Automatic awning issues

[Trumpeterb]

I have a Dometic 17’ automatic awning on my TT, and it now extends and retracts very very slowly, and sometimes stops alltogether. My wife will have to hold the button down while I manually help it along. I am not sure if this might be an issue with the awning motor or not. I do know the battery is not very good and doesn’t hold a charge well...but I am plugged in most of the time, so I haven’t replaced it. Anyone know if a weak battery will affect the awning even if plugged into electric? Other suggestions?

[Trumpeterb]

Thanks for all the help and advice through my various posts about awnings. I finished the job this morning, and everything worked out great. The awning is working as it should now, and there is brand new fabric to boot. Turns out the barrel connectors were all corroded, so I cleaned those off and used some dielectric grease on that connection, and wrapped the entire thing in electrical tape to try and help shielded water in the future. The tension spring was also not set correctly, so I corrected the tension as well. Happy to say that now it works great! Thanks again all.

[CA_Traveler]

My motor has 2 terminals for connecting a battery hence good for testing also. I would expect to find connectors near the motor and it should be possible to tap into them to measure the loaded voltage.

The service manual may help.

[Trumpeterb]

It wasn’t under load.. I can’t get the voltage tester anywhere on the motor while running to check it. I can only unplug the motor and test it at the connector. Unless I remove the motor...which may be my next step. Not sure how to connect a battery directly to the motor...i don’t have a connector thing that would work....maybe i will take the motor out—need to anyway, as I am going to replace the fabric—and then take it over to the local event place to have it tested....I don’t know enough about these things to know what to look for.

[CA_Traveler]

Between 12.5-13V both at the switch and at the motor connection.

The voltage is good IF it's at the motor itself AND under load - ie motor turning. Is that the case? Bad wiring or connectors can have good voltage until under load due to a high resistance type of connection.

Connect a 12V battery directly to the motor can help to isolate the problem.

[CA_Traveler]

My Dometic Eclipse SOK III has a common car door window motor and it's an easy replacement if that is your problem. The end cap also stripped which could be the type of noise you are hearing. A broken spring or internal part could certainly cause some noise.

My arms are adjustable and hence not necessarily the same. But it winds up straight.

[Trumpeterb]

Between 12.5-13V both at the switch and at the motor connection. I noticed that the awning isn’t rolling up straight too. Maybe it is due to me manually rolling it up, but the arms are not operating parallel to each other...one side is out slightly further than the other. Maybe the wrong tension on the spring?

[CA_Traveler]

What is the voltage at the motor?

[Trumpeterb]

Ok, replaced the battery with a brand new one...fully charged. The awning will still not move. I hear a metallic “clanking” when I press the retract button, and the awning motor tries to do something, but nothing happens. Bad motor?

[IB853347201]

Definitely a low voltage problem caused by the condition of your battery. Your 12 volt converter's output alone is not enough to power the awning properly. In addition, the condition of your battery will result in your converter working overtime to keep it charged which will eventually lead to your converter failing. For the price of a new battery, I would replace it now.

[ScottG]

Is there any chance someone has rolled it up backwards? They will readily do so if one goes past full extension and they operate more slowly afterwards.

[wa8yxm]

There are two or three suspects depending on how you count. actually one more but rare it is

1: Voltage.. 1A low battery or bad connetion (Are you plugged in when moving the awning this helps 1B bad connection (Circuit specific) on the Awning system

2: LUBRICATE, LUBRICATE Alas. I do not know the lube points on your awning but and they make it hard to find a few points that might need 'em (As in impossible) but Lubricate. where possible

3: Brake not fully releasing (rare)

[MFL]

Sounds like battery issue, lack of voltage, rather than motor failure. Try using truck battery, with jumper cables, hooked direct from truck to RV battery.

Jerry

[CA_Traveler]

Connect a voltmeter right at the motor terminals and watch the voltage during retraction. On mine the voltage was 9.1V during retraction with a fully charged battery due to inadequate wiring.

My Carefree had terminals at the motor for emergency retraction.

[Trumpeterb]

Yes. I lubricants all of those twice each year. To listen to the motor, it just sounds like it is running out of gas. That was why I wondered about the battery.