Forum Discussion

MackinawMan's avatar
MackinawMan
Explorer
Jun 13, 2015

Need any input/suggestions on my power awning

Hello all, I posted a few weeks or so ago on how my Carefree Power Awning would not work. I had mentioned at the time that I had used the jumper wire that came with it, and could get the awning to extend and then retract just fine....meaning the motor appeared to be fine. I figured it was then the switch, and purchased a replacement from a local dealer.

Well, before I could test the switch a few other issues arose. I had left the awning extended and a gust of wind blew it out of it's track and a couple of the rollers from the track went missing. I managed to get it back on track and retracted, but until I could get the replacement rollers put in, I didn't want to mess with the switch and run the awning in and out without the rollers. At the same time, the hot water heater decided to act up, so I had another project to fix.

So...fast forward to today. I traced the hot water tank issues to the thermostats, and replaced them. Hot water tank working great once again...

I replaced the missing rollers on the awning track....and now the awning will extend and retract as needed.

So...back to the switch. Now, to make an even longer story short, here's what happened with the switch.

There are four wires that come out of the cabinet to the switch....two black wires, a white wire, and a red wire. The replacement switch actually had SIX prongs, but had a plug/adapter that plugs into the back and then has four wires coming off of it. They are black, white, red, and blue.

The problem is, I have ZERO idea what wire from the awning goes with what wire from the new switch. I spoke with the service guy, and he said you cannot assume that the colors match up (as I had assumed).

So...I went through and matched up wires using every combination possible of the four wires off the awning and the four wires off the switch. Nothing

The fuse is fine.
  • WayneAt63044's avatar
    WayneAt63044
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2015
    "The thing is, the lights would work....those run off the 12V system correct? Would the awning motor draw that much more voltage than those little indoor RV lights?"

    If the battery has a shorted cell it would never show a voltage much over 10V but would deliver the current from the other 5 cells so the lights would light, maybe even appear near normal brilliance. LEDs would probably look normal. A motor that requires more current may not operate at all.

    The battery could have a bad cell that won't deliver much if any current.

    In either case, disconnect the battery and see if the lights and awning work normally from the converter while connected to shore power. The best scenario is to have a good battery that will deliver a bunch of current when first starting a motor (when it draws the most). Having a bad component (battery) in the circuit is never ideal.
  • MackinawMan's avatar
    MackinawMan
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2015
    WayneAt63044 wrote:
    "The status of the battery should not matter one bit as long as the TT is plugged into shore power....correct? I mean, I have my TT plugged in here at home (20 amp), so that should be supplying power to the awning correct?"

    Maybe. If you have a dead cell in the battery (think 12V-2V=10V)and the converter, while plugged into shore power, cannot raise the battery voltage to above 12V, there could be issues with anything designed to run off the 12 volt supply. I have a power awning but have never tried to run it at 10V so I'm not sure how that would react. Just a thought. Proof would be to measure the 12V source while running the awning.


    I wondered about that....a little background. The battery has been "bad" for years. It stopped taking any kind of charge a couple years ago. We always camp at full hookup sites and I always have it plugged in at home....or if need be to the truck. Therefore having a bad battery never mattered and I didn't want to spend the approximately $100 dollars. But I wondered if the battery might not be REAL BAD now (lol, for lack of a better word, dead cells, etc.) and affecting it.

    The thing is, the lights would work....those run off the 12V system correct? Would the awning motor draw that much more voltage than those little indoor RV lights?
  • WayneAt63044's avatar
    WayneAt63044
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2015
    "The status of the battery should not matter one bit as long as the TT is plugged into shore power....correct? I mean, I have my TT plugged in here at home (20 amp), so that should be supplying power to the awning correct?"

    Maybe. If you have a dead cell in the battery (think 12V-2V=10V)and the converter, while plugged into shore power, cannot raise the battery voltage to above 12V, there could be issues with anything designed to run off the 12 volt supply. I have a power awning but have never tried to run it at 10V so I'm not sure how that would react. Just a thought. Proof would be to measure the 12V source while running the awning.
  • RavensFan24's avatar
    RavensFan24
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2015
    MackinawMan wrote:
    Thanks for the suggestions people.

    I have one question, not to sound dumb, but I want to make sure I cover ALL the bases.

    The status of the battery should not matter one bit as long as the TT is plugged into shore power....correct? I mean, I have my TT plugged in here at home (20 amp), so that should be supplying power to the awning correct?


    Absolutely
  • MackinawMan's avatar
    MackinawMan
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2015
    Thanks for the suggestions people.

    I have one question, not to sound dumb, but I want to make sure I cover ALL the bases.

    The status of the battery should not matter one bit as long as the TT is plugged into shore power....correct? I mean, I have my TT plugged in here at home (20 amp), so that should be supplying power to the awning correct?
  • GaryWT's avatar
    GaryWT
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2015
    Not sure about what the bypass wire is but would have guessed it was something between the motor and the switch, a pinched wire or something like was mentioned above. Mine does not have a bypass wire but a socket that you can hand roll or use a drill.
  • hohenwald48's avatar
    hohenwald48
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2015
    Some of those power awnings also have a current sensing relay/circuit to remove power once the awning gets fully extended/retracted.
  • therink's avatar
    therink
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2015
    On my carefree awning, there is a solid state relay between the awning rocker switch and the awning motor. This relay reverses polarity to the motor for opening/closing it. My relay just hangs in the wall cavity behind the switch panel. When my rig was brand new, the relay was defective and the awning motor would not operate. If I used jumper wires and bypassed the relay the motor worked. I replaced the Relay and has worked fine since.

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