Roof lowering issues with Powerwinch

[exploreco]

As we were packing up to leave the campsite this weekend, went to crank down the top and it only went down about two feet.

The camper is a 2014 Rockwood 2514G with the Powerwinch system. It cranked down just fine to that point with no issues. Battery is fine. I could crank it right back up to full height, then crank down, again and it would stop at the exact same spot.

So, I figured out how to manually crank the roof down to get it closed so we could get home. What is odd, is as I got it lowered, I was able to crank it back up with no issues, just as normal, but it would not lower.

I am not sure where to look or what to check out. The motor seems to be fine, my battery is fine and fully charged. Is it possible the limiter needs adjusted? Not sure why that would randomly get out of adjustment after all this time, but who knows. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[TexasBob]

Originally Posted by exploreco

As we were packing up to leave the campsite this weekend, went to crank down the top and it only went down about two feet.

The camper is a 2014 Rockwood 2514G with the Powerwinch system. It cranked down just fine to that point with no issues. Battery is fine. I could crank it right back up to full height, then crank down, again and it would stop at the exact same spot.

So, I figured out how to manually crank the roof down to get it closed so we could get home. What is odd, is as I got it lowered, I was able to crank it back up with no issues, just as normal, but it would not lower.

I am not sure where to look or what to check out. The motor seems to be fine, my battery is fine and fully charged. Is it possible the limiter needs adjusted? Not sure why that would randomly get out of adjustment after all this time, but who knows. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

I would guess that you have an intermittent connection or break in the wiring. While lowering the wire bends and looses conductivity and the motor stops. I would inspect the wiring and wire routing. You could also temporarily run a "bypass" wire directly from the switch to the motor then if it goes all the way down you know the wire is at fault. Also realize the break could be in the ground wire. These things are the things I would start with. I'm sure others may have other ideas.

[JPBar]

Sounds like your lower limit switch need adjustment

Look at post #6 on Another Motorized Lift Question- not working.

[exploreco]

Thanks for the replies so far and I will check will do some diagnostics from post #6 in the link. I have done maintenance on the lift post and the cable system underneath, but have not touched the motor itself, so I will check that this weekend.

Thanks

[Underthedog]

Did you try the motor at any point during the hand-crank down process?

Recently had an issue where ours would not lower from full up. After hand cranking down about a foot the down resumed operation. I believe it had gone above the upper limit switch in that case. Seems like your low limit switch might be having the issue.

[exploreco]

Originally Posted by Underthedog

Did you try the motor at any point during the hand-crank down process?

Recently had an issue where ours would not lower from full up. After hand cranking down about a foot the down resumed operation. I believe it had gone above the upper limit switch in that case. Seems like your low limit switch might be having the issue.

Yes, after we had moved it about half way down by manual crank, I tried it again, actually in multiple places. It would always raise, but would never lower. So, maybe there is some truth to the limiter switch getting out of sorts. Just curious why now after 3 years. But I will look at that this weekend.

Thanks

[f5moab]

Is that the older style POS powerwinch that required a lot of grease, or the newer style?

[exploreco]

Originally Posted by f5moab

Is that the older style POS powerwinch that required a lot of grease, or the newer style?

I am pretty sure it is the newer style unit. And the reason I think that is because when we bought the unit new in in November of 13, we commented on how loud it was and the tech guy told us that it was a newer version of the motor that was supposed to be better but they were louder. I will have to double check the manual again, but I didn't see anywhere that they said it required any maintaining.

[exploreco]

Originally Posted by f5moab

Is that the older style POS powerwinch that required a lot of grease, or the newer style?

This is the one I have. Looks different than the ones I have seen in other pictures. I think it is the P92001 maybe. I tried adjusting the limiter switches a little, but that didn't seem to change anything. Goes all the way up just fine, but still only goes down about two feet then stops. I wasn't sure how much to turn the limiter switches, so I didn't mess with it too much.

Debating after reading a few more most, if I should try and mess with it some more before taking it to the dealer.

[JPBar]

After looking at the Carefree web site it appears you have the P55012. Mine stopped (P55000) once before, disconnected battery took cover off and removed each wire connection one at a time cleaned and tighten each one believe there was 8-10. No more problems after that. Here is the manual for the winch that you may have based on your picture.
You may want to check it out. Hope you get it fixed

http://www.e-carefree.com/documentat...h%20Manual.pdf

[exploreco]

Originally Posted by JPBar

After looking at the Carefree web site it appears you have the P55012. Mine stopped (P55000) once before, disconnected battery took cover off and removed each wire connection one at a time cleaned and tighten each one believe there was 8-10. No more problems after that. Here is the manual for the winch that you may have based on your picture.
You may want to check it out. Hope you get it fixed

http://www.e-carefree.com/documentat...h%20Manual.pdf

Thanks, yes, that is the one I have. My manual that came with the camper isn't as detailed as that one.

I went back out this afternoon and decided to adjust the limiter switch some more, but this time I moved it quite a bit more than I had previously. Thought I had nothing to loose. Then tried it again, and the roof lowered . Raised and lowered it about four more times this afternoon and it worked fine. So, will keep an eye on it and carry my drill with me for manual operation if need be

Thanks for all the help! Maybe it is something with the limiter switch that is starting to go out.

[JPBar]

Good to hear you got it fixed.