Troubleshooting Lippert Powered A-Frame Jack that Stops Working Occasionally

Published 07/22/2016

Question:

I have a Lippert LC285318 electric tongue jack on my 2 year old trailer. It has started locking up during use. After it sits for a while it will start working again, this could be 5 minutes or the next day. It is not blowing the fuse and the light by the switch still has power when the jack is unresponsive. I am able to manually complete the task using the nut on the top. I have watched it to see if it is locking up during a specific portion of the process but it is random, sometime while raising the trailer and sometimes while lowering. My last lockup happened as I was extending the jack while the trailer was still hitched so there was no load on it at all. I have no idea what to look at.

asked by: Ray

Expert Reply:

It could be as simple as a loose power wire or an intermittent ground. Check the condition of the power wire attachment and then check to make sure the main ground of your trailer is connected to a clean metal surface. Next time it locks up try running a jumper wire from a car battery's positive power post and then ground the negative post of the battery to the trailer frame. If you see the jack start to work normally at this point then the problem is in the wiring.

Otherwise it's an internal problem.

expert reply by: Jameson C