Girard Window Awning Won't Stay Up

[steveinfla]

We have a Girard UltraShade window awning that will not stay up and falls flat against the side of the RV. This is a manual window awning, not a motorized awning. We came back to the rig yesterday and the awning was flat against the rig and there was no tension on the roller when we tried to raise it back up. If I push the awning all the way back up to the stowed position, the fabric will mostly roll back up, all except about the last 12" which just bunches up. But the awning won't stay in that position and wants to fall back down if I let go.

I have a call into Girard but haven't gotten a hold of anyone yet.

Does anyone know if this is a user serviceable problem that I couple possibly fix myself? The awning is only about 9 months old; we had it installed at Girard in Red Bay last September.

It seems like maybe a spring broke but removing the end caps doesn't really let you see the spring so it's hard to tell. I have not tried to adjust the tension yet, I don't want to make it worse, but it's already broken so I guess it can't get much worse. I'm hoping to talk to someone at Girard who could help me out, but I thought I ask here while I wait for a call back.

Thanks,
Steve

[shepardmike]

I believe the Girard website has manuals that you can download. This is what I got.

[garykk]

Had that happen to us, turned out to be a set screw was not tight enough and the fabric drum or whatever they call it unwound. Get the manual for sure…it a pretty simple fix.

[steveinfla]

Thanks for the replies.

I don't see a set screw or any sort of adjustments other than the end of the torsion bar you turn to set the tension. The manual describes how to replace the fabric and as part of that it describes how to set the correct tension (how many full turns to apply). That is the only adjustment I see. The manual doesn't mention a set screw and doesn't have any troubleshooting steps.

I'm a little worried to unwind the spring and then wind it back the correct number of turns. There is very little clearance to turn a wrench on the end of the torsion bar and I'm worried I won't be able to wind it back up (or unwind it slowly). But it's already broken so worst case is it remains broken

I did remove the c-clamp on the end of the torsion bar while holding the torsion bar with vice grips. There was quite a bit of tension and I had to hold the vice grips firmly. Maybe using vice grips I'll be able to slowly unwind and rewind the spring.

Does this sound like the right approach? I can't think of anything else to do.

Thanks,
Steve

[garykk]

Is this your awning?
https://lci-support-doc.s3.amazonaws...manual-996.pdf

It didn’t take me very long to put tension back on the roller. I was mistaken, this unit uses a c clip. But same idea.
It’s been a few years since I did this but for some reason I still think there was a set screw in the mix, perhaps where the tension spring attached to the drum.
How big is this awning, some have two springs.

[steveinfla]

Yes, that's it.

[garykk]

I’ve been wracking my brain on this, I know I found a loose set screw some where. It may have been on the opposite end of the roller where the c clip is and it locks in the spring sleeve. Wish I could help but I don’t really want to take my awning apart to verify
You give Girard a call, their tech service is pretty good. I called them when the string on my large awning crossbar let go.

[myarmar]

I had (and still have) similar problem with same awning. I removed the spring assembly and did not see any issues. Reinstalled and tensioned as needed to support awning and rewind properly. But in a month or so it would loose tension again.
To remove the spring I used A-ladder to support the awning in the middle in normal open position. Use an open end wrench (if i remember correctly it was 9/16), unwind the spring half turn at a time, use screwdriver in place of the c-clip to secure the spring rotation in between half-turns. After you release all tension, you can remove the spring assembly from the awning tube.
After doing all these I could not find any problems, any broken parts. I suspect that maybe internal plastic bushing somehow spins inside the tube. Perhaps in high temperature?
Mike
2019 AB40IP

[steveinfla]

I followed the fabric replacement instructions for unwinding and rewinding the spring. The manual said 9 turns for our size awning. But after 9 turns it was still pretty loose and would still fall down against the side of the coach. So I did one turn at a time until it tightened up enough to operate normally, which was 12 turns. At that point the awning went in and out pretty much as expected. But a few seconds after testing it the spring made a loud unwinding noise that scared me half to death . The c-clip was still in-place in the torsion bar so that wasn't the cause. But all tension was once again gone. So I rewound the spring again and stopped at 11 turns. The awning works but I think even a mild wind may push it down as it's not very tight. But it seems much tighter when fully stowed. I don't want it to come down while driving!

I think something inside the roller tube may be broken, maybe where the spring attaches? I can't see in the roller tube and don't really know how it works. I don't understand why it would have unwound (either this time after 12 turns or as part of the original problem). Maybe this time was because I tightened it up too much (but it didn't feel overly tight in the operation of the awning).

Anyway, I'll try and get a hold of Girard on Monday and see if there is more I need to do. For now it is mostly working but I'm not 100% confident it's fixed.

Thanks for the help!

Steve

[steveinfla]

Originally Posted by myarmar

I had (and still have) similar problem with same awning. I removed the spring assembly and did not see any issues. Reinstalled and tensioned as needed to support awning and rewind properly. But in a month or so it would loose tension again.
To remove the spring I used A-ladder to support the awning in the middle in normal open position. Use an open end wrench (if i remember correctly it was 9/16), unwind the spring half turn at a time, use screwdriver in place of the c-clip to secure the spring rotation in between half-turns. After you release all tension, you can remove the spring assembly from the awning tube.
After doing all these I could not find any problems, any broken parts. I suspect that maybe internal plastic bushing somehow spins inside the tube. Perhaps in high temperature?
Mike
2019 AB40IP

Half turns and a screwdriver was the key!

The problem you describe sounds exactly like the problem I have and your guess as to the root cause of the problem seems plausible. I'll see what Girard has to say and if they have any suggestions when I get a hold of them. I think my awning is still under warranty; Girard in Red Bay installed it for me last September. Hopefully my messing with rewinding the spring hasn't voided the warranty.

Steve

[steveinfla]

Originally Posted by garykk

I’ve been wracking my brain on this, I know I found a loose set screw some where. It may have been on the opposite end of the roller where the c clip is and it locks in the spring sleeve. Wish I could help but I don’t really want to take my awning apart to verify
You give Girard a call, their tech service is pretty good. I called them when the string on my large awning crossbar let go.

I wonder if maybe there is a screw somewhere that holds the spring in place in the tube. That screw being loose I suppose could lead to the spring slipping on the inside like seems to be happening. I took both end caps off but did not see anything I thought could be the culprit. I'll ask when I talk to Girard.

Steve

[myarmar]

Please let us know your finding with Girard.
The fact that you were able to hear spring unwinding confirms my suspicions. My 2019 awnings long out of warranty, so I may see if I can drill a hole into the awning tube and in the bushing and put set screw or pin to prevent far end plastic bushing from turning.
Mike

[myarmar]

Looks like we are typing our replies simultaneously! There is no screw on the other side. In my awning spring assembly ends in about the middle of the awning. There are some ribs inside the tube that interlock with plastic bushing and that holds it from turning.
Mike

[garykk]

Makes me wonder if Girard did not change the construction of the shade.
I see that Lippert only warranties product for one year then it appears to prorate repairs.