First of all I hope I got this in the right place if not I assume the mods will move it or tell me. I just returned from a weekend of camping and when I turned the AC on for the first time of the season this weekend there is a noise coming from the unit. It cools excellent the same as usual but there was a noise like a vibration or maybe something hitting the fan shroud. No performance issues what so ever. When I got home I got up on the roof and took the cover off and saw nothing in the line of a mud dauber nest or anything else other than a couple of very small starting of a mud dauber nest on two different fan blades. They were only the size of a pencil and only an inch or two long. It was just the very beginning of a nest starting it looks like. I don't have 30 amp service so I couldn't start it up after removing them but they just seemed so small I really don't think they could cause the noise but I'm no expert at all in fact really dumb when it comes to that type of thing. Does anyone have any ideals of what it might be? Thank You all in advance for guidance you can provided.

Those small nests may have been much larger before you turned the fans on :)

That is enough to put the fan out of balance. :(

I'm hoping that was it but as small as the pieces were I'm not very confident.

You don't need 30 amp service to run the AC fan. Just turn the switch to ON. Then you will know if it was the fan or not. And in truth. You don't need 30 amp to run the AC. It should not pull 30 amps to start, and run. Supposedly. You only need 30 amp to run the entire TT. If for some reason the AC does pull 30 amps. The only thing that will happen, is you will trip the breaker of the socket you are plugged into. Un plug, and reset. Fixed.

They may have been small but they were big enough.You don't need 30 amps. if you have a 12ga Extension cord (Sears or K-mart is your best source) and turn off EVERYTHING else in the RV you can test it on 20. Either turn off the breaker to the converter, or plug in for like 12 hours before testing.

air conditioner noise, UPDATE Problem Solved | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

Dave_H_M
Explorer II
Jun 22, 2013
that sounds about like the problem with the squirrel cage of the fan in my stick home.

Nice feedback.
mchero
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013
Hey, I think I'll head out to my coach & document my cleaning!

RM
dspencer
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013
j-d wrote:
First, congrats on finding the problem and fixing it yourself. Not only inexpensively, there's the remote chance the fan could have scattered and punctured the condenser coil. That fan motor's a double-ender and there's a squirrel cage blower on the front end. You can see it from inside the coach with the cover off. This article explains that, and how to clean the unit for best performance.

The squirel cage blower on the front was what was cracked. Besides the actual crack right on the spindel there was a starburst of several very tiny cracks going out from the main crack which i didn't see until i got it off and out in the open. While i was up there i took the opportunity to give it a good cleaning. I learned that a guy needs to get up there every spring and take the cover off and check for wasp nests etc. Thanks again everyone who contributed.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013
Kudos and more for posting the FIX! As is noted above it is a little discouraging to spend time contributing ideas then have them disappear in a vacuum. I for one, want to learn, and posting a FIX is an essential part of doing that.
j-d
Explorer II
Jun 22, 2013
First, congrats on finding the problem and fixing it yourself. Not only inexpensively, there's the remote chance the fan could have scattered and punctured the condenser coil. That fan motor's a double-ender and there's a squirrel cage blower on the front end. You can see it from inside the coach with the cover off. This article explains that, and how to clean the unit for best performance.
mchero
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013
Great post! Thanks for the update!
dspencer
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013
I was expecting to find a wasp's nest and was surprised for sure. To be honest I was very relieved as I was afraid I had some major ac problems starting.
I_am_still_wayn
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013
Thanks for posting the solution to the problem. Almost always we get problems to solve but never the ultimate solution.
dspencer
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013
Problem solved and it wasn't a wasp's nest. I got up on the roof this afternoon and checked both the rear fan and also the squirrel cage fan and absolutely no sign of wasp nests. I narrowed it down too making the noise without the compressor running and was starting too throw my hands up and take it too my local RV dealer when I started looking at the squirrel cage fan in just the right light and there it was staring me in the face The fan had little hair line cracks running up from the "spindle sleeve" for a lack of better words. I went and got a new fan and everything is great now. Just thought I would let you all know in case you ever run up against this in the future. Thanks again for the suggestions.
BrianinMichigan
Explorer
Jun 18, 2013
tvman44 wrote:
That is enough to put the fan out of balance. :(

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