AC Troubles - Hard Start cap? Something else?
Okay guys, new member, long time lurker. The missus and I finally bought ourselves a 5er, a 2004 Terry Quantum Ax6. It's huge and we have had it out a couple times. Got a great deal on it and we lo...
Forum Discussion
UPDATE:
In a word - "success". I installed the MA last night and pulled the 5er over to my father-in-law's 30A shore power. I went through the 5 start sequence to teach the MA. All 5 starts were successful. I had no amperage indication so I have no idea what kind of current I was pulling, they just started. Also, I have limited experience getting the AC to start so I can't really comment on how it did compared to before the MA.
I then got my two EF2000isV2 generators out and hooked them up in parallel. Being ambitious like I am, I decided to try it right off the bat in ECO mode. Waited the obligatory 5 minutes, heard the generators spin up a little when the fan started, then spool up a little more when the compressor kicked on. No problem whatsoever. Repeated this at least two more times and the AC kicked on every time. Very happy with the purchase.
A couple observations:
1.) As compared to the older style enclosure that the MA used to come in (based on pictures), the new style enclosure is HUGE. I had almost no room to install the enclosure in my capacitor compartment. In fact, the MA, along with the compressor run and fan run caps are basically crammed in the compartment.
2.) By installing a male quick disconnect terminal on the MA's brown wire, I was able to plug it directly into the compressor's white wire without having to cut and strip the wire. My goal was to be able to return all the wiring to stock configuration if I ever sell the camper and get a new one so I can take the MA with me. I originally planned to stick the compressor start cap in the cap compartment, too, but there wasn't enough room (see #1 above). Instead, I threw it into a spare parts compartment I have inside the camper.
3.) Along the same line as #2, connection of the black wire from the MA did not follow along with their installation video, despite the AC unit looking exactly the same. Rather than a wire nut type connector like in the video, mine had this weird "double-male" connector and both the factory black and purple wires had female disconnects, just like the terminals that attach to the caps. While I had intended to do the job without cutting any wires, I could not come up with a way to make this 3-way splice without doing so. I'm sure terminals exist to do so, but nothing readily available near me. I went ahead and cut off the female terminals on the black and purple and twisted them together (along with the black MA wire) using a wire nut (and covered with electrical tape to avoid water intrusion). This is still reversible, just not as streamlined as I had hoped.
4.) I was lead to believe from the installation video that the MA came with an assortment of terminals. Mine did not come with any. Not a deal-breaker by any means, but I did have to source my own terminals.
5.) The AC starts without practically a hiccup anymore. Great. However, it appears that running the microwave while the AC is running is too much for the generators, at least in ECO mode. I am going to play around with it a little more tonight. I might be able to get around it by switching the fridge to gas. However, I was really hoping AC and microwave at the same time in ECO mode would be possible in ECO mode with 4000 watts of generator.
In a word - "success". I installed the MA last night and pulled the 5er over to my father-in-law's 30A shore power. I went through the 5 start sequence to teach the MA. All 5 starts were successful. I had no amperage indication so I have no idea what kind of current I was pulling, they just started. Also, I have limited experience getting the AC to start so I can't really comment on how it did compared to before the MA.
I then got my two EF2000isV2 generators out and hooked them up in parallel. Being ambitious like I am, I decided to try it right off the bat in ECO mode. Waited the obligatory 5 minutes, heard the generators spin up a little when the fan started, then spool up a little more when the compressor kicked on. No problem whatsoever. Repeated this at least two more times and the AC kicked on every time. Very happy with the purchase.
A couple observations:
1.) As compared to the older style enclosure that the MA used to come in (based on pictures), the new style enclosure is HUGE. I had almost no room to install the enclosure in my capacitor compartment. In fact, the MA, along with the compressor run and fan run caps are basically crammed in the compartment.
2.) By installing a male quick disconnect terminal on the MA's brown wire, I was able to plug it directly into the compressor's white wire without having to cut and strip the wire. My goal was to be able to return all the wiring to stock configuration if I ever sell the camper and get a new one so I can take the MA with me. I originally planned to stick the compressor start cap in the cap compartment, too, but there wasn't enough room (see #1 above). Instead, I threw it into a spare parts compartment I have inside the camper.
3.) Along the same line as #2, connection of the black wire from the MA did not follow along with their installation video, despite the AC unit looking exactly the same. Rather than a wire nut type connector like in the video, mine had this weird "double-male" connector and both the factory black and purple wires had female disconnects, just like the terminals that attach to the caps. While I had intended to do the job without cutting any wires, I could not come up with a way to make this 3-way splice without doing so. I'm sure terminals exist to do so, but nothing readily available near me. I went ahead and cut off the female terminals on the black and purple and twisted them together (along with the black MA wire) using a wire nut (and covered with electrical tape to avoid water intrusion). This is still reversible, just not as streamlined as I had hoped.
4.) I was lead to believe from the installation video that the MA came with an assortment of terminals. Mine did not come with any. Not a deal-breaker by any means, but I did have to source my own terminals.
5.) The AC starts without practically a hiccup anymore. Great. However, it appears that running the microwave while the AC is running is too much for the generators, at least in ECO mode. I am going to play around with it a little more tonight. I might be able to get around it by switching the fridge to gas. However, I was really hoping AC and microwave at the same time in ECO mode would be possible in ECO mode with 4000 watts of generator.
