Kwikee Step Motor Problems

Used properly and lubricated often, I think these steps will work for a long, long time. Unfortunately, not all of us are so careful. I know people who never lubricate their electric steps and I know many more who lubricate them, but miss a number of critical lube points.

You'll often hear the recommendation of using WD-40 as a lubricant of the steps. I've never been fond of WD-40 for this. It's formulated to penetrate and loosen frozen threads. In my experience, it doesn't last very long and it's messsy. A much better choice, in my opinion, is KwikLube aerosol grease. It sprays on as a penetrating liquid, but turns to a long-lasting solid grease. Less expensive versions are available at Ace hardware from Liquid Wrench, Dupont, and CRC.

Have the steps moving in and out as you spray, and be sure to lube every pivot point. When you're done spraying, let the grease solidify for a few minutes, then wipe off any excess.

Another hard lesson I've learned about these steps is that you don't want to be stepping on them while they're still moving — especially if you weigh over 200 pounds. It's easy to do. You're driving down the road after filling the tank, for example, and you remember that you forgot to put the gas cap back on. You pull over and dash out the door, landing on the steps before they are fully extended. Or you're lining up the RV in a campsite and need to jump out to see just how close you are to that tree and do the same thing.

If you listen closely, you might hear the motor groaning as it tries to move both you and the steps at the same time. Unfortunately, the gears in the motor are plastic and it doesn't take much extra weight to strip them. Once that happens, the motor will make all kinds of weird noises and the steps may only go out part of the way or may move in an out in confusion. At that point, it's time for a new motor. If you're on the road when it happens, the steps may not lock in their retracted position and you'll need to put a bungee around them before going any further.

Replacement Motor

The control unit for the steps is a solid-state unit that has no moving parts and very seldom fails. Almost all erratic step behavior is caused by a bad motor. The good news is that the step motor is fairly inexpensive and easy to replace. Here's a picture of the control unit on mine:

On many Kwikee steps, the motor is the same as the driver's-door electric window motor on a 1996 Ford Taurus. Many of the motors are made by Dorman and if yours is a Dorman, you should be able to find it if you click here and compare yours carefully with the Dorman models to get the right one at any good auto parts store (a number of RVers reported buying them at Auto Zone — note, though, that you can't trust AutoZone's online indication of whether the part is in stock at any particular store).

The motor on my 2006 Bounder was made by AM Equipment and I found it online here. I was able to call the factory at (541) 327-1546 and they were kind enough to ship me one at a very reasonable price (more than $100 less than Camping World quoted me for the same part).

Replacing the Motor

There is a fairly elaborate discussion, with photos, on removing and replacing the motor here. Frankly, I found the job much simpler than the description there suggests. I think the poster replaced just the motor without replacing the plastic gears. The parts pictured in the links above all come with the combined motor and gear unit. They probably cost a little more than the motor alone, but it is usually the gears that are causing the trouble and, IMO, you might as well change everything while you're down there.

It's worth mentioning how the steps actually work. The control unit senses, via the resistance, how much work the motor is doing at any given time. When the load increases enough, the unit assumes that the steps are fully in or out and shuts off the motor. This means that there's nothing critical about the position of any of the parts as long as the gears mesh (and you won't get the motor fully in unless they do).

Replacing the motor/gear unit is very simple. I think I could do it now in about 20 minutes. There are only a few important things to remember:

• Pull the power plug out of the motor first (with the steps extended) before doing anything else.
• With the motor removed, the steps will swing freely, so keep your body parts out of the way.
• Always keep the motor right-side up (the way it is when in place) because there are some parts that will fall off otherwise

Here's a picture of the motor in place. Yours may look slightly different:

The first step is to remove the plastic wire tie that holds the power wires in place (shown in the picture just to the left of the AM logo). I found that I could just slide mine off the end of the motor, but you may have to cut yours and replace it when the new motor is in.

Next, carefully pull out the power cord where it plugs into the motor (underneath the lower part of the plastic tie in the photo). Pull only on the plastic connector, not the wires. The plastic connector has a snap that holds it in place, your fingers or a small screwdriver can be used to release it. Once the plug is out, there is no power to the motor.

Take out the three or four bolts that hold the motor in place. They are gold-colored in the photo above. When you do the last one, be careful to keep the motor from falling. Keep it right-side up or the the gear, the gear post, and the washers under it will fall off.

Set the old motor next to the new one. If the new one doesn't have a gear, gear post, and washers, you'll have to move them from the old motor. Be sure to get everything in the same order. You may want to clean them before moving them.

I put some white lithium grease on the parts as I put them in the new motor. I also added some grease to the plastic gears below.

Put the new motor back in the hole. You may need to move the steps slightly to get the gears to line up. Then replace the bolts, the power plug (making sure it snaps in), and the plastic wire tie.

Some people like to pull the cotter pin and the bushing it holds in place shown at the bottom the picture below. I didn't find it necessary. If you do, make a note of which way the bushing goes in because it's not symmetrical.

That's all there is to it. I did mine in about an hour the first time and the motor has been working perfectly for almost two years.

Other Kwikee step parts

There's a site here with a lot of different Kwikee step parts. They have motors, control units, and the steps themselves — all with pictures.

Thank you for visiting BobsGuides.com

  —  Bob Ray