Forum Discussion

classctioga73's avatar
Jun 22, 2017

My A/C went out

So I'm from the Bay Area in California and I brought my RV home To sleep in due to the week long 100 plus heat wave. So the A/C was pumping out so good cold air for like 3 days. In the night time we would set it to 73 and it would go on and off periodically like a normal unit should. So today it just stopped pumping cold air, the fan blows but not cold at all. It is a Colman Mack unit on a 31 foot class C. Is the unit shot or did I just run out of refrigerant? Is this a DIY repair or does it have to go to shop? Any help would be appreciated

29 Replies

  • wow.
    So many posts to just replace it, or don't and put in a portable a/c??

    The are NOT cheap to replace.

    If I just up and replaced my RV a/c every time it went on the blink I'd have replaced it 6 times. :R They CAN just be in need of repairs.
    It can ice up, dirty coils, etc. All that can be fixed.

    Call a local RV Mobile Repair. Find a close CG and call and ask the manager who they use for RV Mobile Repair.

    They will come out right where you are at most likely within hours. Even if it is at your home they don't care. My bet is They will diagnose the problem in less than 5 minutes they see and work on thousands of RV a/c's. Affordable, real competent and professional RV mechanics.

    Also check your coach battery. A/C needs good strong 12 volt for the thermostat to work.
  • Turn the unit off for a couple of hours. Sounds to me like it might be iced up. That happens in very humid, hot weather sometimes.
    Seems funny to me that it would be working fine and then suddenly quit unless it is frozen. Dirty evaporator fins will also help it freeze up.
    Make sure you are running it on high fan speed and not low.

    Just go to a movie or something while it is off to thaw out, then come back and turn it on. If it still does not blow cold air then I would get up there and look at the back side of the evaporator fins or search for a tech to come out and give it a look. Often you can see up in there from the bottom and see the fins too.

    Hope this helps a bit. :)
    Barney
  • A 1973 Tioga's AC went out...replacement time...44 years of service sounds good to me.
  • If the start capacitor isn't bad, check and make sure your compressor relay(which is located in AC unit) is working, I'm speaking from experience.The DIY cost was 70$. Of course you will need a voltmeter and a little know-how to do the troubleshooting.
  • If "out of refrigerant" it is definitely not a do it yourself job
    However replacing the unit is an easy do it yourself job.
  • It's shot. Buy a new one and have it installed (or do it yourself). There's no reason to waste money on troubleshooting when they are fairly inexpensive to replace. You can get a portable A/C unit at Lowe's or Home Depot if you need A/C today but they need to exhaust out a window or roof vent. We have a 10,000 BTU unit running in our coach now while we try to get our A/C replaced (basement A/C.....Bad!).
  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    The compressor start capacitor ($20) is often the problem.

About Technical Issues

Having RV issues? Connect with others who have been in your shoes.24,363 PostsLatest Activity: Mar 04, 2026