ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Topic: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002) (Read 1426 times) previous topic - next topic

ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

March 13, 2015, 10:03:35 pm

My awning will not retract electrically (with or without the remote) so I will try to manually raise it tomorrow.
It seems like a pretty straightforward method. The only problem I see is if the spring is not strong enough to roll it up.
Any helpful hints?

Re: Awning Manual Raise

Reply #1 – March 14, 2015, 09:24:25 am

Quote from: Old Hippie – March 13, 2015, 10:03:35 pm

My awning will not retract electrically (with or without the remote)

Which awning - Girard electric or ZipDee air-operated?

Re: Awning Manual Raise

Reply #2 – March 14, 2015, 09:55:50 am

It is a ZippDee air operated.
The procedure I found was to basically dissconnect the dc motor drive shaft from the roller and let the spring tension wind it up.
It sounds easy...which I know it is probably not.
Will be starting after I finish my coffee.

Re: Awning Manual Raise

Reply #3 – March 14, 2015, 10:02:33 am

Thanks - I'll update the topic title - the ZipDee air awning is unique to the 2002's, I believe

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #4 – March 14, 2015, 10:04:55 am

thanks M...I should have done that....

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #5 – March 14, 2015, 07:45:39 pm

I have the same awning on my u320. Have you tried to reset the power in the control unit? I;ve had many problems with my awning, but have seemed to solve all of them by calling ZIPDEE and speaking to Jimmy. Good luck on the fix. It's a nice awning WHEN IT Works!
Ralph

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #6 – March 14, 2015, 11:13:05 pm

We have that awning. There is no spring, that I know of. The problem that we have had is that the front arm (which attaches to the motor) has the wiring inside a plastic sheath. This sheath gets crimped from time to time and the wiring goes bad. ZipDee will sell you a rebuilt arm ... and a competent installer who KNOWS ZipDee can replace it. Then, you ship your old arm back to ZipDee in the box they sent your rebuilt arm, and they rebuild it for someone else! We are in the process of doing this for the second time. We rolled our awning up manually in August, and that was that. We are finally getting around to having the job done before we head out this Spring. In the control box in the bay, there are a sequence of lights that all must be lit for the awning to work ... there is a white reset button that can pop from time to time ... and there is a tiny cartridge fuse that may need to replaced ... but you can trouble shoot these items with ZipDee and their "Yoda" (Jimmy) when you call. If is IS the arm, you can order it from ZipDee yourself and have it shipped to your installer. I was going to have a repair place order the arm for me, until I found out that they were going to DOUBLE the cost of the part as a matter of doing business. They became very indignant when I was not onboard with that plan and told me that I had no idea how a business routinely operated. HA!! I told them a few things, as well.

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #7 – March 14, 2015, 11:21:31 pm

Old Hippie: who was the previous owner of your coach? I helped a gentleman retract an 02 same color as your coach in Canton Mid South couple years ago. You can open the control box and press two buttons at the same time and it will retract. One is the motor button and the other is retract. Been a while so I am not clear but it can be done. The coach had these small vent looking things down the rear of the coach. Yes, call Jimmy at Zip Dee as Carol suggest. Once he on your call he will get all working. Dan

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #8 – March 15, 2015, 12:01:06 am

Thanks guys for the input. I tried the manual close/run switch for the motor and it would not run. I had power at the roller motor. One arm leaks a lot of air so I suspect that is bad also. I ended up unhooking the motor drive shaft from the roller and let it manually close itself. I also removed the two spring loaded rafter arms and put them in the bay.
We were happy, happy, happy to be able to continue with our Arizona trip.
As far as the previous owner goes I do not know who they were.
I did not mention that the awning deployed itself (without any physical activation) while we were having lunch in the coach and would not close after that.
All this happened on Friday the 13th........

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #9 – March 15, 2015, 12:25:40 am

I searched "zip dee awnings direct logic 05" and a troubleshooting guide came up. I could not get the pdf link for the guide to show up here. This is what I used to work through my issue.

ETA: Added guide

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #10 – March 15, 2015, 07:38:36 am

Old Hippie,

Aren't you glad it deployed while you were eating lunch and not traveling down the interstate? Probably would have been interesting.

Larry

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #11 – March 15, 2015, 12:47:55 pm

Quote from: ohsonew – March 15, 2015, 07:38:36 am

Old Hippie,

Aren't you glad it deployed while you were eating lunch and not traveling down the interstate? Probably would have been interesting.

Larry

We have awning locks on all of our manual window awnings ... I think I may add one to the AutoAwn. It has not self-deployed ... YET ... but GEEZ LOUISE!!!!!!

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #12 – March 15, 2015, 10:35:18 pm

Mine has an ignition interlock relay on the controls, so it should not open while driving however my trust has been broken. I will think about this more and figure out what may be the best option; repair or replace with different style or do nothing.

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #13 – March 16, 2015, 06:19:07 am

What if you attach the powe leads directly to the wires at the end of the awning. It would bypass a crimped wire if that was the culprit.

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #14 – March 16, 2015, 08:38:22 am

I have this awning and everyone on this forums knows I have had a learning process and after replacing one arm I have grown to like the way it operates. Jimmy at ZIPDEE is a jewel in operating these things. Have installed grease to keep the water out but you need to empty any water out of the arms. Have found this will ususally be the reason the air will not push up. Will not deploy with key turned on. DAN

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #15 – March 16, 2015, 02:06:52 pm

Be sure your batteries are new. The batteries are in the blue box near the control center in a bay. They should be changed out every 2 years if not every year. Low voltage will cause havoc with the awning. Also, make sure you have the proper air pressure to operater the awning. Zip Dee does not like the Foretravel installation. Zip Dee prefers to have their own air source that is not shared.
FYI, we had the AutoAwning on our 02 for 9 of the 10 years that we owned our coach. 8.5 years of the 9 were shear hell. Then we had James Stallings rip the POS off the coach and had a manual Zip Dee installed and life was grand. Just sayin....

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #16 – March 16, 2015, 02:14:20 pm

Tom & Bill

You hit the nail on the head. Not a fun awning to own.

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #17 – March 16, 2015, 08:33:02 pm

Jimmy @ Zip DEE is the guru as many have said. We too have the "air" awning and have replaced both arms, the control box and the main recoil spring plus added a dedicated air compressor to provide the 110 min psi that the control box requires to operate. After Jimmy got done with ours it has worked flawlessly for almost two years.

Roger - Have your been able to contact Jimmy yet? He will trouble shoot over the phone and tell you what you need to do.

PS. The black end caps should be loosened every month or so to allow the water to flow out. At that time you should also use some 3 in 1 oil to lube the square tubes. Extend the awning manually form the switch on the control box completely. Careful to be sure the front entry door is closed. The awning will extend so the arms are at a slight downward angle from the attaching point at the coach. DO NOT remove the 4 screws on the end cap as it will cause you problems. Only loosen enough to separate the black plastic cap from the aluminum square tube. PM me if you would like to chat. Jimmy and the owner Jim taught me how to do it when they were working on our awning.

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #18 – January 06, 2016, 09:43:23 pm

Does anyone have a phone number for Zip Dee? I have done a web search and found nothing so far.

Thank you.

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #19 – January 06, 2016, 09:55:02 pm

Awnings By Zip Dee, Inc. (awningsbyzipdee.com)
96 Crossen Ave
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
800-338-2378 847-437-0980
Fax 847-437-7064

We spent time at Zip Dee this summer. Jimmy and 2 of his crew spent a great deal of time going over our autoawn. It worked flawlessly at their location. BUT ... as soon as we left it knew. We tried it several days later and it was still wonky and crazy. Zip Dee replaced almost every part and even upgraded old, brittle wiring! Maybe it is just my personal aura that sets the thing off .... I dunno. Their customer service is first rate. Jimmy is like Yoda.

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #20 – January 06, 2016, 10:14:43 pm

Zip Dee 847-437-0980
Jim

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #21 – January 06, 2016, 10:25:41 pm

Thank you very much for the contact information. I greatly appreciate your help.

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #22 – January 06, 2016, 11:43:00 pm

Zip Dee...ask for Jimmy - he knows the most about their awning problems. He and his crew do go to any FMCA and other RV gatherings.

Jim

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #23 – January 07, 2016, 10:07:14 am

FYI on the awning....I removed mine and maybe someday I will put on a manual style. For now I kinda like not having it on the roof....I think my old coach looks much cleaner without it. Will be getting the old mounting holes filled at Extreme in Feb.

Re: ZipDee Awning Manual Raise (air-operated awning on a 2002)

Reply #24 – January 07, 2016, 10:13:27 am

Maybe it is just my personal aura that sets the thing off .... I dunno.

Carol, the problem is your awning does not know fear....of you. I have discovered that when things fear me they will work.

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