Our motorhome has window shades made by MCD Innovations.  These shades are considered to be “cream of the crop”.  Every window has two shades:  a sun shade that blocks the direct sun but allows light to come through and a night shade that completely blocks all light.  These roller shades can be pulled down to any position and will automatically retract slowly when you release them.

The windshield also has these two roller shades but these are electric and are operated by a switch panel on the dashboard.  Over the past several weeks the windshield night shade began to move more slowly.  More recently it had begun to move so slowly we became concerned that it might stop working altogether.  I called the manufacturer and asked them what might cause this.  They said that either the motor wasn’t getting the proper power or the motor needed to be replaced.  After I verified that the motor was indeed getting the required 12 volts DC, I ordered a replacement motor.

The motor resides within the roller tube itself so the entire assembly must be taken down in order to replace the motor.  Both shades are mounted to a bracket that snaps into a holder mounted to the underside of the cabinets.  So, take down the shade assembly, remove the night shade roller from the frame, remove and replace the motor then reverse the process, including making the wiring connections for the motor.  The only tedious part was the wiring since it requires a rather awkward position to get to it.  So now with the motor replaced, the night shade is once again moving smoothly