Problem with Heki 2 Roof Ventilator

Hi there,
I am having problems with the Heki 2 Roof Ventilator on my 1999 Symbol. The unit has previously worked fine. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
The first problem is that the gas struts have no power and are not supporting the vent when fully open in the Tilted Position. Secondly, there seems to be more movement of the unit when opening and closing it and I have to be quite careful to properly align the unit when closing it. It has before just found its way back into position without any intervention. It may not be related but when I was washing the roof recently using a long handled brush a reasonably large pin (no thread) came out from the frame of the Heki unit. I pushed this back in but it did not seem to engage with anything. Like I said, may or may not be relevant?
Thanks in anticipation of your help,
Cheers
Rob

Could be the Hinge pin gone missing? Was it like this?  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks Peter. I will get up and have a look at the hinge mechanism / pin. But, would that affect the gas struts ?

If the hinge is free, perhaps the strut has nothing to act against? Hope it is not the struts faulty, £46.65 each.

will let you know what I find. Thanks, Rob

Rob

First of all your gas struts need replacing. Don't worry, they aren't overly expensive but removing the old ones to fit the new can be a bit fiddly. This is where i bought my struts from; [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Here is a useful guide on how to replace; [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Your hinging problem could be another matter though as you said the hinge pin didn't appear to engage with anything when pushed back in. At best, just the black nylon plastic hinge has broke. They are cheap to replace and easily sourced on ebay  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

At worst....the white plastic centre fitting which has the part the hinges slot into (see photo on the "how to fit" link) has broke off. That's not only expensive, it's a maul of a job as the entire dome and rooflight has to be removed just for that section to be replaced. The only way to find exactly which part has been damaged is via a pair of ladders high enough to give you good visual of the roof top.

Thanks Bulletguy for so much information. Will get the ladders out to take a proper look. Keep your fingers crossed for me !

Robbit M wrote:Thanks Bulletguy for so much information. Will get the ladders out to take a proper look. Keep your fingers crossed for me !

You're welcome....come back and let us know how you go on!

So, first of all I apologise for the delay in providing an update. I have  inspected the problem further and see that at least one hinge is not attached - I think the pin is missing. As the struts have definitely failed I am going to have to take it to a repair shop as I don’t feel confident to do this myself and also I am restricted quite a bit following knee surgery. Will come back and let you know who I get to do the work and how much it costs. Will be a few weeks as Bessie is going in for bodywork stuff next week prior to upcoming MOT

Robbit M wrote:So, first of all I apologise for the delay in providing an update. I have  inspected the problem further and see that at least one hinge is not attached - I think the pin is missing. As the struts have definitely failed I am going to have to take it to a repair shop as I don’t feel confident to do this myself and also I am restricted quite a bit following knee surgery. Will come back and let you know who I get to do the work and how much it costs. Will be a few weeks as Bessie is going in for bodywork stuff next week prior to upcoming MOT

It's well worth looking online for a mobile caravan repairer as it's a job which can easily be done at your home or wherever you park your van. They will come out to you. I supplied the struts. I can't remember exactly how much the guy i used charged but around £30 but it's well worth it as it is a bit fiddly and as you say you have a dodgy knee, for me it's arthritic issues which decided it!

Regards your hinge...if only the pin, they are just a push fit so only takes seconds. My advice though would be to replace the hinge as well because they suffer from 'weathering' and eventually crack. For how little they cost it makes more sense to replace it.

Local mobile repairer came this afternoon. Unfortunately not great news. The actual frame of the skylight is damaged and each of the hinges have had botched repairs done to them. Replacing the struts and trying to tidy up the frame and hinges is an option but I have been advised to look for a good condition full unit from a salvage company
Will let you know what happens next

Robbit M wrote:Local mobile repairer came this afternoon. Unfortunately not great news. The actual frame of the skylight is damaged and each of the hinges have had botched repairs done to them. Replacing the struts and trying to tidy up the frame and hinges is an option but I have been advised to look for a good condition full unit from a salvage company
Will let you know what happens next

Ouch! That unfortunately is what i initially suspected. It's a notorious weak spot on the Heki rooflights purely because of the plastic material and the hinging location points are not substantial enough given the work they do.

There is a used one on ebay at £300 but a brand new one complete at £440 is a better buy; [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Alternatively you can buy the parts separately from here; [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] but would still need total removal in order to replace the damaged part.

If you shop around a bit you may even get a better price than that £440 i linked you on ebay.

hi Thank you Bulletguy for providing so much information. Will research the options and advise what I do. Cheers.