Repairing Levelor cordless cellular shades
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2013
- My levolor cordless cellular shades broke. Rather than replace to send them off to be repaired, I decided to tear them apart myself and figure out how they work. Inside, one will find some plastic parts with some metal springs. The springs get "sprung" easy and come off their sprockets. There appear to be lots of different kinds of cordless cellular shades, so this video might use parts that your shade doesn't use. Nevertheless, I hope the technique may be similar.
- Věda a technologie
An 8 year old video just gave me the insight I needed to repair my fouled blinds. Thank you for sharing this
Thank you so much for publishing this!! It is very helpful. In watching the video we didn't quite understand the string length part, but finally realized that the string length wound on each spool has to be equal to fully extend both sides of the shade, so we fully compressed the shade and then equalized the string length before winding the string onto the spools. You saved us having to send ours off for repair!
Thank you Scott! We bought these blinds for our entire house and YES they are 100% junk! I've repaired many of them over the years and also sent them back for repair (which is a joke). Under warranty but you pay $15 shipping, don't have them for a few weeks, then they break again within a month. I recently had another one break and didn't want to fix myself. Saw your video and your method is waaayyyyy easier than how I was doing it. We have top down and bottom up so we have two motors in each blind. I always end up having the same problem with it not going down or up all the way and didn't know how to fix. Thank you for even amount of string on each roller tip. With two motors the string needs to be the same on each roller as to where the motor sits in the top of the blind. Also be aware of a knot in the string.
Thank you! Great service to everyone by making this video. We have 2 small crapolor, I mean levelor cordless shades and they have been broken for a long time. My wife called and it was going to be $65 each to fix. I fixed BOTH in about 70 minutes with this.
Only thing I would add is make sure you wind the string up the right way on each. I finished the first one and the shade wouldnt pull down. I realized I had wound the string the wrong direction on one of the spools.
Thanks again.
Thanks for making this video. I was able to fix the cordless cellular shade in my daughter's bedroom by following your instructions. I've been meaning to tackle this repair for months. Now I'm stuck at home during the "stay at home order" during the Covid-19 Pandemic and I was able to get it done with your help. Thanks!
Spoke with Levolor. They do not sell or send out replacement spring motor cartridges for the headrail. They're proprietary and patented so you have to send in your blinds to have them repaired. They offered free courtesy shipping labels and no charge repairs on mine. I had 7 of my 10 custom cordless shades that this happened to. I fixed 5 of them yesterday thanks to this great video, but on 2 of them the connector tabs from the spring coils snapped off. These are the ones I'm sending in. Thx for this very helpful video...
Yeah I was able to use my dremel to make a new T-shaped tab so the metal spring coil end would stay held onto the spool. Saved the shipping and bad my blinds back up and working in no time:)
I just wanted to come on and say THANK YOU and God bless you! I followed your instructions and fixed my shade! I am over the moon and very thankful for your help😊
Thank you for an excellent video. I was able to fix our shade in about an hour. In the process, both of my springs turned into birds nests (I eventually got my wife to help me - it's easier with more hands) and one spring broke the nub off the end so I had to use tin snips to cut a new nub. And of course I wound the strings too far so now the shade sits slightly too short when down, but I'll go back and fiddle with the strings a bit to lengthen it again. In the end you saved me a lot of money, so thank you. Yours is the best video on this repair!
This video gave me the confidence to repair two Levolor cellular shades. The most labor-intensive part ended up being getting the string length correct on the rotators. Thanks!
Agreed with the general advice to not buy Levolor. Bought a house in 2010, had 10 installed. 6 different breaks in that period - one of which that resupplied me with a part. In other cases I was told to sent them my 4' wide living room blinds at my expense.
Just one more vote for this video! Thank you for figuring it out, and saving me especially the headache of chasing those springs during rewind. Clear and descriptive, nice job. I fixed our sidelight blind in just a few minutes after watching this.
This was awesome. Had my shades for three weeks (!) and maybe pulled too hard on one side and it came down and would not raise up again. I followed the steps - all the springs were still on - and just rolled the string back up on each side and now it's working great. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
Fixed 2 shades in less than 20 minutes, thanks to your awesome video. There were parts that were different on ours, but the gist was the same. Thank you very much for posting this!
Just fixed a bottom-up top-down levelor blind that would not open. Just wound up one of the spools and away we go! One of the springs was broken, so I discarded that and it still worked. Thank you Scott!
I fixed mine, but would not have been able to do it without this video. thanks!
Thanks for your video! By watching it a couple times was able to figure out the logic of how the parts all work together and pinpoint my problem. Thanks for your clear explanations and clear video!
So grateful for this video. After watching it the first time I was still very intimidated. But I took it step by step and it worked. So grateful I don’t need to replace it or have it repaired.
Couldn't have done it without you! I had an inoperable UP DOWN / DOWN UP blind ..... so 2 mechanisms....only one broken. I almost gave up...several times...but then figured, "What have I got to loose?" Had to get a little rough with it, but victory was mine. Thanks.
Thanks for the video! Though your solution didn't work for our style/brand of shade, it gave me the confidence to try fixing our shade -- ultimately saved us some green! Thanks again.
Thanks, I just fixed one shade and found another with a broken tab in one spring. The video is great and was an enormous help
Just fixed my blinds today! Thanks so much! Super informative I do wish you would’ve added the still shots of the skinny piece as one of mine broke too but then I saw them on the others! Very helpful.
A good example of how useful CZcams is. Just had one quit and now I know what I am up against if I don't just replace it.
Thanks! This worked fantastically. My marriage is back on track and my credit score has gone up since fixing the blinds. You’re a life saver 😊
Fixed my broken shade thanks to your video! I found if I left the entire set of plastic parts together, the gears work in tandem to rewind the cord to the correct length as I rewound the spring onto the other sprocket. Eliminates the short open lengths others have had issues with.
That is a great tip. thanks!
Thank you for the post. I just moved into a home and I have these type shades. I have the exact same issue with one and I couldn't figure it out until I saw our post. Thanks!
Thanks for the Video!! Watched several online to try and figure out what the problem was and yours was by far the best. Our blinds were special order for our patio (8 foot long), so i had 2 sets of spools for a total of six springs. Took me all day (one spring got away from me and turned into a bird nest), but I got through it. I did use some commercial tape on the springs in an attempt to attach them to the spools; we'll see if that works long term. They work perfect now. Thanks again!!
Excellent, very helpful video. I could not get anyone from the place we bought our shades to even help explain how the mechanism worked.
Thank you for this dude, this is exactly what I needed. For the first coil, you didn't have to wrap it all the way up again on the other spool. I just wounded a few times until the friction caught it, and then attached it back together with the blinds fully extended, and it kind of evened itself out.
Thanks to your nice clip on how to rewind the line on the roller, I was able to fix my pleated shades that was bound for replacement. Completely different brand, but the mechanisms in them are quite the same. Mine had a simpler mechanism with only two rolls and one line to the mechanism. Inside the mechanism, the two rollers were identical. The one with the line in it was broken, and could not properly hold the line. So I just switched them, winded the spring on the bad one, and the line on the good one, and voila. Good as new. Different product, but same fix method. Thank you for posting this !
We bought a house with these and this is the exact issue we had for the bathroom one. Just fixed it in like 30mins! Thank you for this awesome tutorial
Thanks for the video. I had an UMBRA shade, not the same as yours but only 18 months old and the spring let go. They are $100 ea so I tried to figure out how the thing went together and couldn't untill I saw you wind the spring so that the wheels turn in opposite directions! Presto! Saved me another 100 bucks. Much appreciated.
Thank you for this tutorial! When I took mine down and tried to repair it, the little metal tab broke off the metal tape so that it wasn't catching onto the opposing plastic drum, I finally realized this when I saw a tiny, tiny metal tab on the floor. I don't have a dremel, nor do I know how to use one! Best way to reach Levolor person is to use the chat feature on their website. Customer service via phone is terrible. I was on hold for 15 + before I hung up. Via chat, they are now sending me a new shade. The cordless mechanism is a 10 year warranty.
Beautiful.. that might be the best tip of all! 10 years is long time to save a receipt.. But if you know you'll need it then perhaps I would put it somehow attached to the blind itself.
Thanks! I had the spring pop from the onset and that was a bugger wrapping it back on the wheel. Also I had a broken spring and I just used a standard screwdriver to cut a channel to be able to grip onto the other wheel. Works great now. Thanks again so helpful!
Thank you! Your 3-year old video just saved me from having to replace my broken Levolor shades. What a crap design these are.
After watching your video I repaired my shade in about 10 minutes. Thank you very much!
Wow, this worked but it took me about two hours to figure out what I was doing wrong. I watched the video 4 or 5 times and felt like I was doing everything just like you did but the shade was then stuck in the up position. Finally I decided to take off the end pieces and wind the strings in the opposite direction even though it didn't seem right. Voila! That did the trick, saved myself from spending $165 on a new custom sized blind. Thank you so much from a very happy female senior citizen.
I know this over 1 year ago but I had the same problem and could not figure it out until I read your comment! MAN! what a head-scratcher this was. Thanks for posting!
This video was very helpful! The shade wouldn't go back up, and I was able to rewind my springs and get it working again! One thing I noticed that made a big difference is that in order to get the shade to stay up tight like when it was new, you need to pretension the springs. It's pretty easy to do.
Once you re-wind all the springs and snap them together, use your finger to turn the gear and you will feel the spring tension reacting to your finger force. Make sure to turn it the correct direction or you could damage the spring. After about 1 full turn, you can pin the gear in place with a paper clip. The gears have holes in them for this purpose and there is a slot in the body where the paperclip can be inserted to pin the gear.
Now wind up the strings and re-attach the 2 string reel end sections to the assembly. After the string reels are attached with the gears engaged, pull out the paper clip and the pretension from the springs will take out any slack in the strings. Now, insert the assembly back into the shade frame. You will see that with the proper pretension, the shade will be pulled up nice and tight.
Thanks so much for this great video!
Taylor Heanue thank you so much! Another detail is that after putting the paper clip in the two spring rollers you need to pull all the cord from two ends rollers and put them at the same level by pulling from one. You will see that both are connected by the same cord. Then rewind (clockwise if it says LH and opposite if RH) and finally attach them to the spring rollers, remove the paper clip and attach to the frame. Thanks!
Note: mine had 2 blocks cause it is wider 51”
Thanks for this! I got it to work, but after seeing the insides, I don't know how they worked for so long in the first place.
I have ECONOMY CORDLESS LIGHT FILTERING CELLULAR SHADES. The spring motor looks a little bit different but the mechanism is the same. Thank you for sharing this video, it helps me to fix my shades.
Thank you for showing this! All the videos i have seen are just the 45 degree angle trick but dont specify what more to do if there's a problem with the springs. Appreciate it!
Sir, you are a lifesaver! Saved me from buying new blinds. Levolor needs to fix the spring issue....
This worked great. I didn't have to take it all apart just pulled it out far enough to wind the spring around the bobbin. Thank you so much.
This video really helped! I just fixed one cordless blind that was a replacement sent to us after the first one busted with just one month of use. He’s right, these Levelor cordless blinds are cheap and break easy. The older ones had metal parts and last longer. At least now I understand how the mechanism works. No more using rubber bands to hold it closed :)
Thank you!! Your instructions were fantastic and my shade is repaired.
Thank you so much for this video. I had one break that was under warranty (and I kept), the replacement now broke (not under warranty). Fixed one, working on the spare...
Thank you! You helped me figure out how to wind the cords back up and I can raise my blinds again! My houseplants and I thank you!
Wow this video is 3 years old, and Levelor is still using the same lousy plastic and cheap ends! Thanks for the video, all 3 of my springs were off, and one was broken on the end, took a couple of minutes using the dremel to cut a new end. Leveling it out took a bit. After I reinstalled it, I measured how short it was from the bottom, took them down and pulled the string the exact amount I was short. Of course I pulled the wrong side, and they were off twice the number of inches. So just pulled the string from the other side the next time, and it was perfect! Thanks again, better than having to pay a repair company or send them back to levelor!
I repaired two shades using this method including one with the end broken off. I cut a new end looking like a T with a Dremel, tapering up to the full width of the metal spring and re-attached it to the spool. Thanks for this post!
Thanks for this video! My husband and I were able to repair our shade. Very helpful!
My wife just called them when one of our shades went bad. They just requested an email with our info and a copy of the receipt. Received a check a week later with the full amount. Customer service was great in my book. Must depend on who you get on the phone.
Thanks for posting.. helped me a lot! It took me a while to understand that rewinding string in a certain direction is hte only way it will work! Thank you for posting this video!
Aaaaaaaaaaah, thank you for that. We bought a house that came with these things installed and one was exactly like yours. It drove me bonkers. You're awesome!
GREAT VIDEO... Thank you ... I bought a different brand, but you gave me some good ideas... It has been difficult to pull down and difficult to get to go up... I could hear grinding.... like forever.. .. ( 20 years old)... but they lasted 20 years... ( I should have brought them back when I bought them... laziness costs me in the end)
... Thank again
Thank you very much for taking the time ti make this video. Our currently initial problem is that the one side wasn't working. It goes up and and down but the one side was off but a lot. If I look in to the side in btween the honeycomb, i can see i can see that the string on that side must have detached. A knot is at the end so i know it didnt break.
This helped me fix my broken cellular shades! Saved me from having to buy new ones. Thank you for this video. Nov 2021.
Great video! Fixed my shade in 5 minutes for free rather than spending $50 and waiting weeks from Levolor.
Thanks for the video! I was able to fix my blind following your instructions.
Thanks so much for this video! I fixed a blind that had not been working for a long time. On mine, all three springs were off the spools. I surmise, that if you pull the blind down too far below the window sill, the springs will pop off the take-up spool. I'll be careful with it now!
Thanks for this video, I don’t know that I could’ve fixed my blinds without your help.
Thanks for this. I made the mistake of buying these as well but mine move up and down from the top (magnet holds it) & the bottom.
Because I have a wide 6ft bedroom window the weight caused it to break 3 months after buying it.
It’s been broken for 3 years.
Due to your video I’m about to try and fix it. Thanks again.
Thanks for posting. Video was very helpful! Had one spring broken and had to trim it to connect to spool.
Wow...amazing. Great 'how-to' video that actually works. My hat is off to you, sir.
This video helped me fix my shade, so first of all thank you! I recommend wearing gloves and eye protection when working with the springs. They unspooled on me a couple of times and the metal easily could have cut a finger or worse.
Thanks for posting, I was able to fix my shade with this... took forever, but now it works.
Thanks! This was the perfect amount of detail to fix my similar issue.
Your video was outstanding. I fixed my daughter's shade following this clear video. Thank you!
I used my dremel to cut off and re-shape the end of a broken spring. It's working so far!
Thanks a million!!! Your video is excellent it just saved me a lot time and maybe money! It was exactly what I needed to repair my blinds.
THANK YOU for posting this video. This helped me immensely!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge ! So helpful!
Thanks for the video & tips. Fixing this was much easier than calling Levelor & sending off for warranttee!
Fixed mine! Thanks so much for the video. Your blinds are exactly the same as mine and I was able to follow along!
Thanks, took about 30 minutes and Bam, fixed. Mine were miss feeding thru the roller. When I was finished , yes they were uneven. I cut the bottom cord from the permanently attached metal stop, adjusted accordingly and used a tiny button as the new stop. Works great. ( these were JCpenney top down bottom up blinds)
Another good option. something from the button box..
Great video, ready to fix mine, thank's for putting this together
Great video!! I can't wait to dig in. I have TWO broken shades. Oh joy!
You are so awesome for sharing this handy repair video. Thank youa
Thanks, Chris, for posting this!
Thank you! You made it easy and I was able to repair it myself:)!
My husband is going to try this. Thank you for your video!
Thank you for this tutorial. Fixed my shades perfectly.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Hopefully, it will stay fixed.
Very helpful. Thanks for the vid. Managed to fix my blind... even had to dremel the end attachment of the spring. Use zipties to hold the spool together when you dremel ;-)
Thank you so much! Saved me money from having to call someone out to come fix it!
Great explanation. I actually got it working. Thanks.
thats exactly what happened with my cellular shades and to think they are quite expensive too. ill try to repair these shades based on your repair tips
OMG! I fixed my shade! Thank you!
Thanks- Had one of these for a month before it failed. Going to try this out.
This helped tremendously. Thank you very much!
This was super helpful. Thank you for yhe detailed video and the explanation in text at the end.
This is very helpful and helped me fix my shades
Thank you so much for your video! We fixed our shade today! I am a happy wife again
THQ for tis valuable information/ making decisions on blinds / they are getting very expensive these days!
You are a life saver!!! Thank you so much!
Thank you! This worked perfectly for me!!
Thank you so much I have had my blinds for less than 3 years they are all starting to die on me (6). I will start fixing them now Thank God I didn't have to mail them in. :>)
Thank you so much for the video. Sure did the trick! Much appreciated.
Many thanks for posting the video! I wouldn't have been able to find someone to fix the shades plus it would have probably cost a lot of $$$.
Awesome! Thanks so much... Have a Happy wife! Not difficult, but did have some springs fly apart. Need just a little patience.
Yep! This video worked for me!! I did need an extra set of hands though. Also, I used a butter knife to pry the mechanism out.
I have the same problem with one of mine. I've considered trying to use my dremel to trim the end of it, but I'm not sure whether that will work or not. Spring steel can be brittle and hard to work with. I wish there was just a source for replacement springs, but I've not had any luck searching the Internet.
Thank you. Have fixed two of these with your help. Will never buy levelor. They don't sell replacement parts