awning quit before it rolled in. 2004 Itasca Horizon IKS36GD

[Kim Petersen]

2004 Itasca Horizon IKS36GD

wind stated to come up so I rolled the awning in, but before it parked against the wall it quit.
I checked the twelve volt breakers, fuses, and 120V circuit breakers all were not tripped or blown.
this is a replacement Dometic Awning after a wind gust ripped the original awning off the day I bought it 5 years ago.
any suggestions on an easy fix that I may not know of?
appreciate every ones advice and help.

best regards,
a couple of snow birds in Arizona

[Kim Petersen]

thanks for looking,
I thought it might be an overheated awning motor, so I sat down and had a beer, tried to bring it back in and it parked itself against the wall.
but I do wonder why it works so hard to retract. it sounds like it is really straining to roll back up.

[emiddleb]

I've found it really helps that, at the start of the season, I give all the awning joints a big shot of silicone spray to both lube them and flush out any dirt. Really makes a difference. Hit all the pivot points, roller arms etc.

[Ray,IN]

Ed it on the right track. the motor controller stops the motor by sensing increased current-draw, like a car window motor or MH step motor.
If the mechanism is dirty or binding the motor stops with increased current-draw. That's easy to test with a clamp-on DC ammeter.

[Kim Petersen]

thanks emiddleb, and ray,in for some common sense advise. sometimes it's the obvious that I overlook.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

Ed it on the right track. the motor controller stops the motor by sensing increased current-draw, like a car window motor or MH step motor.
If the mechanism is dirty or binding the motor stops with increased current-draw. That's easy to test with a clamp-on DC ammeter.

Good call... thanks for the reminder to do mine.

Aaron

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Kim Petersen

2004 Itasca Horizon IKS36GD

wind stated to come up so I rolled the awning in, but before it parked against the wall it quit.
I checked the twelve volt breakers, fuses, and 120V circuit breakers all were not tripped or blown.
this is a replacement Dometic Awning after a wind gust ripped the original awning off the day I bought it 5 years ago.
any suggestions on an easy fix that I may not know of?
appreciate every ones advice and help.

best regards,
a couple of snow birds in Arizona

Kim,
I'd need a bit more technical info before I can maybe assure you of where I know your issue is. I say that because, we too have an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the CAT C-7 330HP. Our door awning which, was/is an Oasis would act just like what yours main one is doing. We'd put it out and, if the elbows on the awning actually straightened out, then I'd hit RETRACT, the motor didn't have enough power to BEND those spring loaded elbows and the system would quit. I'd have to let it rest for a short time frame and if I stood on the upper entry step and kinked those elbows myself, and then had the CEO push the button to retract, that awning would zoom right in.

Then my main awning started giving me fits very similar to what you're experiencing. I replaced the motor and it still did the same thing. Hmmmm. Well, my son has an '07 Winnebago Tour that his main awning was giving him fits too. What he found out was this.

Just like ours, (and this is why I say I may need more info on your system) his has a Dometic control box just inside the first compartment below that main awning. Inside that control box is a PC board. There's all kinds of items on that PC board. On the bottom there's little black cubes about 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/2". Those are micro relays. Next to them and in between other items, are things my son calls "M & M" things, you know, just like the candy. Those "m & m" things are actually called "resettable fuses".

Somehow, my son figured out that one or more of those resettable fuses were failing. He went online to some electrical parts supply store and purchased all those micro relays and resettable fuses for about $15-$20 bucks or so. He took his time and de-soldered all those old ones and re-soldered in all new components. Guess what, his awing has been working flawlessly ever since.

I did the same exact thing. My main awning also works flawlessly now. But, my door awning is still giving me fits. That's ok, I still let it sit for a few minutes and manually kink those elbows and have the CEO push the retract button and it always goes in.

So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I don't know if any of this will help you or not. Good luck.
Scott

P.S. The supplied pics are not the best but, those tiny black boxes are the mini relays and those orange looking "m & m" things in between the black boxes are the resettable fuses.

[Kim Petersen]

thanks, I lubed all the moving joints and the awning bearings with silicon, smooth as silk but I didn't think to check the control box in the basement. good tip.