Trouble with top going up

[Meliessa King]

So we have a 2013 grand tour niagara (coleman) that blows fuses left and right. I've checked wires and see nothing wrong. Current waiting on a current limiter to come in stock so we can try and replace that. But we can crank it up, which is very hard to do, push the power button to lower and works fine. Any suggestions? A dealer wants $2k to look at it which is ridiculous.

 

[eoleson1]

I would start by lubing the slides and checking for anything that might be making it hard to raise.

 

[Meliessa King]

I would start by lubing the slides and checking for anything that might be making it hard to raise.

 

[WrkrBee]

So we have a 2013 grand tour niagara (coleman) that blows fuses left and right. I've checked wires and see nothing wrong.

Make sure all the cable pulleys turn. Locked up pulleys will increase drag and make the motor current go up. Manually check wire connections, remove, clean, and retighten. Lube everything as suggested previously. Oh, welcome to the neighborhood.

 

[McFlyfi]

So we have a 2013 grand tour niagara (coleman) that blows fuses left and right. I've checked wires and see nothing wrong. Current waiting on a current limiter to come in stock so we can try and replace that. But we can crank it up, which is very hard to do, push the power button to lower and works fine. Any suggestions? A dealer wants $2k to look at it which is ridiculous.

Is your battery connected properly? Black to positive and white to negative? If reversed, the reverse polarity fuse will blow.

Coleman branded tent trailers ceased operation in January of 2011, curious as to how you got a 2013 model. Do you mean a 2003?
https://www.beckleysrvs.com/blog/the-pop-up-camper-a-coleman-retrospective/

 

[Meliessa King]

Is your battery connected properly? Black to positive and white to negative? If reversed, the reverse polarity fuse will blow.

Coleman branded tent trailers ceased operation in January of 2011, curious as to how you got a 2013 model. Do you mean a 2003?
https://www.beckleysrvs.com/blog/the-pop-up-camper-a-coleman-retrospective/

Its a grand tour niagara but a coleman division I guess. No its a 2013. I have the title and manual. I will check those cables later this afternoon, thank you for the information.

 

[Meliessa King]

Make sure all the cable pulleys turn. Locked up pulleys will increase drag and make the motor current go up. Manually check wire connections, remove, clean, and retighten. Lube everything as suggested previously. Oh, welcome to the neighborhood.

McFlyfi, the pulleys underneith the camper? Since the ones that are enclosed I am unable to get to.

 

[McFlyfi]

Let's star over.

Problem 1:
You are "blowing fuses left and right". What fuses, exactly? Did you check the battery polarity as I suggested? If you hook you battery up backwards, the reverse polarity fuse will blow instantly. If you go to replace it, it will blow instantly. It's important to know which fuse(s) are blowing, and when- what are you doing when the fuse(s) blow.. Until we know that, we can't help.

Problem 2:

But we can crank it up, which is very hard to do, push the power button to lower and works fine. Any suggestions?

Lowering with power suggests that the battery polarity fuse isn't blown, since you have power to the lift to lower it.
This suggests to me that the lift system is binding somewhere. There are several components that need to be checked.
The whiffletree. This is under your trailer, at the back, attached to the motor, and covered by a metal plate. Under that metal plate is a drive screw with a drawbar that runs up and down the screw when the motor is engaged. The four corner cables are attached to this drawbar. When you lift the roof, the drawbar travels to the aft of the trailer, "tightening" the cables as they over the pulleys, lifting the roof. If there is any binding/friction at any of these locations, it could be the problem. As noted by @WrkrBee, if the motor struggles to turn the drive screw, the amp draw goes up, and potentially a fuse could blow.
Solutions?
You will need to inspect the entire system. Take the plate off of the whiffletree, make sure there aren't any mouse nests (known to happen). Clean and re grease the drive screw, draw bar and cover plate. DO NOT LIFT OR LOWER THE ROOF WITHOUT THE COVER PLATE ON! The cover plate is a bearing surface that allows the draw bar to slide over it, preventing the drawbar from rotating on the drive screw.
Next, look at the pulleys where they exit the whiffletree. Do the pulleys rotate? Are the cables routed over the pulleys? Are any of the pulleys damaged/missing?
Follow the cables to the corner pulleys. Check them as you did the other pulleys. Are they functional?

Based on the limited information provided in the original post, I am betting that the either the whiffletree is blocked/filled with debris/ungreased, and/or a cable has jumped off a pully.

 

[Meliessa King]

I will check this tomorrow and THANK YOU for all your suggestions

 

[Grandpa Don]

Mcflyfi knows what he is talking about. Here is a tip: Lower the tongue of the camper as much as you can will give you more room to work under the rear of the camper where the Whiffletree is located.