oasis automatic door awning stuck

[jimmccreary]

My door awning is stuck in the closed condition. I can hear the motor in the awning trying to move when I hit the open or close switch but the awning remains stuck. Any helpful suggestions will be appreciated.

jim & debbie, 04 Journey 34H

[lajuene]

Mine stuck halfway in when I was trying to retract it. I waited a few seconds and hit the button and it came in another inch, waited, another inch etc. etc. until it was in all the way. I'm subscribing to this thread to see what others have to say. I think there is a manual way to use it but have not checked it out yet. Good luck and if you solved it, post the solution or IM me. Thanks!

[maclonchas]

Are you on shore power or on the generator? When this happnes to me I start the engine and that allows the awning to retract or go out. The other item is the wind sensor. Try turning that off and see if you can get it to go out.

[HD4Mark]

Ours gets stuck in once in a while. Just one side though. If I give it a little tug, it goes out. It helps being tall enough to do this. One of these days I will have to investigate what is catching.

[resqguy]

Mine was sluggish so I decided to clean and lube it. Since then it has been inoperable. Now I just use the hand crank to extend and retract it.

[lajuene]

Mine was sticking on one side too but it always popped out. I started the engine and it did go a little better. I called a&E and they said it shouldn't matter if the engine's running or not. I think that guarantees that it does matter. ;-)

I'll try oiling the joints a little.

[Gary CA]

Jim: my door awning had a burr in the plastic release/catch which caused it to stick. I trimmed the colored plastic piece and put white lubed both ends of the plastic pieces. Also suggest to remove the leftside plastic motor cover and drill a drain hole in the bottom. Good luck

[jimmccreary]

Originally Posted by maclonchas

Are you on shore power or on the generator? When this happnes to me I start the engine and that allows the awning to retract or go out. The other item is the wind sensor. Try turning that off and see if you can get it to go out.

maclonchas, it doesnt matter, whether on shore power or engine power or just battery power. I can hear the motor engage but it does not extend.
How do I turn off the wind sensor?
thanks
jim & debbie, 04 journey

[jimmccreary]

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

Ours gets stuck in once in a while. Just one side though. If I give it a little tug, it goes out. It helps being tall enough to do this. One of these days I will have to investigate what is catching.

Mark, tried tuggin it but no luck. thanks for suggestion

jim & debbie, 04 Journey

[jimmccreary]

Originally Posted by resqguy

Mine was sluggish so I decided to clean and lube it. Since then it has been inoperable. Now I just use the hand crank to extend and retract it.

resqhuy, is there a hand crank? how do I find it?

thanks
jim & debbie, 04 journey

[jimmccreary]

Originally Posted by Gary CA

Jim: my door awning had a burr in the plastic release/catch which caused it to stick. I trimmed the colored plastic piece and put white lubed both ends of the plastic pieces. Also suggest to remove the leftside plastic motor cover and drill a drain hole in the bottom. Good luck

Gary, thanks for suggestion, I might as well bite the bullet, get the tools out and see if I can get to the release/catch.

jim & debbie, 04 journey

[cbeierl]

Originally Posted by jimmccreary

...
How do I turn off the wind sensor?
...

I believe that the wind sensor only applies to the main awning, not the door one. (It's turned on/off via a switch on the awning control box which is presumably in one of your compartments--it's in the one immediately in front of the right rear wheel on mine.)

[jimmccreary]

Originally Posted by cbeierl

I believe that the wind sensor only applies to the main awning, not the door one. (It's turned on/off via a switch on the awning control box which is presumably in one of your compartments--it's in the one immediately in front of the right rear wheel on mine.)

thanks Chris. I found the switch. It has no effect.

jim & debbie, 04 Journey

[slick60]

Mine used to do that but would start working if I gave it a good slap. Had the motor and works cleaned up and it works fine now. If it quits now I am going to blame it on you!!

[RJay]

For some reason these motors freeze up, giving the motor a few firm taps usually frees it up again.

[edndebp]

Jim, your problem is most likely motor bushing corrosion caused by water accumulating in the motor cover.

My solution:

1. Remove the awning by removing 2 rivets and sliding it forward from it's bracket. If it is stuck closed, remove the cover and pull the motor out and you can pull the awning out to access the screws.

2. Place the motor upright in a vice and spray a liberal amount of WD-40 into the bottom of the motor and hook it to a 12V source. Run the motor back & forth to break down corrosion on the bushing (I repeated this process several times using fresh WD-40 each time). Pour out the WD-40 and replace it with a small amount of good lubricant and leave it in the motor to continue lubricating the bushing.

3. I suggest that before re-installing the awning that you place the assembled unit on a flat surface, extend & retract a couple of time.

4. Reinstall and secure with screws to replace the rivets. Drill a hole in the bottom of the motor cover for drainage.

I realize this process seems like a hassle, but it fixed mine and beat the heck out of paying the rediculous $$ for a new one.

Good Luck,

Ed
2005 Meridian 34H

[jimmccreary]

RJay and Slick60,
thanks for your suggestion, I tried tapping the motor with a small hammer but it was still frozen.
Now I have just returned from my 3month RV trip to Alaska and now I will be able to give it my full attention since I have all my tools and also now have the time to disassemble the awning.

Ed,
Will try out your suggestion, and stay tuned for the results.

thanks again for all suggestions,

jim & debbie, 04 Journey 34H
YES, we drove our RV to Alaska and back---amazing experience

[jimmccreary]

Hey guys, its finally done. I want to share the process with you all.

The problem was that the Oasis Elite Door Awning was stuck in the retracted position. The patio awning still worked perfectly and when the door awning switch was pushed I could hear the power being applied to the motor although the motor would not either retract or extend the awning. The repair turned out to be more complicated that I realized in the beginning and as a result I would like to pass this on to forum members who may have a similar problem. So here is the procedure that worked for me:

First, remove the plastic cover on the motor end of the awning. This exposes the motor. Tap on the motor to see if it can be freed from its stuck position. Others have found this to be successful. If this does not work continue the process below:

Photo 1.
I could not access the rivets described by Ed since the motor was stuck in the fully retracted position. Unscrew the 2 long 3” bolts attaching the motor to its upper housing. Next, remove the 4 short screws holding the flat plate that covers the white plastic round gear. Apply the power switch and tap on the motor again to see if this can unfreeze it.
Photo 2.
The shaft of the motor is attached to a worm gear that is designed to turn the round white plastic gear and the motor cannot be removed without turning either the round gear or unscrewing the worm gear but neither of these can easily done because the internal spring of the awning is tightly wound and is applying a force to the round gear which holds the worm gear (and thus the motor) tightly in place. Tap repeatedly in a downward direction on the side of the motor with a small hammer until the stator of motor begins to separate from the rotor.
Photo 3.
When the motor separation grows large enough, the motor now turns when the power switch is pressed. Be careful at this point. If you are standing on a ladder and the motor is activated, it will extend and you must be clear of the extending awning. Now extend the awning fully. Remove the motor end cap and also remove the stator surrounding the motor. Be careful as the powerful magnets in the stator are holding onto the rotor so it must be slowly and carefully removed. When the stator is removed, the rotor remains. Warning: if the awning is not already fully extended, it will extend rapidly to the full position when the stator is removed. Photo 3 also shows a plastic red tab which seems to release the red parking ramp when the awning is fully retracted. It does nothing to help release a stuck motor. Also in this photo shows a drill in the position of a pop rivet that I drilled out. This also did nothing to release the motor.
Photo 4
After the stator is removed from Photo 3, the stator might remain held since the worm gear is still in contact with the white round gear. Cut the red and blue power wires and rotate the motor so the worm gear can be unthreaded from the white round gear. The rotor is now removed.
Photo 5. (deleted)
Photo 6
The rotor can now be examined. I noticed 3 anomalies with the rotor. The bottom few plates of the rotor were bent outwards in a manner that could possibly catch on the end cap. This may have been the problem or this may have been caused by pulling on the rotor during its removal. These were bent back into position (see arrow). The outside of the stator showed severe rust in several places (see arrow). This may have caused the rotor to lock into position with the stator preventing it from rotating. These rust spots were sanded off. Also the inside of the stator was checked for obstructions but none were found. However, there is a black ring of carbon residue on the commutator (see arrow) which may have acted as an insulator thus preventing the motor from being energized. This is most likely the cause of the stuck motor.
Photo 7
Sand the carbon residue off the rotor as shown until the rotor appears as shinny copper.
Photo 8
The cleaned commutator is shown.
Photo 9
Insert the rotor into the stator and attach the end cap. Be sure that the end of the rotor shaft is fully inserted into the end cap and then push the end cap into position with the stator. Attach a 12 volt lighter plug as shown that can used to energize the motor to be sure that is turns. Reverse the leads so that the motor also turns reliably in the opposite direction when the motor is energized.
Photo 10
Using heat shrink tubing, solder 6” extension wires to the motor power wires so that re-attachment of the motor is easier. This next part is more difficult. Insert the motor worm gear into the top motor housing while simultaneously energizing the motor using the retract switch. If done correctly the motor worm gear will thread itself into the upper motor housing and lock itself into the white round gear. Then the motor will begin to retract the awning as shown in Photo 10. Insert the 2 long 3” bolts that hold the motor to the upper motor housing and tighten.
Photo 11
Next, attach the flat plate over the round white gear using the 4 short screws. The patio awning can be slightly opened to allow a better access so that the screws can be more easily attached. Now, fully retract and extend the door awning so that it clearly operates correctly and smoothly.
Photo 12
When the motor cover was first removed, there was debris and dirt in the bottom of the cover. Next drill a hole in the bottom of the cover so that it can drain properly. Re-attach the cover and retract and extend the door awning again to be sure of smooth operation.

Hope this helps someone.

Jim & Debbie, 04 Journey, 34H

[jimmccreary]

Sorry guys, here is Photo 12

[edndebp]

Great pictures Jim. I should have explained better how to extend the awning.

I now have a new issue. My awning was working fine until the last time I retracted it to leave. The awning retracted, then extended rapidly. The cause was the left roller tube cap stripped out. The part #3310300.00 cost is approx. $100. The problem is that I can't figure how to get the darn thing off. If anyone has removed one I would appreciate the help