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Old 06-21-2015, 03:23 PM   #1
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Carefree Eclipse Awning Wind Sensor Troubleshooting (Aspire)

I finally fixed my Carefree awning wind sensor and thought I would pass along what I found to be the problem as this may be an eventual trouble point on other Aspire's.

Initially we had Lazydays take a look at it the issue since we were there for other reasons (radiator replacement). They not only couldn't fix it, they left it even worse off by unnecessarily cutting the wire inside the awning arm. It is clear they never called Entegra for help with details of the wiring.

To test your wind sensor, in the cabinet over the entry door make sure the awning power is On and set the sensitivity to Low (most sensitive to movement). Now go outside and gently rock the awning arm by hand. After a couple of seconds the awning should begin to retract. We have a 2 foot sunscreen leader on our awning which can be reached from the ground which makes it easy to move the arm, but without that you may need a ladder or broom handle.

If the awning does not retract, the problem will be in one of three places:
  • The wind sensor device located under the motor cover on the forward awning arm. This is not a simple switch but is an active electronic component that requires 12 volts and has a data output.
  • The Control board located in the first pass-thru cargo bay (the one with the slide tray) on the forward bulkhead in a box behind a carpeted cover.
  • The wiring that connects the wind sensor to the control board. The wire in question is ordinary telephone handset cable - in my telecom days we used to call it "flat satin". Its flat gray cable with four 26 gauge conductors. The cable is terminated with the same crimp on plastic RJ-11 plugs that are used for a standard plug in telephone.
The flat satin cable runs from the wind sensor (under the motor cover), up the extensible arms of the awning then down behind the bracket that attaches to the side of the coach (the separate motor power wire follows the same basic path). At the very bottom of the wall bracket the wires enter the coach wall thru a 1" hole in the side of the coach (this is at about eye level). This area of the Carefree assembly has a cover that can be removed with two hex head screws to expose this entry point. The hole is plugged with silicone caulk.

Next the wire runs down inside the wall and out into the right front wheel well, then makes it way rearward along the chassis rails to the control board.

Just inside the aforementioned hole in the side wall of the coach is a connection point that ties the awning wiring to the coach wiring (both flat satin). For simplicity, Entegra uses crimp on RJ plugs and an ordinary RJ coupler.

The flat satin cable has good flexibility and is suitable for the job, but the RJ connectors and coupler are not if they get wet. The RJ connector inside the weather sealed wind sensor device is protected and not subject to corrosion unless the seal has been compromised. The RJ connection at the control board in the cargo bay is not subject to weather exposure and should also be fine. The RJ connector/coupler tie point inside the wall is subject to corrosion even if there is just a tiny leak in the silicone caulk - this is what happened in my case as can be seen in the photos below.











IMO Entegra may want to consider using some sort of weatherproof connections here instead of RJ plugs and couplers. If you need to make a repair like I did I would recommend heat shrink crimp on butt connectors for 26 gauge wire. I ended up soldering because I did not have the 26 gauge butt splices on hand.

If you have a problem with your wind sensor, you may want to look at this connection first as it is a likely failure point. For additional troubleshooting I'd be happy to try and help. Carefree does not seem to want to talk to the end user directly so I had no help from them. Thanks to PJ at Entegra for cluing me in to the location of the connection point inside the wall.

Note: the flat satin wiring carries 12v, ground and data and MUST be straight thru from end to end, no crossover of the wires. Most telephone grade RJ couplers WILL cross over the wires and will not work.

Additional details:

The photo below is taken from the roof looking down the side of the coach, the silver wire on the right is for the wind sensor, the other is for the motor power.



Control board:


Wind Sensor internals:



Corroded RJ parts removed, wire spliced and ready to seal up the hole:




Tried not to leave any voids where more water can leak in:

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Old 06-21-2015, 07:04 PM   #2
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Many thanks for the information and the details with pictures. I will file this link for future reference.
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