Dropper post won't actuate. Is this fixable?

Question

Today my externally triggered PNW Coast dropper post stopped working, and my saddle is stuck in the fully extended position. It had been going strong for about a year and a half.

As I was about to ride home from work, I pressed the remote lever and felt no tension in the cable. The cable is intact and the pinch bolt at the lever is still clamped down on it. When I press the remote lever, the cable still moves as seen in this video with the midcap open.

There's just nothing pulling the cable back when I take pressure off it. So there's nothing to release friction on the upper part of the post and allow it to drop under my weight. (When you see the cable returning to the top "no pressure" position in the video, that's me pushing the cable back into place via the lever.)

How this happened during my work shift is a mystery. The dropper was working fine on the ride in.

Appreciate any advice on how to fix this — or whether this is fixable at all as opposed to being time to buy a new post — before I go down a YouTube rabbit hole and start tinkering.

Answer 1

In theory it has a 3 year warranty. If you’re the original owner return it via post/pigeon/LBS.

Possibly stripping it down as far as you can, cleaning then reassembling with fresh suspension grease may help. You should be able to remove the locking collar at the top of the post by hand though the internals are often held in at the bottom with large C-Clips that need specific (expensive) pliers to remove.

See the service manual here

EDIT

Viewing the service manual indicates that the externally activated dropper uses a piece of internally routed nylon cable to actuate the lower trigger.

Nothing inherently wrong with that but if that cable has snapped or disconnected you will have instantly lost tension in the trigger.

See this service video

PNW posts seem to be at the super user friendly end of maintenance so get tinkering.

Answer 2

I've accepted Warren Burton's response as the answer, but wanted to share an except of the email I got from Nathan at PNW support, which describes a troubleshooting approach and failing that, the warranty requirements.

This can be caused by a few things but it does sound like there is an issue with the internal nylon cable so I would suggest pulling it apart to check the function of that.

Firstly you can see if it is an issue with the post or the install by pulling the post out of the bike, detach the cable and actuate the dropper by hand. If the dropper works fine out of the bike then you will need to check your install and cable tension.

If you have not pulled the post apart, I would also start there to see if you can do a simple cable tension adjustment on the internal nylon cable. It should be snug, but not overly tight to the point that it is actually ghost activating the post. Then, please tighten the fixing screw back up to secure it, and completely replace the threaded cap on snug, BEFORE trying to activate it.

Here is the service tutorial for all dropper styles >> How to maintain your external dropper Here's a helpful video on how to adjust the cable >> Nylon Cable Adjustment

If that does not remedy the issue so we can start a warranty claim on it if you are the original owner. I will need your proof of purchase, or the order number if purchased from us. What travel and diameter the dropper is, a current shipping address and a picture of the serial number on the dropper.

If you are not the original owner, we have a great service program that will rebuild your dropper and give us a chance to inspect it further >> SERVICE PROGRAM

It sounds fixable and not bricked, so I'm gonna disassemble this weekend and see what I see.