Amp Research Power Running Board Problem

BlackOps · May 23, 2015

I would have avoided posting and called Amp directly, but they're closed on the weekends and I'm sure for the holiday.

Everything went smoothly with the install but 1 thing. The steps don't fully deploy flat. At this point they're not even usable because they're not even remotely flat enough to stand on. Then on top of that one side is worse than the other.

The only thing I can think of is that this was due to the positioning of the linkage during the install of the motors.

Remove the motors and reinstall with the boards fully out?

05cyclone · May 23, 2015

I would check the way they are moubted to the truck and make sure they are positioned correctly. Also when you attached the steps to the linkages did you make sure that they were in the channel on the bottom of the steps?

chuckl1218 · May 23, 2015

When mine were installed, some others were having problems where they weren't level when retracted (gap in front not equal to gap at back). And they also had issues where they would hang when deploying. There were some troubleshooting steps on AMP Research's web site which involved a tightening sequence while attaching them to the truck and disconnecting the motors and adjusting for free fall. Check out their troubleshooting steps on their web site. The links seem to be broken, but here it is on YouTube.

BlackOps · May 23, 2015

I have no gap or alignment issue, just that the board doesn't deploy all the way out/flat.

The only thing I can think of doing is opening a door, letting the motor deploy the board, remove the motor, let the board drop all the way down, then reinstalling the motor.

chuckl1218 · May 24, 2015

I have no gap or alignment issue, just that the board doesn't deploy all the way out/flat.

The only thing I can think of doing is opening a door, letting the motor deploy the board, remove the motor, let the board drop all the way down, then reinstalling the motor.

It also may be binding. You should be able to see what's going on if you remove the motor as you said. It should drop all of the way smoothly.

BlackOps · May 24, 2015

It was mentioned that it may be a binding issue. I haven't thoroughly done an inspection of the cause of this issue, but briefly looked a little while ago and notice that the U-nut that is mounted on the body of the truck is hitting up against the linkage arms, particularly the arms with the motors. The front linkage arms don't have this problem because instead of using U-nuts, they have a nut welded to the backside/inside of the body/lip. Could this be the issue? Has anyone else ran into this issue? The kit came with U-nuts, but I didn't have to use any because they were all present from the factory as the truck had the fixed assist steps.

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05cyclone · May 24, 2015

Thats your issue. Not suppose to use the u-nuts on the bottom bolt.

BlackOps · May 24, 2015

OMG! What an idiot. It didn't dawn on me till now. Lmao. Now why would there need to be a nut on the top side when a U-nut is in place? Smh. Guess I'll remove the U-nut later when I get home and see if that fixes that problem. I can't believe myself. Thanks for the tip.

BlackOps · May 24, 2015

Wait...so on that same token, why did the kit come with 4 u-nuts that weren't used? Did I install all 4 linkages in the wrong locations?

05cyclone · May 24, 2015

They come with them because not all trucks come with the nuts already there on the front. So they have to cover all applications. The linkages should be on the 1st and 3rd spot.

BlackOps · May 24, 2015

Gotcha. Yeah the instructions were not very clear on some steps. 1 step says the x hole from the rear and another step says x hole from the front. Then it doesn't specify if they're talking about the driver or passenger side. I think I have them in the right spot, but who knows.