A/C trouble

Moved from Forum Technical Support

I take it the compressor stopped running beings it suddenly quit cooling. If so, make sure the power is off to the RV and check/repair all t-stat and power wiring. Check/repair connections and components on the control board. If none of that works remove the AC plastic cover and compressor elec. box cover and look for and replace any burnt wires/connectors or components. If everything looks OK, turn the power on and use a volt meter and amp clamp to track down the problem. If you can make repairs and save the AC, do a thorough cleaning of the coils, fan blade and blower wheel and comb the fins to keep it running up to snuff. I do mine every two years, max, if I've been using the AC very much. Craig

Probably the compressor start capacitor is bad......under/inside roof shroud cover

This is what a capacitor looks like when the inside has overpressurized, and the top "pops" up. and will require replacement. Also I have tested capacitors and found that they do not have the rated capacitance, so replacing the capacitor is not a bad idea. You might also want to install a SPPE4, it is rated at 120 volts. It can speed up the process of starting the compressor, especially useful while on a generator, or lower voltage.

I would also suggest getting a 'kill-a-watt' from E-bay, they are about $22. It will plug into a receptacle, and give you the line voltage. If it goes below 105 volts, then it is time to shut off the A/C until it improves.

If you frequently want to camp in a RV park that has low voltage in the summertime, then I would also suggest buying a $350 Hughes Autormormer. It will boost the voltage by 12 volts when in use. So 105 volts becomes 117 and you can run the A/C all summer long!

My thought is that you have low voltage to the A/C and it is tripping on high temp / high amperage overload that trips out only the compressor.

http://www.supco.com/eclass.htm



Good luck,

Fred.

Would help to know Make, Model, Size (BTU) and Ducted or Non-Ducted. Non-ducted with just a couple knobs on the inside portion and no wall thermostat is easier to troubleshoot.