no power on electric Awning

jbhd

Member
Just Picked up our new 2300RE on Friday, Wow what a living room. We debated over the 2900MK qnd the RE. All the neighbors came over to see the new coach and we ended up talking about 3hrs.

The coach is excellent during our PDI we tested everything even the electric awning.

Well Today I tried the awning and it extended 3 inches and stopped. I tried retracting it but nothing. I checked the fuses and none were lit. I then called my the tech that did the PDI with me at RV American and he said that there are breakers on the terminals where the batteries are. I told him there were no breakers on the terminals nothing to reset. So now I have to bring my 1 day old back to the dealer.:( Thats ok as I found some minior repairs needed but I want to wait until I go on vacation on the 20th for 10 days and shake it all down then bring my list to the dealer.

The only thing that changed is that the sales person asked where was my battery from my trade. I told him "remember I told you that I was not going to leave it as its a brand new Optima AGM battery." So he asked if he could take one of the 2 batteries in the sundance, which I said ok.

So today after the awning failed I thought I may be the missing battery. i installed my optima AGM battery in parallel with the interstate liquid. While doing so i noticed that Brad (the sales person) when he disconnected the battery, he disconnected the battery that went to the terminal to the coach:eek:. So basically I had no battery power from the coach but since it was still pluged into my truck I had 12 volt service from my TV.

I don't thing the batteries are an issue as my slides and power landing grears still work.

So does anyone out there have and idea what would cause the awing from not working? There is a procedure to by pass the switch which I'll try tomorrow as today my wife and I were busy:cool: loading up the coach.

Is there a manual crank on these awnings,:confused: as I don't seem to see one? What happens if the awning is extended and the motor burns out how do you get the awing retracted?:eek:

Thanks
John
Boy.
 

2010augusta

Well-known member
So does anyone out there have and idea what would cause the awing from not working? There is a procedure to by pass the switch which I'll try tomorrow as today my wife and I were busy:cool: loading up the coach.

I would remove and inspect the fuses and test them with a meter. I have had them fail without triggering the lamp and still look good.

Is there a manual crank on these awnings,:confused: as I don't seem to see one? What happens if the awning is extended and the motor burns out how do you get the awing retracted?

No crank, but you can retract it by removing a screw that hold the motor drive to the awning roller. Check your awning manual for more infomation.
 

porthole

Retired
If the awning is a "Carefree by Colorado" then you should have received a jumper harness.

Long white cord with two alligator clips on one end and two stripped leads at the other end. Connect the leads to the awning terminals and the other end to a battery. 12 volt DC motors change direction by reversing the leads. You should be able to even use a cordless drill battery to operate it.

Your paperwork received with the coach explains how to "jump start" the awning to retract or extend.

You should also not "mix" the standard battery and the AGM.

But I'm guessing since you have an AGM battery you already know this.
 

Jimmyt5

Well-known member
This is from Carefree:D

Good afternoon and thank you for your email. With the owner's manual
you received a set of jumper cables. Disconnect power to the awning and
attach the jumper cables to the rivets on the plastic housing of the
motor. Attach the other end of the jumper cables to an alternate 12V
source.

If the motor is still not working after trying the jump start, the
awning will need to be manually rolled in. Remove the 2 screws that are
holding the motorized arm to the roller tube. *****Please note: If the
awning is partially closed someone will need to hold the arm channel as
the pressure from the gas shock will open the arm all the way. Once
detached, you can walk the arm to the full extension and allow it to
hang in place. Also, be sure to support the roller tube once it is
disconnected. ** Carefully detach the roller tube from the motorized
arm.

Manually roll up the fabric and tube, while someone is pushing the
non-motorized arm towards the coach. Once against the coach, re-secure
the motorized arm assembly to the roller tube. It may be necessary to
secure the arms for travel.
 

Boca_Shuffles

Well-known member
I have a Colorado Care-free unit on my 2010 BH3055RL (built May 2009) that has a intermittent problem of not working. The unit works 90% of the time. My problem is from the full up position.

The problem first occurred just after the PDI, but before I left the dealers lot. When I tried to show it to the tech, it worked perfectly.

After being successful in my driveway several times, It stopped working for two days. Then without any corrections, it started working for a couple weeks.

It worked fine in Goshen (of course!)

It failed again the day before I returned it to the dealer for some minor warranty work. Murphy's law: it worked perfectly at the dealer. Its hard to fix something that doesn't reliably fail.

Please let me know what you find out on yours and I'll do the same.
 

jbhd

Member
OK, something is wrong with the switch...

Hi and thanks for the fast replies.
1st.
my awning is a Colorado Care-free awning.
2nd
I did read and received the jumpers for the awning, I was just wondering if there was a manual crank. Geez.. I had a SunSetter awning for my home and it had a manual crank:rolleyes:.

So this morning I went out and tried the awning and guess what it, worked...well for a while.

I first retracted it, then extended it half way, retracted it a bit then extended it fully. I then fully retracted it, when I tried to extend it again it would not work.

This is the same issue Tom is having:eek::confused: What the HECK!!!!

So it's not a fuse, battery issue it seems more like a switch issue.
Anyone from Heatland have any ideas? I did see another post, similar but it wasn't for the Care-free awning and heartland sent out a new switch.
 
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Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Sounds like the awning motor has a built in circuit breaker. Maybe they are too sensitive and will trip at any time, with any kind of load.
 
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