Our AC had been cycling off and on and not cooling efficiently. We called the RV Repair guy who discovered that one of our air vents was closed. They are circle ones and hard to tell if open or closed. (that's my excuse ). He also removed the rectangular vents in the ceiling and we washed the filters. ( We didn't know they had to be cleaned. As a matter of fact we hadn't really even noticed them) Air worked for 2 days then started cycling on and off again. RV repair guy very busy so suggested we remove the vent covers completely. AC worked for a day. Started cycling again. RV Repair guy had us check for small holes in vents. He suggested retaping them to cover any holes. We did this. AC ran for a while and then started cycling again. RV repair guy says we are probably low on freeon. This means a new AC. He can't even see us until Monday. $100 service fee and a minimum of I hour service. I can't believe I am saying this but we are thinking of just heading to colder weather and have it looked at when we got home. Is there anything else it could be? It is a 2012.

If it is low on coolant, then it is cheaper to replace it. They are not equipped with recharge ports to the best of my knowledge.

therink wrote:If it is low on coolant, then it is cheaper to replace it. They are not equipped with recharge ports to the best of my knowledge.Gotta love a disposable society...if you're a manufacturer. :-/Lyle

these are throw away units your going to be buying a new one ,shop around about $750 installed.

Any good home hvac guy can put a line tap on the suction line and add some freon. It does not add up that it works OK for several days if it's low on freon. Can you bypass the Tstat?

Tstats? Not sure what you mean.

AC Issues - Sorry long. | Good Sam Community

18 Replies

portliz
Explorer
Mar 28, 2015
Sorry Rusty

Fan comes on. then compressor comes on. Runs for a while. Then both shut off. Then almost immediately the fan come on and compressor come on. Runs for a minute or two. Both shut off again. This continues until manually shut off.

I think we are going to stay a day longer and hope that the RV Repair guy who comes here can check it out. Thanks for the suggestions. Fingers crossed. will report back.
RustyJC
Explorer
Mar 28, 2015
The fan runs all the time when set on "Auto" and the A/C is cycling? That shouldn't happen - the fan should cycle off and on with the A/C compressor if the thermostat is shutting it off. That sounds to me like the compressor is tripping out on the thermal shutoff disc. That could be due to low Freon, or it could be a low supply voltage problem. Do you have a voltmeter to check the voltage at one of your 120VAC outlets in the RV?

Rusty
portliz
Explorer
Mar 28, 2015
Rusty - no cold air vents near the thermostat.

WE have 3 settings for the fan. Hi, Low and Auto. Fan runs all the time when set to auto. Do you mean set fan to Hi and put air on?

Furnace is running fine so does that mean it isn't the thermostat.

Rv guy here only comes one day and we will have left by then.
RustyJC
Explorer
Mar 28, 2015
It would help if you knew if it were the thermostat that's shutting the compressor off or if it's something else such as the high temperature trip on the compressor itself. It could be something as simple as having a vent outlet in a ducted system pointed directly at the thermostat (been there, done that).

Try setting the fan to "on" instead of "auto" and tell us if the fan goes off and on when the unit cycles, or does it run continuously?

Rusty
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Mar 28, 2015
portliz wrote:
It runs for awhile and cools. Shuts off and immediately starts again. Runs for a short time and then shuts off again. Immediately starts again. Not sure if this is called cycling. You hear the fan come on first and then the compressor seems to kick in. Cold air flowing. It runs for about 3 minutes then it completely shuts down. Then it starts again.

There is cold air blowing when it is on.

If it is the thermostat, would that affect the furnace as well?

Thanks for all your suggestions. It would be nice if it wasn't the Freon. We have never cleaned the ac unit after 4 years wintering in Florida. We do have the rig serviced every year but my guess is, that has never included cleaning the air conditioner. We obviously need to do more research about what rv maintenance should include. When you can't do it yourself you rely on the people in the know to tell you.

We are learning.

That is not a freon problem. Sounds more like a thermostat problem.
Have you tried changing the temp on the thermostat and see if it still happens at different settings?

And did you check the coach battery and the connections?

I would definitely not use the service guy you had out. All his vent suggestions sounded like he didn't know what he was doing. If you are at a CG go up to the desk and ask who they use for Mobile Repair. The stupid ones don't last long being allowed in the park.

Hang in there it really doesn't sound like it's a serious repair.:C
portliz
Explorer
Mar 27, 2015
It runs for awhile and cools. Shuts off and immediately starts again. Runs for a short time and then shuts off again. Immediately starts again. Not sure if this is called cycling. You hear the fan come on first and then the compressor seems to kick in. Cold air flowing. It runs for about 3 minutes then it completely shuts down. Then it starts again.

There is cold air blowing when it is on.

If it is the thermostat, would that affect the furnace as well?

Thanks for all your suggestions. It would be nice if it wasn't the Freon. We have never cleaned the ac unit after 4 years wintering in Florida. We do have the rig serviced every year but my guess is, that has never included cleaning the air conditioner. We obviously need to do more research about what rv maintenance should include. When you can't do it yourself you rely on the people in the know to tell you.

We are learning.
Tachdriver
Explorer
Mar 27, 2015
FWIW, if it runs a while and then cycles it may not be the freon.

I would try replacing the thermostat first. Less expensive. Mine was a bit loose on the wall that it do a similar thing.
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Mar 27, 2015
Ivylog wrote:
Any good home hvac guy can put a line tap on the suction line and add some freon. It does not add up that it works OK for several days if it's low on freon. Can you bypass the Tstat?

First of all these RV units are not designed to add freon. That said.

Be careful if you do that. Each state has its new set of very STRICT EPA rules on ac freon.

I had a repair guy who was a friend of a friend cut in and add freon on my ac in Florida.

Little did I know.:R

I went back up to Wisconsin and needed the coils cleaned from the Florida mold and the Mobile Repair/havac guy would NOT even clean the coils because the unit had been tapped into. He opened the hood and saw the tap and climbed back down. Said it wasn't about to lose his license working on a 'tampered' ac.

Same thing with my home ac. I had two units and one would ever so slowly leak over a years time. The refilled it ONCE. When I called them back a year later to fill it again they could not refill it.

To OP:
I don't think it is the freon issue. When you say cycling is it running and then shuts off when it reaches the set temp. And then you have to manually turn it on again?

most RV ac's need 12 volt for the thermostat. Check your coach battery.
C7XR7
Explorer
Mar 27, 2015
If there are no service valves on the ac condenser unit then you will lose what freon you have to install one (a service port). If it is low on freon it will short cycle after the unit begins to freeze up. When it starts short cycling see if your air flow from your vents is still there or if it seems as if they are blocked. If the evaporator coil is freezing due to low freon it will block the airflow. Never seen a thermostat (tstat) cause a short cycle situation.
midnightsadie
Explorer II
Mar 27, 2015
I think I,d call a new A C guy it,d be worth the call to be sure ,as others said things don,t add up.