See the attached photo. Does anyone know if this part is replaceable? Or does the whole motor need to be replaced? I know there is a supply problem for some of the parts for these fans. The fan is the original one in our 2003 coach (model 6500). Suggestions for a fix?
From their website: FanTastic Vent - Parts (http://www.fantasticvent.com/faq/knowledge_base/parts/parts.html)
We currently do not sell replacement parts via our web site. If you are looking for specific part(s) please call technical support at 1-800-521-0298 and we will be glad to assist you.
A thread on another forum said they sent him the whole motor as a replacement. That was when they gave customer service. That is by gone.
When we used Technical support at Atwood/FF earlier this year, the motor was sold as a complete unit. It's around $50-60 plus shipping and you'll need to know the numbers (particularly the current rating) off the old motor.
You might consider spending the extra $ and buying the newer model fan and controller via eBay. If your current fan starts to have control issues, there are no more KIB 3-wire controllers available at Atwood. The newer fan has a nice touch-pad control and it's actually not too bad to install - Steve gutted our old fan and installed the mechanics of the new one in its place. No breaking of any seals on the roof and just a minor tweak to mount the control panel on the cabinet.
Our symptoms, BTW, were that the lift motor barely turned/wouldn't open the FF dome. Metering showed only momentary power at the lift motor. Atwood incorrectly diagnosed a bad wall control/bad lift motor. It turned out to be the control board mounted in the fan housing itself.
Thanks Barry and Michelle. The problem we have is that the knob will not open the vent manually when pulled into the fully down position (motor disengaged). Also, in order to turn off, the spine must engage the lift spine to close the vent. It won't do that either, so the motor keeps running on both off and manual. I can hear it trying to engage, but the spine must now be too worn to either open or close the vent. I will give the Fantastic tech people a call on Tuesday. Good to know about the motor numbers.
They should have a replacement for that ... they did send out a new one when ours was acting up, but there were a couple of differences to note, at least on the one they sent us.
1) it was wired backwards of what we had, so you may have to swap the leads
2) it claimed a higher rpm gear box, so in theory would work faster, I say in theory because as Michelle said, our issue turned out to be the main control board in the fan housing so what we got did fix the issue anyway :P
They may ask if you have a 3 or 2 wire controller (the controller being the panel with the knobs) ours was a 3 wire but you should check so you have that information available should they want that.
George, this may not be possible but can you assemble the part to spline then drill a small hole thru both and put a cotter pin or such thru as that wouls allow the thing to drive!!!
John
Pull it apart, clean any oil etc . JB-weld . Been there on this one . Brad Metzger
Call them. Tell them you have a Foretravel and what the problem is. They will send you a new part at no cost except shipping. I just received two insulated covers and two lifting mechanisms - $13 for shipping.
I called the technical Service number and they sent me a new motor for about $47 including shipping. See the pics below. Also included was a new lift arm, but I didn't replace it. Another project for the winter. The new motor looks exactly like the old one, but is slower (7rpm vs 8rpm). Easy, two screw, replacement. Thanks to all for their suggestions.