Glendinning Marine Cablemaster CM-7 Power Cable Winder Needs Repair

[Patrick]

The Glendinning Marine Cablemaster CM-7 in my 2002 Dynasty has stopped working. There is power to the switch but the motor has stopped working. 

Has anyone repaired one of these? It looks like the screws that hold the Cablemaster winder to the storage drum are fastened from the inside. If I remove the nuts the bolts will fall into the drum. How difficult is it to remove the whole assembly?

Any experience would be appreciated. 

[timaz996]

I have no idea but I will be watching this one.

[Ivan K]

I went to look at mine and after cutting some zipties and taking out 4 bolts through the floor (one of them problematic but doable with an extension), it would have enough clearance to just slide out? Enough to get to the motor without even disconnecting from EMS. I would pull the heavy cord out to get rid of it's weight. Depends on where they installed it in your rig.

[Patrick]

49 minutes ago, Ivan K said:

I went to look at mine and after cutting some zipties and taking out 4 bolts through the floor (one of them problematic but doable with an extension), it would have enough clearance to just slide out? Enough to get to the motor without even disconnecting from EMS. I would pull the heavy cord out to get rid of its weight. Depends on where they installed it in your rig.

Thanks for you input.

Mine won’t just slide out but would need to be tilted backwards so the winder can clear the opening. What I’m not sure of is whether there is enough power cable slack at the back to provide any real maneuverability.  Hoping someone has tackled this already. Experience helps.  

[MyronTruex]

https://youtu.be/hGJKr3YZSR0?feature=shared

Maybe this will help a bit. 

[Paul J A]

Do you have a Manual for the reel? I would start there. Or call the Mfg. Any information from them would be a good start. Do you have a false vertical wall section in the adjoining basement compartment for access to the reel? 

Can you reach in with your phone camera and see anything??

[Dr4Film]

Based on the Glendinning web site, it appears that the CM-7 would be very easy to remove and repair versus the RVCM-7.

Which one do you have?

https://www.glendinningprods.com/products/cablemaster/cm-7/

Edited May 24 by Dr4Film

[Bob Blackmon]

Mounted on the ceiling is the control module for the cord winder. Be sure you have power there and all the connections are tight. Check the limit switches. If you have to remove it disconnect from the transfer switch first.

[amphi_sc]

I took mine out to replace the wire, and as I used a slightly smaller cable bundle I got new larger pinch rollers from Glendinning (which Tiffin used in their installation). Also replaced the motor as it was getting sluggish.  First I snapped photos of motor wire connections before disconnecting, removed the u-bolt clamp on the PVC pipe that feeds to cord up to the unit, extended all the cord out of the bucket, unwired cord from transfer switch and fed it back through the ceiling, removed 4 bolts holdings the bucket to the floor, tipped bucket to push cord from transfer switch back into the bucket and then pulled it all the way out.  If your motor isn't working you would probably would need to loosen the pinch rollers (mine was a yellow knob on top) or just remove them completely to be able to pull the cord out.  With the cord out I could tip the unit (it's now very top heavy) and slide it into the adjacent bay and out the baggage door.

Anyway, I now have about 65 feet of 6/3 with 8/1 ground Southwire SEOW cable, new motor, pinch rollers.  It retracts like a champ now even in freezing weather whereas the old OEM cord was so stiff in cold weather I often couldn't get it retracted, and got into the habit of using minimal 3 feet plus my extension cord.  The new Southwire cable is much more elastic even in only slightly cool weather let alone freezing temps.

[Just Jim]

22 hours ago, amphi_sc said:

I took mine out to replace the wire, and as I used a slightly smaller cable bundle I got new larger pinch rollers from Glendinning (which Tiffin used in their installation). Also replaced the motor as it was getting sluggish.  First I snapped photos of motor wire connections before disconnecting, removed the u-bolt clamp on the PVC pipe that feeds to cord up to the unit, extended all the cord out of the bucket, unwired cord from transfer switch and fed it back through the ceiling, removed 4 bolts holdings the bucket to the floor, tipped bucket to push cord from transfer switch back into the bucket and then pulled it all the way out.  If your motor isn't working you would probably would need to loosen the pinch rollers (mine was a yellow knob on top) or just remove them completely to be able to pull the cord out.  With the cord out I could tip the unit (it's now very top heavy) and slide it into the adjacent bay and out the baggage door.

Anyway, I now have about 65 feet of 6/3 with 8/1 ground Southwire SEOW cable, new motor, pinch rollers.  It retracts like a champ now even in freezing weather whereas the old OEM cord was so stiff in cold weather I often couldn't get it retracted, and got into the habit of using minimal 3 feet plus my extension cord.  The new Southwire cable is much more elastic even in only slightly cool weather let alone freezing temps.

That sounds really good.  I'd love to see some pictures of that and do you have sourcing for the new cable?  Mine is working at present, but the last time I used it... there seemed to be some slowness and less traction on the cable.  It may just need some adjustment, but I do like the idea of a 65 foot cable.  I currently use half my retractable with an extension cable.

[amphi_sc]

Hello Jim,

Sorry pictures are long gone but if you need a picture of the mechanism buried deep in "the beast" I could snap a couple.  In my coach it's all buried pretty much in the center (maybe offset just a tad toward the driver side) near the water pump, hose real, and Aqua Hot.  There was enough room there to also include my Hughes auto former as an inline optional "plug-in" as the cable exited the bucket going into the ceiling to the transfer switch. Anyway...

You might try cranking the pinch rollers (yellow knob) just a bit for more traction but it could be the old OEM cord is just getting too stiff and slick with age.

I got the generator cable from Home Depot on special sale a long time ago, removed the twist lock ends, wired to my transfer switch with 50 amp socket + plug as it exited the bucket, and then retracted as much cord as I could in several cycles marking where it started having problems flopping cable into the bucket.  Then using the shortest amount I also knocked off about 6 feet more "just for good measure" hoping to avoid future "flopping" issues as it randomly dumps into the bucket. Being smaller overall diameter with more elasticity meant I could get more into the bucket. Then I put 50 amp male connector on the coach part and two connectors on the Southwire residue giving me another nice 50 amp extension cord. And a female connector on the old Glendinning cable yielding another useable extension Cord.  They're coiled up in nooks and crannies deep in the guts of the beast in that area just to have available, but I haven't had the need for them with the new longer cable in the bucket.

Do note the cable is significantly smaller outside diameter so you WILL need three new pinch rollers on the motor assembly.  Easy to install but check first with Glendinning to make sure they still have them.  As I recall they were used by Tiffin in some models versus the standard cable Glendinning uses.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-100-ft-6-3-and-8-1-SEOW-50-Amp-California-Standard-Power-Distribution-Heavy-Duty-Twist-Lock-Generator-Extension-Cord-19190008/205751569

Best wishes and safe travels.

[Patrick]

On 5/24/2024 at 8:06 AM, amphi_sc said:

I took mine out to replace the wire, and as I used a slightly smaller cable bundle I got new larger pinch rollers from Glendinning (which Tiffin used in their installation). Also replaced the motor as it was getting sluggish.  First I snapped photos of motor wire connections before disconnecting, removed the u-bolt clamp on the PVC pipe that feeds to cord up to the unit, extended all the cord out of the bucket, unwired cord from transfer switch and fed it back through the ceiling, removed 4 bolts holdings the bucket to the floor, tipped bucket to push cord from transfer switch back into the bucket and then pulled it all the way out.  If your motor isn't working you would probably would need to loosen the pinch rollers (mine was a yellow knob on top) or just remove them completely to be able to pull the cord out.  With the cord out I could tip the unit (it's now very top heavy) and slide it into the adjacent bay and out the baggage door.

Anyway, I now have about 65 feet of 6/3 with 8/1 ground Southwire SEOW cable, new motor, pinch rollers.  It retracts like a champ now even in freezing weather whereas the old OEM cord was so stiff in cold weather I often couldn't get it retracted, and got into the habit of using minimal 3 feet plus my extension cord.  The new Southwire cable is much more elastic even in only slightly cool weather let alone freezing temps.

Thank you for your reply. I will try to dig into this further this week weather permitting. 

Thanks to everyone for your replies. Sorry for not acknowledging you earlier. As always, tremendous support. Thank you.