Conversion Van Sofa Bed Electrical Issues

Joined
Aug 22, 2004
Messages
1,675
Location
San Antonio, Texas
2002 Chevy 1500 Express with the Explorer package.

Problem is the motorized bench seat/bed.

Wires to the motor have 12V all the time. Removed the up/down switch completely from the circuit, no change.
Went looking and found a bank of 4 30 amp relays that the motor wires and power run to.
When the left two relays are removed, power to motor stops.
I replaced them with the other two relays, no change.

I read somewhere that there should be a controller, but I can't find one wired in the circuit.

If need be I can by a new controller and run new wires, but I'd rather fix the problem.

Any ideas guys?


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You are not expressing what the problem is.

Have the motors tried to keep running and thus, burnt out or stripped the gears?

Do the motors not work at all but you have no knowledge of them previously burning out or stripping the gears?

It could be that they're supposed to have 12V always, at least when (accessory?) is live to power the relays, that the ground is the switched portion. What is this "controller"? Does it have memory, because it seems like a motor with a stop limit built in, and a simple pair of switch mechanisms, or a single switch that reverses polarity to that motor, could be all that's needed to operate something like that.
 
With the motor (and everything else) plugged in, measure voltage across the two motor leads while you operate the control. If the motor has power but doesn't turn, it's a bad motor-- or a mechanical problem.

Having 12 volts from both motor leads to ground while the system is idle is fairly common and it doesn't mean anything. The motor runs on a difference in voltage between the wires.
 
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So the motor does or does not move the seat/bed? I'm wondering if either the stop limiter in the motor assembly has failed (if the seat/bed moves), or the gears stripped so it never reaches the stop position.

If you can't find a wiring diagram for it, the best step might be to draw one yourself, including every portion you know about it and leave space between known portions and unknown and then possibly someone will see what's missing or going on.

If there is only one motor, that wouldn't need two relays so I am suspecting that one is for the motor but the other is an accessory on relay? If so do you "need" to pull both relays to stop the motor or would only one or the other pulled, stop it?

There's probably someone out there in a camper/conversion-van forum who is familiar with this circuit and so a better place to ask.
 
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