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Repair/Replace a Failed Dometic Oasis Elite Door Awning Motor

Repair/Replace a Failed Dometic Oasis Elite Door Awning Motor

The Dometic Oasis Elite door awning motor failed on our Newmar Mountain Aire with the awning in the closed position, leaving us with no obvious way to get into it. We had to find a way to fix or replace it, and we were hoping to avoid a huge repair bill, or damaging anything by having to force it open.

We were successful, and in today’s post, we’re going to tell you — and show you — exactly what we did to get our RV’s door awning working. We were able to get away with a total freebie on this repair, and if you have the same issue we faced, we hope you might be able to as well. We’ll include photos and written details here, followed by our video showing us doing the job ourselves.

Common Dometic Oasis Elite Door Awning Motor Failure

The Oasis Elite is surely one of the most common power RV door awnings out there. When we bought our rig in 2005, it seemed like just about every mid-to-high-level motorhome came with one. A version of it is still widely used today.

With so many of these units out there, a common failure began to show up, which we experienced ourselves about 10 years in. The problem is that the motor seizes due to moisture.

If you’re lucky (?) enough to have the motor fail with the awning in the extended position, you can easily remove the entire unit and access the motor. If it fails while closed, as ours did, you’ll need to know the trick to opening it without using force and possibly causing damage.

Note: A little-known fact about these Dometic door awnings is that they’re actually made by Fiamma. We want to note that Fiamma’s help was key to our learning how to do this job. They saved us from damaging our awning or needing to buy a new motor.

Symptoms of a Failed Motor On a Dometic Oasis Elite RV Door Awning

In our case, our awning stopped working completely. If we pushed the button to extend the awning, all we heard was a faint clicking sound. That clicking did mean that power was available, so the problem was likely the motor, not a fuse/power problem.

Since our awning was stuck in the closed position, it didn’t prevent us from driving. But there are very few visible screws when the awning is closed, so there was no obvious way to open it for the access we’d need to repair it. Had it been stuck in the extended position, we, of course, wouldn’t have been able to drive without fixing it first.

Simply removing a couple of screws would have allowed us to slide the awning off so we could have tried to diagnose and repair it. But when the awning is stuck in the closed position, there’s no way to do that either.

We priced out a whole new awning at around $1,000 (this was in 2015), plus the cost of paint to match our original awning. So, we didn’t want to risk damaging the awning by trying to force it open. That meant we had to learn the tricks needed to open it manually.

How to Repair or Replace a Failed Dometic Oasis Elite Door Awning Motor

Keeping in mind that designs, parts, and details change over time, the following steps show this process for our 2005-era Dometic Oasis Elite door awning motor repair/replacement. The first 5 steps show how to open an awning that’s stuck in the closed/retracted position.

Remove the 4 Awning Cover Screws

Standing on a ladder, start by removing the four screws that hold the plastic motor cover onto the left side of the awning. Two of the screws are on top of the cover, and two are under it.

Four awning motor cover screws shown during a Dometic Oasis Elite door awning motor repair/replacement.

Step one is to remove the four screws on the awning’s motor cover.

Lift Off the Front Cover

Even after you remove the front part of the motor cover, it won’t be obvious how to remove the motor assembly or open the awning.

Removing the front part of the motor cover during a Dometic Oasis Elite door awning motor repair/replacement.

Only the front part of the motor cover will be removable at this point.

Note that the back of the motor cover will hang in place until you remove the power wires that pass through a hole in the cover. While the wires are still connected, you won’t be able to remove the back side of the motor cover.

Back of motor cover hanging in place during a Dometic Oasis Elite door awning motor repair/replacement.

The back of the motor cover will hang in place until you remove the power wires that pass through a hole in it.

Release the Motor From the Awning

Two Phillip’s head screws need to be removed to release the motor from the awning. One is located in front of the awning, and the second one is behind it.

Front and rear screws shown

To remove the motor, you’ll need to remove two additional Phillip’s head screws. One is located in front of the awning, and the other is behind it. That one is both harder to see, and access.

The second screw is a bit tricky to reach because it’s behind the awning, against the RV. But once you find it and get your screwdriver into place, it’s easy to unscrew it.

After removing both of these screws, you’re almost ready to release the motor, which will allow the awning to open at the same time. The only thing left holding the motor in place is a single pop rivet.

Remove the Pop Rivet

The pop rivet holding the motor in place is hard to see, and a little bit difficult to access. The trick to getting to the pop rivet is to pull the awning out just enough to stick the tip of a flat-blade screwdriver up into the narrow space next to it.

Pop rivet accessed and shown during a Dometic Oasis Elite door awning motor repair/replacement.

Using a flat-blade screwdriver, you can open up the left side of the awning just enough to access the pop rivet.

You can then pivot the screwdriver slightly away from the RV to open that narrow slot up just a little more. While continuing to hold the screwdriver out from the RV, drill out the head of the pop rivet.

Drilling out the pop rivet

While continuing to hold the screwdriver up, drill out the head of the pop rivet.

Use a hammer and Phillip’s head screwdriver, or a punch, to lightly tap the shaft of the rivet, and it will pop right out.

Using a small hammer to tap a Phillip's head screwdriver

The flat-blade screwdriver will hold the awning slightly outward as you light tap the shaft of the rivet out using a hammer and Phillip’s head screwdriver, or a punch.

You can now remove the flat-blade screwdriver.

Remove the Motor

Because the awning is sprung outward, the motor is the only thing holding it in. This means that you need to be very careful as you remove the motor. If you don’t hold and control the awning as it tries to spring open, it could knock you right off the ladder.

Hold the awning securely with your right hand as you remove the motor with your left hand. As soon as you remove the motor, the awning will spring out suddenly. To prevent this from happening, use your right hand to hold inward near the center of the awning as you gently wiggle the motor off to the left using your left hand.

Removing the motor while holding the awning securely during a Dometic Oasis Elite door awning motor repair/replacement.

It’s very important to keep the awning under control with your right hand or with the aid of a helper while you remove the motor.

Again, if you pull the motor out without being prepared to keep control of the awning, it can easily spring out suddenly, which could knock you off the ladder.

Your awning is now open, and you can disconnect the wires to remove the motor to repair or replace it.

Disconnect the Wires

Use a screwdriver or other tool to remove the sealant on the side of the RV, being careful not to damage the wires or the RV’s finish in the process.

Sealant over the wiring is shown

You’ll need to remove the sealant covering the wires to remove them. Be careful to avoid damaging the wires or the finish/paint on the side of the RV.

Once you have access to the wiring behind the sealant, you can remove the wires. There should be a wire nut or other connector hidden in the outer wall of the rig. If there isn’t, you may need to cut the wires and then use a connector when reinstalling the motor. Either way, make sure that the wires can’t fall back into the wall. That would be what we call a self-inflicted wound.

Open, Clean, and Lubricate the Motor or Replace It

We opened, cleaned, and lubricated our motor, then reassembled it, and it worked great! But if your motor is in such bad shape that it won’t work properly even after a thorough cleaning, you may need to replace it. In that case, can contact Fiamma directly for the part.

Replacement parts for Dometic awnings typically need to be ordered through dealers. If Fiamma has changed its policy, and no longer supplies parts directly to consumers, they do have a page on the website that lists dealers.

If you do need to replace your motor, note that Dometic modified Fiamma’s wiring slightly. You’ll find that the new motor will come with a stop limiter switch wired inline. As you can see in the following photo of our motor, Dometic cut the switch out and wires the motor directly into the RV.

Fortunately, this is easy to replicate if you end up needing to replace your awning motor, by cutting the wires from the stop limiter and connecting the motor directly to the RV’s power wires.

A new motor shown on the left and our old motor shown on the right

A new motor will come with a stop limiter switch (green in the photos above) wired inline, but Dometic cuts the switch out entirely and wires the motor directly into the RV.

We hope this information helps if you have a Dometic Oasis Elite powered door awning that fails the way ours did. Check out our video below, showing a detailed look at how we did this job. Note that the Oasis Elite II, released sometime after 2005, has a different motor assembly. But we’re sure that many of the steps here will be helpful either way.

You can see more of our posts related to RV awnings and slide toppers here.

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rag_ftw

Tuesday 16th of January 2024

Just a quick note here. I cringe when I think about using a flat blade screwdriver to remove the sealant. I keep one of these on hand. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-1-3-16-in-High-Visibility-Mini-Razor-Blade-Scraper-28-100/203743502 THe plastic won't damage your clearcoat.

Ron Wiley

Friday 11th of August 2023

I'm going to replace my awning motor as you show in your elite door awning video and I need to know about getting around the stop limiter switch. Can you help?

TheRVgeeks

Friday 11th of August 2023

Hi Ron! When you ask about "getting around" the stop limiter switch... do you mean the correct way to wire it? Or is it blocking something you need to access? Do you have a Newmar, and are the stop limiter wires cut and unused, the same way ours is?

Billy Burke

Friday 6th of August 2021

Hello, im looking for an awning motor for my Dometic power awning. Dometic part # 3316605.017. It’s a Dometic 9200. Can you help? This site is full of great info and I thank you....

TheRVgeeks

Friday 6th of August 2021

Hey Billy! We're sorry you're having trouble locating the part. Doing some searching online ourselves, it looks like it's out of stock everywhere. With the explosion in demand for new RVs (combined with supply chain issues still lingering from the worst of the pandemic), manufacturers seem to be having a hard time keeping parts in stock! We'd suggest getting in touch with some of the bigger online parts places... like PPL Motorhomes, the RV Upgrade Store, Dyer's Online, or Tweety's to see if they can locate one for you. They may not list it in stock online, but if you call and speak to someone, they may be able to order it for you direct from Dometic.

If that fails (or if you've already done that without any luck), another thing we could suggest for you would be to try RV salvage suppliers. There's a list of a couple of big ones at this site: https://www.lichtsinn.com/rv-parts/rv-salvage-companies.

Barring that... we'd try contacting Dometic directly. They may be able to help you locate a dealer/distributor in their system who has the part in stock.

Sorry we can't be of more help, but hope you locate what you need!

Andres

Friday 14th of September 2018

The door awning on my 2005 Winnebago Journey 39K stopped working and after looking at your video (which is very well and professionally done), I was able to remove and clean the motor and "VOILA", it's ALIVEEEEEE!!!! (~_*)

I bought the Motorhome 2 months ago and consider myself mechanically inclined (enough to get myself in trouble), so always looking for helpful DIY information. My goal is to start the Full Time RVing journey before the end of 2018. I'm learning a lot from your videos. Awesome job!!!

Thanks and MUCH appreciated!!!!!!!!

TheRVgeeks

Friday 14th of September 2018

So great to hear, Andres! We're thrilled that this vide was able to help you tackle this on your own and get it fixed! Great feeling, isn't it?! Hope you're enjoying the journey on your way to full timing! Safe travels... and hope to see you out on the road!

James

Monday 23rd of April 2018

I just did the repair I found on IRV2 http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/one-lucky-fix-a-and-e-oasis-electric-entry-door-awning-for-30-cents-model-974-a-349014.html Painted to match coach Before I went to reinstall I bench tested it The shaft rotates just fine But the F45 i awing wont retract . Does it have to be pre wound ? Or has the clutch mechanism coincidently failed also

TheRVgeeks

Monday 23rd of April 2018

Hi James! Sorry to hear your Oasis is giving you trouble. It's been a while since we've had ours apart, so we're having a bit of trouble following along with the repair you linked to over on iRV2... but if your awning still isn't retracting, it's certainly possible that the clutch mechanism has failed. Unlike slide-toppers, these door awnings are sprung so they naturally extend... and the motor pulls them back in (where slide toppers are sprung so they roll up as the slide is retracted). From what we understand, that clutch failure is not an uncommon issue on these awnings (knocking on wood to help keep ours working, LOL!).

Fiamma USA (http://fiammausa.com) is back up and running again... so you may want to try giving them a call to see if they can help out with diagnosis and parts.

Sorry we can't be of more help... but let us know how you make out!

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