Dometic A&E Power Patio Awning slow to extend & re

[Phil P]

Dometic A&E Power Patio Awning slow to extend & retract

There is a wealth of information about these awnings on the Internet.

Ours started running very slow to extend. The retraction is so slow with a halting motion when it first starts to roll up it makes you think it isn’t going to retract.

I down loaded a trouble shooting chart from the Internet.

WARNING WARNING WARNING

Before I go any further I want to warn you not to unfasten the support arm at either end of the tube the awning fabric roils up on. There is a spring in the tube and you must down load the instructions for doing that and make sure you understand them and have the proper tools before you try to remove the roll tube attach brackets.

first determine the arms are free and working without binding.

This I accomplished.

The next step is to shut off your battery charger and connect a volt meter to the battery.

Ours read 12.53 volts. I had my wife run the awning out. The voltage dropped to 12.48 volts and recovered to 12.53 when she stopped running the awning. I got the same results on the retraction.

This indicates a good battery.

The next thing I did was to purchase a plug to plug into the motor wiring at the motor. NAPA part # 755-1598 works very well by cutting the plug of off 1 end.

With the awning extended and the pug installed you use a good set of jumper cables from you TV and run the awning motor.

My motor ran well and rolled the awning up without the halting motion and ran about like it did new. I could not run it all the way up because I was standing on a ladder so only ran it for about three turns.

This indicates a problem in the wiring in the trailer somewhere.

We are leaving in the morning for a 4 day trip so I haven’t done anything else.

I will update you when I get back home.

Phil P

[richfaa]

Good information but we have not had the problem......yet...

[DQDick]

Glad to know how to diagnose it, thanks.

[K0LCB]

I think they work through some kind of electric relay. I found out the relay for the hydraulic pump on my rig had loose nuts. If you can find the relay, check the connections. Now when I check my batteries, I check to be sure all the connections in the front storage comp are tight

[Phil P]

Hi

I forgot to bring you all up to date on this slow moving awning.

I have checked the amperage draw and the voltage drop at the battery and at the motor.

There doesn’t seem to be any problems with the wiring or she power supply system and wiring.

It looks like the motor has just become slow for some unknown reason. A new motor is expensive so the next batch of money I get I will purchase a new one to keep with the trailer until this one finally quits.

Phil P

[1retired06]

Good info!

[RichR]

Having my awning fix now-control unit inside switch panel bad-motor was also bad.Could have been control that burnt out the motor(can't tell)New parts are a little over $300.Awning would not retract and was blowing the 15 amp fuse.Covered under warrenty.

[salowe97]

the polarity of the wires will change when you retract or extend the awning. i read a post on another side that said the wires were too thin and getting hot (mainly the ground on retracting)... the hotter the temp out side was the slower the awning was. this individual hooked it straight up to a battery with a supplied connector (to be used with a loss of all power) and it worked fine. mine is running slow as well thinking on putting in a heavier gauge wire to see if that helps.

[clarkandsheila]

I had the same trouble last year. I did the same checks but finally wound up looking at the plug that is very near the motor in the arm. Pulled it apart and plugged it in a couple times to clean oxidation off the pins, sprayed the pins with WD-40 and the awning has worked fine since. I actually filled the socket side and then plugged back together.

It does not take much oxidation to cause trouble in that plug. It is exposed to the weather and needs a bit of help.

The plug is polarized so no danger of reversing it.

Pulled the plug again this year and sprayed it again. No trouble.

[Nathanial]

I have a 2018 cougar and I'm not getting any power to the fues and none to the switch for my kitchen awning but my other one works fine