Old-Biscuit wrote:
No the end caps were NOT installed wrong.
Common for end caps to be installed W/O opening lining up with grove in roller tube so awning stays secured.
Get 1/4" drill bit and drill motor
At one end of roller tube drill into grove at an angle making a slot to use for installation of Sun Screen
Simple.....and not messing with end cap/awning springs etc needed
I've replaced awning material on 2 different awnings. The left end cap only had one opening. This opening is meant to line up with the groove that the pull straps slides into. The other 2 grooves in the roller assembly are closed off by the end cap. I don't know what kind of awning he has but it's quite possible the end cap was installed in the wrong position. The 3 grooves in the roller tube on an A&E awning are not equally spaced and there is only one way to install it correctly. Both the torsion assembly and end cap can be installed in the wrong positions.
In the wrong position the 3 arms on the torsion assembly don't all hit one of the grooves due to the unequal spacing. In the wrong position the opening in the end cap doesn't line up with the pull strap groove. Only way to correct it is drill out the rivets and with the use of vise grips rotate the end cap to the correct spot. I would also check that the torsion assembly is in the correct position. That requires unwinding the spring and pulling the torsion assembly out to the end to confirm that the 3 arms align with the 3 grooves in the roller tube. In the wrong position you may have only 1 or 2 of the arms hitting a goove instead of all 3.