Forum Discussion

pcm1959's avatar
pcm1959
Explorer
Dec 21, 2019

Coleman Airxcel 48000 series 15KHP

My rig is going on 6 years old in March. The rear roof hvac unit is an Airxcel 15k heat pump and has work well until now.
We were in NE GA at the end of October and used the heat pump in cold weather just fine until needing to switch to the furnane.
In route home, we stopped S of Atlanta and stopped overnight (55 degree weather) and I switched on the heat pump. It ran but no heat.
The RV has been parked at home since until today. We arrived at our destination and no heat. 62 dgrees outside. I switched to ac and lowered the thermostat. The unit came on but was only blowing ambient air.
So the unit will run with the thermostat set to either mode but will not cool or heat.
I ordered and have received the run capacitor and will try to swap it this weekend.
This unit has 2 capacitors. One is the run capacitor and the other the fan. The fan is running in both modes so I assumed its ok. There is also another part in the that the parts diagram shows called a "OD Temp Relay Board" which looks like a clear covered relay.
I ordered the run capacitor and replaced it last weekend. No change at all.
I'm not an electrician or electronics guru but do have mechanical abilities. I read up on discharging capacitor prior to replacing them. When I attempted to discharge the original capacitor, I did not see or hear any spark.
I assume the fan capacitor is ok since the fan will run in both modes so it has not been replaced.
I ordered the relay and a fan capacitor as well and hope to get those replaced in the next few days starting with the relay.
Any suggestions in the meantime would be appreciated. Thanks.
  • Having the Freeze sensor inop would not cause damage to the HP. You need to be on top and have someone activate the COOL or HEAT. Wait up to 5 minutes and see if you hear the compressor try to start. If so, the odds are the compressor is locked up. Doug
  • No. I can set the room temperature on the thermostat and the fan will start but compressor never kicks on. This is in either cool or heat pump modes. You can hear the thermostat click registering the call for heating or cooling.
    Since opening up the unit to investigate I noticed the "freeze control sensor" was not in the fins like the installation instructions call for. This has made me wonder if this is the cause. In late October we were camping in cool weather using the heat pump just fine. It would dip much cooler in the evening. I noticed I was not hearing the unit go into defrost cycle like I have heard in the past. So I'm wondering if it froze-up due to the sensor not being in place and it damaged the unit. Thanks.
  • The latest: Still no go!
    I have not replaced the fan capacitor since the fan runs in both modes. I ordered the relay and the control board.
    The relay is not the right one as it does not have enough terminals.
    I replaced the control board and no difference.
    The only thing left is the relay which I cannot find and the fan capacitor.
    I don't have any way to test the compressor as I'm just a layman.
  • 3_tons's avatar
    3_tons
    Explorer III
    You might check this out:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdFIARakavk