Forum Discussion

lgroat's avatar
lgroat
Explorer
Jun 19, 2016

Camper AC does not work at night - fan will not stay on

Hi! We've owned a 27' Prime Time Tracer for about 2 years now. We're in Florida. Last Summer we took it to Birmingham for a week in July. We found that the AC would shut down at night. No matter what we did, it would not turn back on. After we flipped the breaker the AC would turn back on. We found that we had to use the fan in the "on" rather than "auto" position with the AC running at night. I'd assume it has to do with humidity build up at night.

So we took it out this weekend for the first time this year in the heat. Low and behold, the fan would not stay "on" even when it was set to stay on at night. The compressor would kick in, cool things down, shut off, the fan would shut off, then neither would turn on again. It got very warm and muggy. I got up, changed the fan setting to "auto" then back to "on". Then the compressor and fan turned on again.

We plan to take it in, but I'd prefer to be a be more informed. Has anyone had this sort of thing happen? If so, can you tell me what the cause was?

Thanks!
Lori Groat (FWB, Fl)
  • lgroat's avatar
    lgroat
    Explorer
    Jun 20, 2016
    midnightsadie wrote:
    just a guess it could be a bad thermostat.

    Thanks for the input. It only happens at night though. Wondering if evening collection of dew can have some effect.
  • bill-e's avatar
    bill-e
    Explorer
    Jun 20, 2016
    Long shot here as I'm not an HVAC guy. Pulling the thread with your idea of dew, it may be a bad ground which at night when the air condensates it causes a leakage current which is turning things off.

    Before I brought it in I would disconnect all power and go up there and make sure everything is tight. Watch out for the start capacitor as it will still have a charge.

    I did not sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night so this is a WAG.
  • Halmfamily's avatar
    Halmfamily
    Explorer
    Jun 20, 2016
    Have you tried rebooting/resetting the thermostat. If it's Dometic, look up the model on rebooting it on the internet. Had an issue with ours last year and has worked since rebooting it.
  • allen8106's avatar
    allen8106
    Explorer
    Jun 20, 2016
    belairbrian wrote:
    Are you running the fan on low at night? if so the unit may be icing.


    I'm inclined to think this might be the issue. Make sure you run the fan on high speed. Low speed will not put enough air flow across the evap coil and it WILL freeze up. Especially in cooler temps (Like at night).
  • lgroat's avatar
    lgroat
    Explorer
    Jun 20, 2016
    allen8106 wrote:
    belairbrian wrote:
    Are you running the fan on low at night? if so the unit may be icing.


    I'm inclined to think this might be the issue. Make sure you run the fan on high speed. Low speed will not put enough air flow across the evap coil and it WILL freeze up. Especially in cooler temps (Like at night).


    We did set it on low. When the compressor cut off, the fan cot off also. If the compressor freezes up, does the fan cut off? Seems like the fan would keep running
  • rockhillmanor's avatar
    rockhillmanor
    Explorer
    Jun 20, 2016
    lgroat wrote:
    Hi! We've owned a 27' Prime Time Tracer for about 2 years now. We're in Florida. Last Summer we took it to Birmingham for a week in July.

    We found that the AC would shut down at night. No matter what we did, it would not turn back on. After we flipped the breaker the AC would turn back on.

    We found that we had to use the fan in the "on" rather than "auto" position with the AC running at night. I'd assume it has to do with humidity build up at night.

    So we took it out this weekend for the first time this year in the heat. Low and behold, the fan would not stay "on" even when it was set to stay on at night.

    The compressor would kick in, cool things down, shut off, the fan would shut off, then neither would turn on again.

    It got very warm and muggy. I got up, changed the fan setting to "auto" then back to "on". Then the compressor and fan turned on again.

    We plan to take it in, but I'd prefer to be a be more informed. Has anyone had this sort of thing happen? If so, can you tell me what the cause was?Thanks!Lori Groat (FWB, Fl)


    BAD battery, low voltage or BAD converter not charging battery or frying them. If you have an inverter this is not the case.

    The AC and Fridge NEED 12volt for the thermostat.If you have a low voltage situation the thermostat will not work.

    Had the same thing happen to me. I Had 4 repair guys running in circles telling me I needed a new AC and a new fridge.:R

    Both Would come on cool and then later in the day not related both would not work.

    AC will come on and then when it reaches the temp set, it shuts off, BUT it can NOT turn back on because of low or no 12v to the AC. "Thermostat" needs 12v to function.

    I bet if you check your fridge is not working right either.

    Took me 4 service calls until I found an RV Mobile Repair guy that KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING. He went right to the converter and checked it's output. In my case it was frying the batteries.

    New converter, new battery and my "you have to replace the AC" works just fine. And the fridge.
  • wanderingbob's avatar
    wanderingbob
    Explorer II
    Jun 20, 2016
    I wonder if as the park fills up at nite and every one returns to their trailers , could the voltage in the park drop enuff to to cause problems ? Far fetched I know but last week it happened to me . Was plugged in a back yard and every thing work fine unless the home owners A C tried to run the same time as mine was starting . The homeowner got angry when I snuck in and thru his breaker !
  • lgroat's avatar
    lgroat
    Explorer
    Mar 05, 2017
    Catching up on this. We bought the pricey warranty with the camper, so we took it in. They replaced the unit...not problems since then. We'll see how it holds up!

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