We have a Carefree of Colorado Travel'r awning. It went out but didn't come back in. No noise, nothing. I got a ladder and I was able to turn the tube while my wife hit the button. It then very slowly went in. I called Carefree and they gave me some trouble shooting to do. I hooked the motor right to a cordless drill battery and it went in and out very quickly. The battery was an 18 volt which Carefree said was OK. Being higher than 12 volts it should move quickly. I checked the voltage at the wires to the motor. With the switch in either direction we had 12.45 volts. At the switch I had the same voltage. Battery water was checked, it's at the correct level. Any ideas why it stuck out? I can run it out half way and it will come back in. Haven't tried all the way yet. Could the motor still be bad? If they would send me one under warranty I think I have enough people to help me change it out. ThanksFred

If it runs in and out when hooked directly to a battery it's probably not the motor. You measured voltage at the switch as 12.45 v, but the thing is we don't know how many amps you're getting. Have you tried it while hooked to shore power?

At least you got the awning stowed and it seems the EXPENSIVE motor is good. Did Carefree give you trobleshooting instructions over the phone or are they on a webpage somewhere? If you can tell or show us what CF said to do, maybe we can help.Is there a Wiring Diagram?Usually what those small motors (entry steps, power windows, awnings) do is reverse two wires electrically. Say he two wires on the motor are Red and Green. To go one way, Red is Positive, Green is Negative. To go the opposite way, Red would be Negative and Green would be Positive. That may be accomplished simply in a Switch, or with Relay(s). It'd help to know how CF wanted it done, and to hope the RV builder did it that way.

wing_zealot wrote:If it runs in and out when hooked directly to a battery it's probably not the motor. You measured voltage at the switch as 12.45 v, but the thing is we don't know how many amps you're getting. Have you tried it while hooked to shore power?Forgot that detail, we were on shore power.

j-d wrote:At least you got the awning stowed and it seems the EXPENSIVE motor is good. Did Carefree give you trobleshooting instructions over the phone or are they on a webpage somewhere? If you can tell or show us what CF said to do, maybe we can help.Is there a Wiring Diagram?Usually what those small motors (entry steps, power windows, awnings) do is reverse two wires electrically. Say he two wires on the motor are Red and Green. To go one way, Red is Positive, Green is Negative. To go the opposite way, Red would be Negative and Green would be Positive. That may be accomplished simply in a Switch, or with Relay(s). It'd help to know how CF wanted it done, and to hope the RV builder did it that way.There is a service manual on the Carefree website. The unit is wired correctly. 2 wires to the motor from the switch that have the polarity reversed to switch direction. I checked voltage in both directions and it was the same, 12.45 volts. No relays according to the Carefree manual.

You need to check the voltage *at the motor* while it is acting up. I suspect a bad connection somewhere.

Travel'r awning issue | Good Sam Community

wing_zealot
Explorer
Jul 21, 2015
If it runs in and out when hooked directly to a battery it's probably not the motor. You measured voltage at the switch as 12.45 v, but the thing is we don't know how many amps you're getting. Have you tried it while hooked to shore power?
j-d
Explorer II
Jul 21, 2015
At least you got the awning stowed and it seems the EXPENSIVE motor is good. Did Carefree give you trobleshooting instructions over the phone or are they on a webpage somewhere? If you can tell or show us what CF said to do, maybe we can help.

Is there a Wiring Diagram?

Usually what those small motors (entry steps, power windows, awnings) do is reverse two wires electrically. Say he two wires on the motor are Red and Green. To go one way, Red is Positive, Green is Negative. To go the opposite way, Red would be Negative and Green would be Positive. That may be accomplished simply in a Switch, or with Relay(s). It'd help to know how CF wanted it done, and to hope the RV builder did it that way.
schwartzworld
Explorer
Jul 21, 2015
wing_zealot wrote:
If it runs in and out when hooked directly to a battery it's probably not the motor. You measured voltage at the switch as 12.45 v, but the thing is we don't know how many amps you're getting. Have you tried it while hooked to shore power?

Forgot that detail, we were on shore power.
schwartzworld
Explorer
Jul 21, 2015
j-d wrote:
At least you got the awning stowed and it seems the EXPENSIVE motor is good. Did Carefree give you trobleshooting instructions over the phone or are they on a webpage somewhere? If you can tell or show us what CF said to do, maybe we can help.

Is there a Wiring Diagram?

Usually what those small motors (entry steps, power windows, awnings) do is reverse two wires electrically. Say he two wires on the motor are Red and Green. To go one way, Red is Positive, Green is Negative. To go the opposite way, Red would be Negative and Green would be Positive. That may be accomplished simply in a Switch, or with Relay(s). It'd help to know how CF wanted it done, and to hope the RV builder did it that way.

There is a service manual on the Carefree website. The unit is wired correctly. 2 wires to the motor from the switch that have the polarity reversed to switch direction. I checked voltage in both directions and it was the same, 12.45 volts. No relays according to the Carefree manual.
Chris_Bryant
Explorer II
Jul 21, 2015
You need to check the voltage *at the motor* while it is acting up. I suspect a bad connection somewhere.
schwartzworld
Explorer
Jul 21, 2015
Chris Bryant wrote:
You need to check the voltage *at the motor* while it is acting up. I suspect a bad connection somewhere.

There are 2 connections at the motor, 2 part way down the arm and then 4 at the switch. After the switch I have no idea where it gets its power from. I can redo the connections but don't think that is going to help.

My other crazy idea is to get a DC converter that will boost the voltage from 12 volts to 14 volts. 10 AMPS max draw. The awning moved very nicely with the 18 volt battery so 14 should be good.
Lynnmor
Explorer
Jul 21, 2015
In your owners manual you will find the connection points for the motor. Check the voltage there while operating the switch. Low voltage can be caused by poor connections, high amp draw caused by a faulty motor or high amp draw caused by the awning not operating freely.
schwartzworld
Explorer
Jul 22, 2015
Lynnmor wrote:
In your owners manual you will find the connection points for the motor. Check the voltage there while operating the switch. Low voltage can be caused by poor connections, high amp draw caused by a faulty motor or high amp draw caused by the awning not operating freely.

Did the test. 12.45 volts at the wiring with no load. 11.5 volts going out and 9.8 volts trying to come in. I'm thinking that the motor has an issue.

I may be getting a new motor under warranty. Not sure if this is the fix. I'll have to install it myself which, with a few people to hold things in place, it doesn't seem that hard to do.

Only other thing to do is add an DC converter and boost the 12 volts to 14 volts. The awning moved really good at 18, 14 should be just fine.
MrWizard
Moderator
Jul 22, 2015
12.45 at the switch while on shore power
Either a connection problem,
Or a converter voltage problem
That is too low
Should be at least 13v+ and possibly as high as 14v
Check the voltage at the house batteries, Is it good or is it low
Start your engine and try the awning again see if it moves faster and easier
schwartzworld
Explorer
Jul 22, 2015
MrWizard wrote:
12.45 at the switch while on shore power
Either a connection problem,
Or a converter voltage problem
That is too low
Should be at least 13v+ and possibly as high as 14v
Check the voltage at the house batteries, Is it good or is it low
Start your engine and try the awning again see if it moves faster and easier

I'll give these a check and a try.

We have a residential refrigerator. It's powered by a Magnum Energy inverter which also handles the charging duties of the house batteries. We have 2 of those, 6 volts each, new this year.

I'm not home right now, I can only assume that the converter has a fuse for the awning which means that there is a line from there to the switch. We're not tapped into another circuit, I hope. Thinking out loud, if the converter is not putting out the correct DC voltage, is there an adjustment on the main board (it's a WFCO) or am I going to have to have it replaced?

Thanks

Fred

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