Winegard Carryout loses signal without 12 volt

It does not need power to "work". It needs a good 12 volt supply to find the bird. If you don't have local channels then voltage is not needed past that. If you have local channels then you need voltage as they are on a different bird than the commercial channels. I am thinking that the electric motor that moves the dish is moving the Dish when power is lost. Therefore move it a little.