Troubleshooting Lippert Trailer Tongue Jack that the Light Will Come on But Will Not Extend/Retract

Published 04/07/2022

Question:

We are trying to troubleshoot why our tongue jack wont work. The light still works. When we use the extend/retract switch, there is no noise. We have replaced the switch and that didnt work. I understand that next we should check the ground connection. Could I get a detailed wiring schematic so we can figure out how to check the ground?

asked by: Julia

Expert Reply:

I have some other options for you to check out but Lippert said they do not have any detailed wiring diagrams for the jack. The ground is actually going to be your trailers ground, when the Lippert Electric Trailer Jack # LC285318 is wired the red power wire from the power Tongue Jack housing gets connected to a grounded 12V power supply on the trailer.

The issue could either be a ground issue/insufficient power (could be a battery that is dying) which you would need to locate on your trailer, or the motor could be going bad. You can test your battery and motor by routing the battery positive and negative leads directly to the motor terminals, bypassing the switch and most of the wiring. If the jack motor operates this way then you know the motor is okay, but that you have some issue with the wiring between the battery and motor. If the motor will not operate at all when directly powered by a battery known to be in good shape and fully charged then the motor is likely to be bad.

If your motor is bad you would need to replace the jack with the Lippert Electric Trailer Jack # LC285318 because there is not a replacement motor available.

expert reply by: Scott S