Omnivent Problem - Again

I think that it would be fair to say that the reliability of Omnistor vents is disgracefully poor. At the very least, since failures are common, replacement parts should be cheap, but they aren’t.

Just an update on the problem. Despite contacting Thule Omnivent twice by email I have not had any reply whatsoever. Not a good advert for Thule's customer service.

Because of this I contacted Electronic Services at Burton on Trent to ask if they could possibly repair the switch controller. They checked it out and said it was far too complicated electronically for the job it was  supposed to do, "there was less computing power in the rocket that took the first men to the moon". The alternative was, as I had considered, a simple rotary potentiometer with an on/off switch incorporated. Electronic Services obtained the potentiometer, removed the old printed circuit board from the original housing and fitted the switch. It is now back in the Omivent and works fine, all for £40.00. 

I had the same trouble with mine, told the PCB needed to be 'potted' to keep the moisture out. Did this and it worked well for a while then same old story.

Next information was that the motor brushes wear and the carbon deposits inside it cause the problem, couldn't gain access to clean it out and wasn't spending £90 on a new motor. Was all ready to buy a Maxxfan deluxe to replace it when a new one came up for sale on a well known website for £100 complete. Fitted and behaving itself, ... for now.

Dave.