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Zip Dee Autoawn
Ok yet another issue to deal with….and I am getting tired of this nonsense! I have an auxiliary compressor which is solely dedicated to the zip Dee. I flipped the breaker and the compressor turned on but failed to raise any pressure as measured by the air gage located in the zip Dee electrical/air compartment. The compressor cut off after about a minute. I shut off the breaker and turned it back on…..nothing but silence. I tried several times a few hours later and still no joy.
i don’t know where to start. I don’t know where the compressor is located and if it’s located under the bus then someone with a higher pay grade will have to fix the problem.
So far this summer I have made one trip to Marathon, Eugene Ore….I was hoping my summer holidays would be better than this. The fun is starting to fade.
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14 Replies
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Allan,
Sorry you are experiencing these problems. Unfortunately the Zip Dee air awning has proven to be somewhat unreliable as they get older. The one in my bus was yanked out and replaced with a manual Zip Dee. Compressor and tank for mine was located behind the bumper, but I have a Vantare not a Liberty.
Hope your problems get better and that you get a chance to enjoy your wonderful machine.
Doug
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I would like to replace the autoawn with a manual system. Is there a specific Zip Dee location for this service.
1999 XLV X-6872, liberty #440 -
AHH, the autoawn! If I recall correctly, the autoawn compressor is mounted in the area with the house batteries. On my coach, the access is through the second bay curbside to the center of the coach; if you have the tv, grill, cabinet in that bay it needs to come out as well as the center wall. There is a chicken wire covering on the bottom of the coach that could be breached but I don’t think you’ll get enough access that way.
Look at it this way, the glass is half full. At least you aren’t somewhere where the awning is extended and now you can’t get it to retract to go on your way!
The autoawn brainbox and air line hookup are located at the rear (behind an easily removeable panel) of the curbside road air bay. I’ve considered doing away with my autoawn compressor and plumbing the autoawn into the bus aux air system. That might be easier than accessing the autoawn compressor but, sitting here, I can’t think of an easy access to an aux air line…fourth bay has plenty.
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Allan,
Here’s what it looked like on my 01 Liberty, I had the batteries out so you can see the configuration. The Auto Awning was a PIA, but I eventually got it working OK by keeping the arms drained of moisture. Draining the arms was a bi-monthly necessity if in rainy weather.
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Tom my unit looks exactly like yours and I have pulled the panels off to get access to the compressor. Initial inspection of the air compressor and tank suggest nothing wrong. Wires are tight as well as air lines. But the compressor does not run. Is there a fuse on the Liberty side that could have blown. Any idea as to what number on the panel I should be looking at?
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Ok I must be getting senile. I went to the fuse panel and pulled number 31 fuse. It looked fine. Then as I was closing the fuse panel, I noticed a toggle switch with the wording “awning air compressor”. I flipped the switch on then I deployed the awning. SUCCESS! Holly crap how could I forget that?
So I siliconed the glides and removed the end caps to remove any water. I am now ready for a cold beer….ok 2.
My frustration over all of this is the fact I have pulled out and put in the entertainment centre at least 6 times with the wife, initially to fix the grill socket and now to access the compressor. So I am gassed.
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Allan please let us know if you get the ZipDee AutoAwning to work. I have the same one, read about the potential problems with it. I have only seen might out ONCE in the four years I’ve owned the coach and that was when Jeff Rowe did the PPI on the coach; he was successful in getting it to retract. My wife wants me to put it out. I told her the only time I’m putting out is if I have a corded SawZAll in the coach to cut the thing off if it won’t retract. Since I don’t carry a corded SawZAll in the coach (I leave it in the race shop), the thing stays put.
Doug: Does it look like the replacement of the AutoAwning with a manual one was an easy deal? I asked Jeff Rowe about replacement and he said it wasn’t an easy job as the new manual ZipDee would have different mounting locations which meant getting up into the ceiling of the coach to tighten down the new mounting brackets. I sniffed at a Liberty just before we bought ours that didn’t have a big curbside awning (came unhooked at 70mph and ended up in the ditch between Memphis and Alberta) and Zip Dee said the 24′ manual was $2,300 to $2,500.
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I used to be afraid to use the Auto Awning b/c of the unknowns and problems people discuss on PC. With the help of PC and ZipDee I have worked my way though the PLC, arms, motor, compressor, etc and have a good understanding of how it all works now and how to diagnose everything.
I know not everyone is interested in taking the time to pull the arms apart after broken wires, kinked/leaking air lines, swap bad motors, blown fuses and anything else that can happen to them and its not a big deal anymore.
I have drained the moisture from the tank and water from the arms religiously for the last 2 years but they can still malfunction. On the bright side, it happens frequently enough that you never forget how to fix things on it!
When it works it’s very impressive. I now use mine all the time now.
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Just to make you feel a little better i have the Manual awnings .. When i purchased the coach i had all awnings out … about 6 months later (coach sat over the winter ) we headed to Sequoia NP in Southern Cal. went to open the large awning it wouldn’t Move .. got some help from the locals and we could only get it out about a foot … then we had a heck of the time getting it closed back up.. what a PIA … i started to carry that saws all … took it the repair center and the stated the main spring is rusted up and would have to be replaced … haven’t tried to use it since ,,,,
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Dick,
The awning was replaced by the previous owner just before I bought the coach so I did not witness the change over. It was Steve Bennett that told me that the autoawning was such a PITA. It doesn’t appear that there was a great deal of work to make the change. They left airlines and wiring (I have since cleaned all that up) where the compressor was and I don’t see much evidence of the old mounting holes/brackets. The manual unit works pretty easily, just follow the correct order. It has 3 locking points to keep it in place going down the road so I am comfortable from a safety standpoint.
Doug
1999 XLV X-6872, liberty #440 -
Purchased my XL 5years ago. Awning did not work, adjusted the price for the coach. At that time had Liberty in Stuart Fl replace both arms. All worked for 6 months and started to have trouble… Worked with ZipDee and I pulled the master control box out my self, shipped it to ZD had it rebuilt and put back in (not a big deal). Awning still working good! I maintain as ZD suggested. Every six months oil the arms and periodically open the ends of the arms in the low position to drain any accumulated water. Batteries start to get bad every year or so even with the main controller on at all times charging. It is what it is, but still working
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I had some problems with the Auto Awn on my 99 CC for a period of time till I learned how to take care of it.
It does not work well with any moisture in the air system so I installed a water separator on the main aux air tank under the front bumper then put a better one on the air manifold at the control box.
Whenever it rains and the coach is out in the open I learned to lower the awning with the button in the control box (not the remote) and loosen the black caps on the end of the arms and drain the water out. They will fill up while out in the open then oil the arms.
Jimmy at Zip Dee told me to use something like 3 In One oil, small red and white plastic bottle.
The worst issue which you can not do anything about is the wire harness going up the inside of the front arm to the motor. The next to the last one replaced was due to a supplier issue Zip Dee used to assemble the wire harnesses.
It worked fine for about two years then I sold the coach.
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Buddy is right about the worst thing being the front arm going to the motor. My wires inside the arm had nothing short of disintegrated causing a short then a break in the wire. It consisted of two tiny wires in a coiled rubber sheath, similar to a radar detector cord wire or phone charger.
I took the whole thing apart and was able to swap it out. If you have ever rebuilt the forks on a motocross bike you’d be good at rebuilding the lead arm on these awnings. Lots of seals and bushings. Kind of a messy job but it works good now.
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I changed out the automatic Zip Dee on my previous 2003 Liberty XL II to a manual one. Was caught too many times at campgrounds when awning would not retract. Liberty had never substituted a manual for an automatic. Had to relocate brackets into stainless and repaint two areas. Was not a cheap fit but slept better at night knowing I would not be caught. The last time, had to jump the motor in awning barrel from car battery with two wires and roach clips while standing on a tall ladder. As I said in previous post, when I opened up the awning controller, looked like a bad attempt to build a bomb with all the bird nest of wires, etc.
good luck Allan as new style on current coach has been pretty good… go figure!!!!
Safe Travels!
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