motor circuit for shorts and for a missing encoder signal.

Power, ground and the switch

Power and ground land on spade terminals on the right side of the board: 12 V DC recommended, 8 to 18 V accepted, 10 AWG minimum, on a 30 A resettable or blade fuse or a 30 A minimum breaker. Lippert leaves the location to the RV maker, so check their documentation; harnesses come in 5 to 35 ft lengths, so the board can be a long way from the room.

The switch wiring changed between versions. On Rev A through C1, the controller's common goes to the switch common, so the board feeds the switch. On C2 and 8 Amp boards, the extend and retract wires go to the switch terminals and the switch gets its own 12 V from the RV maker. A dead switch feed on those looks exactly like a dead controller.

With the switch held, the status LEDs should light in both extend and retract. If they light one way only or not at all, unplug and replug the switch wires at the board. If that doesn't fix it, the switch or its wiring is bad.

Reading the codes

On a motor fault the green LED blinks once for Motor 1 or twice for Motor 2. The red LED blinks 2 to 9 times for the code. There is no code 7 in any Lippert table. Energize the switch once to reset the board, then again to run normally.

Red blinksWhat Lippert says it meansWhat to do
2Battery drop-out: fell below 6 V while running. Newer manuals add a short in the switch wiring.Voltage at the controller with the room moving, feed and ground, then check the switch wiring for a short.
3Low battery: below 8 V at the start of a cycle.Charge, shore power or generator, then retry. Never jump at the controller.
4High battery: above 18 V.Find what's charging above 18 V before you run the room.
5Excessive motor current, often one side stalling over and over, usually an obstruction.Find the bind: debris in the racks, a seal in a roller, a rack out of time. Then check voltage.
6Motor short circuit: motor or motor wiring shorted.Unplug that motor, inspect the harness, test the motor direct (lesson 4).
8Wire short between controller and motor: the encoder isn't sending a signal. Usually wiring.Most common code. Connector, pinched or broken harness or pigtail, unplugged or failed motor.
9Hall power shorted to ground. Usually wiring.Look for a pinched harness. Lippert's LIP-0272 sheet says a short in the motor's own wiring means replacing the motor.

Replacing a controller

For a failed B, C or C1, Lippert recommends the Rev D-0. The conversion needs two new motor harnesses, one per motor, and the power wire from the controller to the extend/retract switch has to be reworked to piggyback on the power junction. Order all of it together or the coach sits.

Not every in-wall controller on a Lippert coach is a Schwintek board. Lippert also sells OneControl PG in-wall controllers (700155 towable, 700156 motorized) as a separate family; 700156 is listed for SlimRack and Fast Track mechanisms and needs a parking brake input. Some coaches run the in-wall room from a OneControl touch panel, and Lippert has a separate controller-replacement video for that setup.

On the job

  1. Find the controller (the RV maker's docs show where) and hold the switch while you watch both LEDs.
  2. Count the green blinks (which motor) and the red blinks (which fault). Write both down or video them.
  3. No LEDs either way: 12 V at the controller's red and black spades, then at the switch, then the battery.
  4. LEDs one direction only: unplug and replug the switch wires at the board, then suspect the switch or its wiring.
  5. Code 2 or 3: voltage first (lesson 3). Code 5: find the bind. Code 6, 8 or 9: the motor circuit the green LED named (lesson 4).
  6. Cycle the switch to clear the code and retry. The same code back means the cause is still there.
  7. Replacing a B, C or C1: order the D-0 plus two motor harnesses, and rework the switch power wire.

Numbers

Shop tip

Video the LEDs on your phone before you touch anything. Counting red blinks while the green is also blinking is easy to get wrong, and the replay settles it.

Where this comes from

Try it on a service call

Put the lesson to work on a hands-on troubleshooting case.

Keep going on slides and leveling

Learn it

Prove it

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Codes and specs

On the job