This has been a love hate relaitionship, the best sail shape adjuster ever, just one click can change the balance of a sail. It is also the biggest pain when the rope slips and it won't work. Seems to happen at the beginning of a season. Does the rope get slippery if it is not used for a while?
I have, Changed the rope, thrown sand in the serrated wheel, wetted the rope, pulled the wheel out and scraped it. Soaked the wheel in Vineger, soaked the wheel in coke, tried with out haul on or off, bought a new after market wheel, bought a completly new unit. and nothing seems to works properly for long
I have taken it back to Reg and works just great, and once they are run into the season they are quite reliable.
Now it does not work again and I want to sail today, I will
cut the ropes up and rig a purchase with blocks, unless some one has a good idea.
All of the above I am afraid. The North XT is known for needing "servicing" to keep it ging. I understand that there are spare levers and wheels available from North. The wheel wears after time and needs to be replaced (I wouldnt trust aftermarket accessories - best to stick with North originals)
I also understand (but cannot find the article that the supplied rope is not a standard diameter (2.8mm or something like that), so it is extremely difficult to get any other rope grip as the supplied rope.
JB
Ive had the same problem with mine, but only a couple of times, I pulled the stop knot out the bottom and re tied it thereby reducing the overall length of the rope and ensuring that when tensioned the wheel bit into a "new" area on the rope, I rationalised that because the rope was being tensioned in the same place repeatedly it became compressed and slippery. Seemed to solve the problem, immediately. Other then that I love it, so easy for down haul and up haul adjustment.
Good luck!
Yep i had two and thought they were the best thing since sliced bread.
then after a couple of months they just slip constantly.
Now they just sit rejected in my shed. There is nothing worse when rigging for a quick blast after work than to have a simple thing like down hauling take for ever and in some cases totally fail.[}:)]
I have now just got two chinnook extensions. Never had a problem since
Jaymac, these little things can try ones patience I agree.
The issue is that they come with 4.5mm cord and its not available in Aus, well not the original stuff anyway. The size we get here is 4mm and next step is 5mm. I have tried 3mm, 4mm and 5mm. The best stuff is what you have from Reg
You have by the looks of it the Reg supplied stuff and that works OK, and yes the cord doesn’t last that long, before it starts to slip, at about the time you have say 30% tension on it. If you can get above the 30% it starts to work OK once again.
So what to do dilemma for people who have these.
Elmo will back me on this as he has some as well, (I have two)
The serrations on the wheel need to be dressed say at least once a season, about every 3rd serration, (profile to be sharpened and not dull edged) don’t do them all. (Dremmel Kit from Bunning’s will do this)
The cord, when it starts to slip, reverse it in the system (change end too end) as it is only a short section that gets the crap flogged out of it.
Also try lining up the cord through your sail pulley so it crosses over and gives a bit more of a direct pull across the serrated section (runs down around pulley with cord at an angle that brings pulley and cord into max contact) If the sail pulley sits out away from down haul, the angle of attack is just enough to let the bloody thing slip.
They are great when they work, but a bloody big pain in the coit when they give problems. Clean cord in fresh water so they dont go hard with salt impregnation.
Hope this helps.
You dont want it, throw it my way 
Or you see me at Lucky Bay, give me your old pulley, and I will clean it up for you.
then after a couple of months they just slip constantly.
I replaced the wheel in mine midway through last season and it worked perfectly again after that. They are pretty easy to pull apart and put back together and a spare wheel costs less than $20.
My mate has one of these north extenions and he cannot even use it with his 2007 north daytona 7.3m sail, he has had to add an extra pulley on the tack of his sail so the rope is at a better angle to the pullys on the extenion 
You would think if you have modern matching gear from one brand it would be trouble free 
As someone said maybe more R&D needed
Mine still works, I bought it in WA this summer for fear of doing an injury downhauling my 6.7 rs3. (traveling light , I'd left the winch contraption at home). It did a good job, used all my wrist strength, but it held up.
Until the whole rig exploded while trying in vain to pump onto the plane in one of those Peli Point seabreezes you had all this summer?
The new new replacement RS slalom II can easily be downhauled on a regular base with just a double handed rope gripper. Come down to the final position from 3-4 cm short using upper body momentum rather than muscle and then back off at the cleat for the fine tuning.
For sale near new Power XT base. Are sails requiring huge downhaul tension still common ?
You would think if you have modern matching gear from one brand it would be trouble free
I LOVE IT!
just had a really great sail off Peguin Island, from Safety Bay.
I greased the mast and extension with silicone spray to let the sail move easily, threw a hand full of damp sand on the wheel, then squeezed the rope inwards on the first few pumps, once I got the 30% tension in the rope it bit in and you could just dial your sail shape. Hopefully now it will work through the season.
My first Sea breeze sail of summer and as good as the best last year, steady 20kts, a 5.4 sail and lovely waves. The JP 85 just felt a an old glove, I am always scared that thru winter I would forget how to handle it but it was just natural.
Thanks for the input guys, I was getting really frustrated.
I found the rope would sit too high in the cleat wheel. I changed down to a 3.5mm rope and it works well now.
had mine 2 yrs now,(got second hand ) same piece of rope,has never slipped,never replaced any bits...only prob is sometimes it releases with a bang but this would be due to rigging it at 4:1
worth its weight in gold..touch wood
too much grunt when bending tang 
Took a bit to get it sorted
releasing with a bang
