Roadtrek Electric step "disarm" Switch?

Thanks Icarus,
Actually, when the step got stuck in the extended position there was no dirt or any debris at the whole unit. Will check the whole step unit on the week end.
JuerRoad

I've been wanting to do this mod since last year. I was trying to figure out how to fish the wires and liked the location that icarus put his switch. There is already a small threaded hole there that the wires can fit through. The problem was getting a wire from the magnet switch to the area for the new cutoff switch.

So I was sitting on the step trying to fish a 12G copper wire to see if I could do any good. I decided to remove the lower door striker plate in the B pillar (2 torx bolts) and low and behold- you can see everything you need to do. I could connect one of the shunts by pulling the wires out of the door striker hole. The other end was shorter and I had to tape my switch wire to the long lead of the magnetic switch, pull it through the B pillar with the short wire, splice it into the correct wire and push them back through the pillar. I can see the ground and water tank through the striker hole, so it is possible from under the van, but easier I think with the door striker removed.

I think I'm going to drill a larger hole in the pillar and install a switch similar to the higher one that RT has to keep the step out. I bought a radio shack switch that icarus used and it appears to be rear mounted (could be glued or double sided tape?) so I don't want to remove the pillar trim piece to mount the switch plate properly. Tried it temporarily hooked up to the switch, and it works great.

Bob Skillman
Ellicott City, MD
2011 RS

mowog said:

I decided to remove the lower door striker plate in the B pillar (2 torx bolts) and low and behold- you can see everything you need to do. I could connect one of the shunts by pulling the wires out of the door striker hole.

Bob Skillman
Ellicott City, MD
2011 RS

Click to expand...

Lol, I also found that out while adjusting the slidedoor striker plates, that was after the installation of the "disarm switch"...

Mine just failed in the out position, in a parking lot in Calgary,, in the middle of a coast to coast trip. I spend five minutes trying to figure out why, and then said " I need to get in the road" , so I pulled the pin ( which is actually a bolt an nut,, but will be replaced with a pin and a safety pin!) if you put some tension on the drive rod, it will hold the step in place for a thousand miles! (you will know what I am talking of out when you do it!)

When I get home in a few months, I am going to look seriously at converting the step to a full manual. I think the power step is just too much trouble. I need to figure out a way to pull it out, then push it in and hold it in with simple pin. The big issue is how to prevent driving of with it out? I will have to think on it.

Icarus

what years are your roadtreks? mine is a 2008 and came from the factory with a disarm switch located on the B pillar that works as desired. am I missing something in this thread?

Yes, you are missing something. The switch on the door pillar only controls the step in the OUT position. In other words, when you are camping you can open and close the door without the step retracting, but you can prevent the step from extending WHEN you open the door.

The are lots of time when having the door open automatically is a pain,, like when y are next to a large curb, or snow bnk, or when the step is covered the road mud, or is frozen etc. The disarm switch allows you to open the door without the step coming out.

Icarus

Ohhhhhhhh. Learning something today. When I get back to the house, I'm going to have to go out and play around with the step. I never really understood just what that darn switch did. Just seemed that sometimes the step would go in, sometimes out, but of course, I was always parked going in and out and too busy to muck around with it until it did what it needed to do - stay out when I closed the door. Never put it together that it didn't stay IN when I opened and closed the door when the switch was ? up/down? upside down? Will also have to look for that bolt and nut "pin" thingy, just so I can say I know how to fix it temporarily if it gets stuck out. That way I will never need to mess with it. Though, I like the idea of putting in a second "disable" switch on the B-pillar. Hmm. Maybe I ought to finish the radio replacement project first. Still waiting on that new harness (see thread elsewhere). And that entertainment center project that I'm thinking about (see thread elsewhere). And that fridge fan project (see thread elsewhere). And it's about time to change the generator oil (see thread elsewhere).

Having fun without leaving home.
Wendy

Finished installing the step disarm switch. Removing the lower door striker plate on the B pillar above the magnetic sensor made it fairly easy. The plate is held in by 2 torx bolts. With the plate removed and pulling the magnetic switch out of the pillar you can see which wires are attached to it.

Mine had two black wires, one that ran alone and the other with a brown wire spliced into it. the wire with the brown spliced into it was long enough to pull out of the striker plate hole. I cut the 3 wires on each side of their connection, and spliced all 3 and my new disarm switch wire with a crimped butt connector. I taped over the connector as Roadtrek had done.

The second black wire from the magnetic switch was too short to pull through the door striker plate hole and splice outside, so I taped my second disarm switch wire to the longer of the 2 magnetic switch wire and pulled it through the B pillar hole by pulling the magnetic switch out. With the other disarm switch wire out of the magnetic switch hole, I cut the proper wire and spliced the cutoff wire together with the magnetic switch wire, and pushed all the wires back through the B pillar hole.

I mounted the disarm switch where icarus did, where the plastic plug is on the inside of the van. I drilled a 1 inch hole centered on the threaded hole already there. I drilled a second 1 inch hole just below the first, centered about 1/8 inch below the edge of the first hole. (If I did it again I may have drilled the second hole above the first as the switch would be more centered in the area top to bottom.) I used a switch and plate identical to the switch that keeps the step from retracting higher up on the door pillar. I removed the switch from the plate and reversed it, so off is on and on is off. Crimped 2 blade ends on each disarm wire and attached to the switch and mounted in the hole.

Now when both the disarm switch and the upper step switch is "off", the step will not open. I reversed the disarm switch so "on" would not disarm the switch, but "off" would. This seemed easier to explain to those using the van, as now off prevents the step from opening and on allows it to open.

Anyone concerned about the difficulty of this mod should remove the door striker plate (you should be able to see exactly where it is positioned for replacing) and look inside. A flashlight and a stiff wire with a hook to grab wires should show you everything you need to do.

Bob Skillman
Ellicott City, MD
2011 RS

As mentioned above, mine stuck in the out position several months ago while it was on the road. I pulled the bolt from the jack screw, pushed the step in and forgot about it. Today, I spend the day testing and (with the help of the Kwikee troubleshooting FAQ, (posted else where on this site) everything tested fine, at least with the can wiring. The problem is you can easily test beyond the 4 pin connector that connects the controller to the harness. Also, the motor cannot be unplugged from e controller, since RT in it's infinite wisdom uses a butt splice that cannot be unplugged!

So I cut the motor leads out and bench tested it, and it worked fine on the bench. I then wired it back up, and viola! It worked! I tested the resistance through the butt splices and could find no flaw, so I really don't know what was causing the issue. (I hate when I "fix"something without knowing what caused it to be "fixed"!) So, I soldered the connectors and heat shrunk the joints.

I also took the time to remove the step completly to derust the channels and the rods. I then reassembled it all with lots of white lithium grease, and hope for the best.

Bottom line, I wish the step was a simple manual one, and I may yet turn it into a manual using some sort of spring and ball catch to secure it in both the open and closed position.

Icarus

PS. The biggest issue with the step is the accumulation of sand, and gravel and grit on the step, interfering with the running board, causing it to bind... And get damaged.

Many times in the airplane I fly, when we have an issue, simply turning the item off for a minute or so then back on fixes the problem. Sometimes we have to pull a circuit breaker to "reset" the component. Perhaps your cutting the wire did exactly that. I wonder if pulling the breaker or popping out the fuse would have worked?

PA Slammer

Roadtrek just sent me a new controller for my '13 RS - the on/off switch has never worked. Can't believe how many different wires and plugs there are - I'm hoping someone with my lack of electrical skills will be able to figure out how to replace this (how hard can it be to unplug something and then plug in the new one?) - there isn't a Roadtrek dealer anywhere near me to do the work.

If the on/off switch switch has "never" worked, how does anyone know if it is the controller that is faulty? My guess (from afar, with just my gut) is that perhaps there is a bad ground. The entire system grounds through the switches (both the on/off and the mag door switch). Who determined that the controller was bad?

You don't need a RT dealer to do the controller,, any reasonable Rv place SHOULD be able to do it. The basic controller is just plug and play, but the wire from the controller to the step motor needs to be cut, and resoldered, plus, the controller is pop riveted to the step frame. The rivets need to be drilled out (not a it deal) or cut off with a chisel.

Not too hard to do for a reasonable DIYer.

Good luck,

Icarus

Icarus - the controller they sent me looks to be all plug-and-play - 10 wires in all, and all with connections - I don't believe any wires need to be cut. Looks like there are three screws that hold the unit to the body. We don't have any RV places around here so I'm hoping to be able to do it myself, just have not had the time to mess with it yet. The RT factory sent the unit for me to try to see if it would fix the switch - after they had me do some simple tests that did not solve the issue. Kind of tough trying to do it via e-mail, but I don't have any other options at the moment...

Is there a fuse to disable the power step? Mine is a 2012 RS. And does the fuse power anything else? I need to turn my step off and don't have the time to do this the proper way (as you guys have done such a great job of describing in this thread) - I just want to disable the step so it remains closed all the time and not move. I could not find a fuse listed in the RT manual, so was hoping someone here had the answer. Thanks!

anyone know where this switch is on 2014?

I found an easy temporary fix for the power door step problem on my 2008 Roadtrek Agile. I noticed the step activating when I would go over frame twisting bumps like driveway approaches. I attributed it to the gap between the switch and the door magnet opening up enough when the body twisted that the switch thought the door was open.
To fix it I pried a small 1/8 inch thick round magnet out of a magnetic refrigerator door clip that we use to keep our potato chip bags closed once they are opened, then I super-glued it to the magnet located on the door. This just closes the gap between the magnet and the switch enough to stop the controller from activating. Easy fix on the road and I haven't had a problem since.

Thanks Icarus for helping us get the wiring system figured out on our Roadtreks! I will be adding the extra switch as soon as I can find the time. Jeff's

I just modified my electric step setup. In my case the on/off switch in the doorway did nothing and the step did not retract when the van is started or put in gear so the controller is already toast. I considered taking a look at the controller but since it's a bit hard to get to, based on information in the other posts in this thread (thanks guys!) I replaced the non working on/off switch as follows. It's slightly different than what others have done in that it provides in/out/auto settings for the step with a single switch.

Pry out the mag switch at the bottom of the door column. Remove the sliding door receiver mechanism which leave a hole big enough to see what's in there. You will splice wires outside the mag switch hole and push the splices back in.

Fish 3 wires from the current switch opening to the mag switch hole. I was able to fish outside the metal column, inside the plastic cover down to the bottom. To get the wires inside the column I drilled a hole into the column at the gap between the upper and lower plastic covers, behind the weatherstrip, then fished them into the mag switch hole. Removing the receiver mechanism for the sliding door and the hole allows getting the wires from the column hole and out the mag switch hole.

I found 2 gray wires on the mag switch. One goes to chassis ground. One goes back to the controller. Identify the one that goes to ground (important). On my van I can reach under the van and feel the screw grounding the wire.

Splice a black wire into the gray wire that goes to ground. (don't cut this gray wire, just splice in the extra)
Cut the other gray wire and splice a red wire to the end that goes to the controller.
Spice a yellow wire to the cut end that goes to the mag switch.

Of course colors don't matter, just stating the colors I used for reference. I used solder splices and not butts since these connectors all have to be stuffed back through the mag switch hole, it could be made to work with butts also. I taped the now free red/gray splice to the others so it won't get lost back there if it's ever needed again.

I replaced the non working on/off switch in my unit and used the existing hole. I taped over the white and white/red wires that went to the old switch and left them accessible in the column. If your switch works and you just want to add functionality then you could cut another hole and add another switch as others have done on the forum.

The switch to add is 3 position spdt switch (on/off/on). I used a rocker switch the same size as the original spst switch which I found on Amazon.

Red wire goes to the center
Black wire and Yellow wire go to the two ends

When closed to black the step is in
In the center off position the step is out
When closed to yellow the step is automatic based on the mag switch, same as before the mod.

If your controller is working and the step retracts when the van is started then this mod shouldn't change that. In my case I now have to remember to make sure the switch is not in 'out' position before driving off.

Hi guys - we have a 2014 Sprinter - and installed a wheelchair lift for side door access. We disabled the OEM electric step (disconnected the wire connect - like trailer hitch light connect) because it would have hit the w/c lift. Our problem is that the onboard warning alarm continues to plague us - EVERY time we stop/start or when we open the side door.

MB says it is not possible to disarm the alarm (?) I'm hoping someone knows better or has an idea how to work it out - I'm a fair to good DIY-er.

Please and Thanks!

My guess. There must be some verification sequence which looks for that step circuit to be intact. You need to add a phantom load of some sort to plug the removed connector to. It may be as simple as needing a couple jumpers, light bulbs, or it could need resistors. That all depends upon how sophisticated the verification monitor is.

Ok - so you are suggesting to plug back to a 'dummy' connect to trick the onboard computer - is that right?
It's a newer model (used to us) so how might I figure out what to 'jump' to ? Electronics/elec not my strong suit