Power Awning Issues (Solera) on a 2014 Fun Finder 214WSD

timothyjay · 03-15-2015, 05:08 PM

Hi all,

We've had our travel trailer for over a year and after not being used for about 2 months over the winter, we started having issues with our power awning.

When we first tried to extend our awning, nothing would work. We eventually had to start it manually near the motor, and after getting it started, it extended with no problem. It would extend normally, but would struggle retracting. After a few inches retracting, the relay behind the control panel would trip out. And every now and then, it would stop altogether, and would start up again after taking a few breaks.

I read that it may be because of the power wire it came with (16 gauge) is not powerful enough, so we replaced it with a 12 gauge wire. However, that did not work.

Could the motor be bad even though it would extend fine but not retract properly? Or could it be any other issues?

Thank you for your time and any suggestions you may have.

Tim

Travels with Yoly · 03-16-2015, 08:25 AM

I would try using some "Dry-Slide" lubricant on all the pivots on the arms since any additional friction or binding could place more load on the motor. (Just one more thing to rule out)

timothyjay · 03-16-2015, 08:52 AM

Thank you, will try that as well!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travels with Yoly

I would try using some "Dry-Slide" lubricant on all the pivots on the arms since any additional friction or binding could place more load on the motor. (Just one more thing to rule out)

N&K · 04-02-2016, 05:14 PM

Did you ever find a solution to your issue? My awning is having a similar issue and I am curious to know how yours got fixed.

gmw photographics · 04-02-2016, 06:01 PM

One common cause of problems with awnings ( and slide rooms ) is the trailer battery being low on charge. These electric motors for awnings and slides "like" a well charged battery and plenty of current available. Best to have the battery completely charged up, AND have shore power plugged in if possible. Having shore power plugged in as well allows the converter to apply voltage and current to the 12V side of life there.

EDIT: be aware that if the battery is low, or beyond being able to hold a good charge, you may still have problems with 12V items like the awning, even though plugged into shore power. Reason is, if the battery is very low, or internally shorted, it can suck all the power being output from the converter, so the awning motors are still starved for voltage and current.

N&K · 04-02-2016, 07:05 PM

The problem I am having is that the awning extends very quickly. In order to retract I need to help turn the winding tube by hand. Once started the motor will slowly turn the tube by itself and maybe stop after retracting 2 or 3 feet. I get it going again until the motor does a faster job of the last few feet.

I will tear into the motor and wiring to find out what might be wrong, but thought if the OP had a solution to their problem it might give me a quick fix.

N&K · 04-17-2017, 02:38 PM

After checking out the electrical system and not finding any problems, I decided to replace the electric motor. I found a replacement motor on Amazon that was considerably cheaper than the price Lippert was using. The new motor was easy to install. It only involved 4 screws, two bolts, and holding the awning tube to keep it from unwinding. The new motor works fine.

My best guess of the cause of the original motor not working properly is that the manual override system consists of a hole in the awning head that contains a nut you turn to allow the awning to unwind. The hole also allows rain water to run directly onto the motor. This is never good for an electric motor. I found that a rubber grommet was available to keep the water out so I bought one. I'll see what happens in the future.

The only problem I had with this fix was a situation between Lippert and the Amazon pricing system. I will spare you the details of this and deal with it within the Amazon rating system.