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Carryboy Tonneau cover electrical issue

4K views 20 replies 4 participants last post by  HeavyG 
#1 ·
My Frontier has traveled further afield than I have. According to the dealership, its previous owner was a government worker who lived overseas long enough to ship a vehicle. While there, s/he added a Carryboy powered tonneau cover.

That was manufactured in Thailand. It is not sold in the States. Lucky me.

During a snowstorm in February, the power lift function stopped responding. It had always been underpowered, but now it has no response whatsoever. My guess is that there's an electrical issue or the motor got cooked somehow. I'm having a very hard time finding a shop to even look at it, much less attempt to fix it.

As this forum has members from all over the world, I thought I might be able to get some assistance in diagnosing and/or DIY fixing the problem myself. I've checked both fuse panels, and everything appears to be OEM. There must be a fuse somewhere that I can't find that would be the cheapest/easiest fix, but in a close second would be the switch itself. I've emailed a shop in the UK that is a Carryboy dealer to see if they'll sell me parts. Fingers crossed on that thread!

Anyone have any suggestions on how to work backwards to figure out what's wrong with a rather expensive accessory? If it weren't so expensive to replace, I'd just toss it and get a new one. This headache just won't go away!
 
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#3 ·
Voltage meter, trace your 12v from battery to electric motor. If you have power all the way to the motor, it's probably cooked.

Good news is, products manufactured in Asia tend to all get their electric motors from the same place and rebrand them. Look for model/serial #'s and start exercising your Google-Fu
 
#7 ·
Good news is, products manufactured in Asia tend to all get their electric motors from the same place and rebrand them. Look for model/serial #'s and start exercising your Google-Fu
When I started disassembling things yesterday afternoon, I thought that might be the case. Nothing I've seen has any markings besides Carryboy.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Yes, it's a hard cover with electric motor lift. I thought I might have a picture of it somewhere. I'll work on that today.

I think my father-in-law probably has a multi-meter to help with tracing the circuit. If only I could figure out where it's connected to the system! Since I didn't install it, I haven't a clue what the connections *should* look like.

The manufacturer's site has pictures of what I think the product is: http://www.carryboysportlid.com/smx/
 
#6 · (Edited)
That was manufactured in Thailand. It is not sold in the States. Lucky me.

Since we live in a global economy the fact that it is not sold in the US isn't a big deal.

As others have said it should be a simple thing to see if you are at least getting power to the motor/actuator.

Have you contacted the manufacturer directly? I'm sure there is an ID or model tag somewhere on that cover. Provide them with that info and I'd be surprised if they would not be able to provide you with some form of tech specs/drawings/info.

As others have said it is quite likely that the actuator is not some proprietary thing. If you can't get an OEM replacement you can probably find the same or better(stronger since you think it is underpowered) on ebay or other sources.

Does the actuator look anything like this?:

Heavy Duty 6" Linear Actuator Stroke 225 Pound Max Lift 12V DC 6 Inch | eBay


Is there just the one actuator or are there two - one on each side of the cover?

Pix of what you have would be helpful.

Anyway, chin up - this is probably something that can be easily/cheaply repaired.

Of course, there is also always the chance that this could cost a small fortune to fix. :)
 
#8 ·
Here's what I'm working with. I can manually lift the cover on the tailgate side of things. The cab side doesn't lift without power. When functioning, the entire cover lifts to be parallel with the bed.


Have you contacted the manufacturer directly? I'm sure there is an ID or model tag somewhere on that cover. Provide them with that info and I'd be surprised if they would not be able to provide you with some form of tech specs/drawings/info.

As others have said it is quite likely that the actuator is not some proprietary thing. If you can't get an OEM replacement you can probably find the same or better(stronger since you think it is underpowered) on ebay or other sources.
My initial attempt to contact Carryboy months ago rec'd no response. I did get a response from a British retailer of their products. They do sell parts direct, so I think that may be the route I have to take. Unfortunately, the link he sent did not have any electrical components; only mechanical ones for their canopy/camper tops.

Does the actuator look anything like this?:

Heavy Duty 6" Linear Actuator Stroke 225 Pound Max Lift 12V DC 6 Inch | eBay


Is there just the one actuator or are there two - one on each side of the cover?
There are two actuators, one on each side. They operate more as gears that drive the scissoring supports.


Of course, there is also always the chance that this could cost a small fortune to fix. :)
I'm trying to avoid the small fortune fix route. Ideally, I'd love to get this sorted out by next weekend. The family and I are taking a little road trip to the beach. Loading and unloading is much easier when this tonneau functions properly!
 
#9 · (Edited)
A few pictures wouldn't hurt. I'm curious what the actuators look like and how they attach. You might have more options than you think. If the actuators are bad, you may be able to take them in to a local shop that sells such items and they should be able to match something up. There is a place around me called motion industries. I bet there are places like that all over. However.... be prepared to pay for said actuators.

So does the unit have 4 actuators or two? I didn't realize it opened parallel and not just flipping up.
 
#10 ·
(I'm learning all sorts of mechanical definitions by trying to describe what's buried in the dark recesses of my truck bed.)

They appear to be two rack & pinion actuators. As you hold the button, the tailgate end lifts first, and then they begin to struggle to lift the cab side. See pictures I just posted above. There are only two of them, positioned near the cab on each frame rail.
 
#11 ·
So at the moment, when you hit the button, the motors make sounds and attempt to lift the cover?

Are there any areas that appear they could use some lubrication? I've seen it where the original grease / oil ( not sure what it's lubed with) gets old, stiff and full of dirt. A cleaning and lubrication of all the linkages might not be a horrible idea.
 
#12 ·
Nope. No response. It's as if the battery is dead, which leads me to believe it's an electrical, not mechanical issue.
 
#16 ·
No light on the switch or a part number. Everything that I've found inside these components only has the Carryboy logo imprinted. No other identifying information other than the control circuit that I dissected today hoping there was a blown fuse inside.

That makes more sense. The closest switch I've been able to find online is this power window switch. Before I start modding up brackets and such (making it uglier in the process), I want to exhaust all other possibilities. Local parts stores might be more help with the part in hand, no?
 
#18 ·
Well, it wasn't the switch. I started over with testing the wires. There seems to be no power at all going to the cover.

I may have two weak points. There's a random fuse attached to my battery positive. It's a 10A. A little corrosion, but it seems intact.

Second weak point: I think I might be able to do this one myself, but a mechanic could likely do it quicker. How lucky would I have to be to snip the wires back & replace the junction correctly? It seems to be connection between the cover & the truck's electrical. No other connection looks that bad. It's under the rear passenger wheel well.

 
#19 ·
I can't tell from the picture, but are the wires in the connector corroded? I would disconnect the connector and verify power to the connector and then clean the contacts. Unless there is major corrosion / damage to the connector, there should be no reason to snip and replace.

If no power to the connector, then you have isolated the problem to that side of the connector. If you have power to the connector, then you know the issue is further down the line.
 
#20 ·
Finally fixed!

I attempted to clean the connection, but when I pulled the two relays apart, one of the contacts broke loose. Before driving myself crazy again, I tested the leads with my multimeter. Finally, there was power on something!

Having no clue what to do next, I visited my local garage. The shop electrical guy gave me male & female splices to do the job without the part.

Thirty minutes & a new wire stripper later:


The moment of truth...



IT'S ALIVE! Next step is probably rehabbing some of the seals, but that's not pressing yet. I pulled the connection as tight as I could under the truck. Now it's safely under the cover in the bed instead of exposed to the elements & road salt corrosion.

Thanks all for helping me get this done on my own. Total cost was probably in the range of $75, and most of that was spent on two new tools & a can of contact cleaner. Much less than I'd've spent to have a mechanic just look at it.
 
#21 ·
I attempted to clean the connection, but when I pulled the two relays apart, one of the contacts broke loose. Before driving myself crazy again, I tested the leads with my multimeter. Finally, there was power on something!

Having no clue what to do next, I visited my local garage. The shop electrical guy gave me male & female splices to do the job without the part.

Thirty minutes & a new wire stripper later:


The moment of truth...



IT'S ALIVE! Next step is probably rehabbing some of the seals, but that's not pressing yet. I pulled the connection as tight as I could under the truck. Now it's safely under the cover in the bed instead of exposed to the elements & road salt corrosion.

Thanks all for helping me get this done on my own. Total cost was probably in the range of $75, and most of that was spent on two new tools & a can of contact cleaner. Much less than I'd've spent to have a mechanic just look at it.
Electrical gremlins of that kind can sometimes be a real pain in the butt to track down and sometimes not so hard to track down.

Corrosion on that kind of connection and just sloppy connections will cause problems.

I'd make double sure that your connections are well protected so they are less likely to be hit with corrosion.

Glad you found the problem and were able to fix it so cheaply/easily (glad it wasn't a burned out motor!).

That's a neat looking tonneau. I've never seen one of those before.
 
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