# Power Awning Trouble



## Greg (Nov 12, 2009)

My power awning is really slow to open and shut, seems like the motor is really having a hard time. The dealer just replaced one of the inner arms because it wasnt shutting properly. Also when i opened it last night one side opened in a downward position as if i had it adjusted for rain run off. Has anyone else experienced any trouble with their power awning?


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## duggy (Mar 17, 2010)

Our power awning works fine. The only unusual thing it ever does, is sometimes it makes a loud clunk when the arms nest together.

It sounds like something may be binding or too tight, causing the motor to labor and the awning to open in a "downward position". This may be a silly question but, are your thumbscrews loosened?


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## Greg (Nov 12, 2009)

duggy said:


> Our power awning works fine. The only unusual thing it ever does, is sometimes it makes a loud clunk when the arms nest together.
> 
> It sounds like something may be binding or too tight, causing the motor to labor and the awning to open in a "downward position". This may be a silly question but, are your thumbscrews loosened?


 I've tried it with them loosend and with the arms up and the thumbscrews tightend doesn't seem to make a difference on how hard the motor labors, the only difference was that when they were loose the side closest to the front came out in the down position. That is the side they just put the new arm on. Are the srews supposed to be tight or loose when you roll it up? Sorry for the lack of Knowledge this is our first camper and only had it for a year.


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## Justman (Jul 22, 2006)

I don't have a power awning, but on the manual awning, the screws are loose when opening and closing, and tight when open to keep the awning taunt.

Have you tried lubing the slides to see if it opens/closed better? A shot of WD-40 couldn't hurt... Just don't spray it on the motor.


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## duggy (Mar 17, 2010)

Greg said:


> Our power awning works fine. The only unusual thing it ever does, is sometimes it makes a loud clunk when the arms nest together.
> 
> It sounds like something may be binding or too tight, causing the motor to labor and the awning to open in a "downward position". This may be a silly question but, are your thumbscrews loosened?


 I've tried it with them loosend and with the arms up and the thumbscrews tightend doesn't seem to make a difference on how hard the motor labors, the only difference was that when they were loose the side closest to the front came out in the down position. That is the side they just put the new arm on. Are the srews supposed to be tight or loose when you roll it up? Sorry for the lack of Knowledge this is our first camper and only had it for a year.
[/quote]

Try pulling downward at the joint on the bottom arm. There should be some resistance from the gas shock, but no binding or scraping sounds. See if they both seem similar.

I leave the thumbscrews loose. I think they could be tight in the fully extended position, but it would be bad news if they were tight with the arms drawn in. I figure it's safer to just make sure they're loose.


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## Greg (Nov 12, 2009)

Turned out to need a motor and a circuit board they said it had 12 volts going in but only 6 volts coming out of board.


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## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

I noticed when we wrapped up the season that mine is starting to do the same thing as yours. It's out of warranty now so I'll check the voltage on mine. I was always curious what happens if you leave the thumb screws tightened in an extended position when you roll it up? Does it still roll up?

While it was under warranty it made the loud clunk/snap when shutting when the arms would touch the brackets on the side of the camper. Turns out that the awning was slightly crooked and when it rolled up it would pull the arms in one direction and cause slight binding which caused the loud sound. Dealer adjusted and that went away.


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