Forum Discussion

joe0508's avatar
joe0508
Explorer
Jan 08, 2016

air conditioner

I have a ducted rv air conditioner.Its an air conditioner only no heating element.It has the thermostant on the wall.I was at the rv today doing some cooking.I had the generator running with the furnace going.The air conditioner was off not being used.I was at the stove and kept hearing a blower come on for a few seconds and stop.At first i thought it was the furnace blower kicking on and off but after investigating i noticed the air condioner was on.It came on all by itself.While it was running i manually turned it on and than back off and it went off.Moments later it came back on all by itself.This time it stayed on and when i went to try the same thing it wouldnt go off.The only way i could get it to turn off was to turn the generator off.I had to leave so i couldnt do much to figure it out but does anyone have any idea what it could be?
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Jan 08, 2016
    Is the thermostat near the kitchen? Does it have a separate off setting, or did you just turn the temperature knob all the way up? Perhaps it was getting warm enough from the cooking to turn on. It's also possible that the thermostat is just plain broken/malfunctioning.

    One sure way to prevent the air conditioner from running is to manually flip the air conditioner breaker in your electrical distribution panel. Usually there will not be anything else on that circuit.
  • Joe417's avatar
    Joe417
    Explorer
    Jan 08, 2016
    Only a few things it can be. A bad thermostat, shorted wire, or possibly a lot of moisture in the thermostat.

    If you had very high humidity and a cold thermostat it could condense, but not likely.

    The guys will need more info on the AC and thermostat to make educated guesses.

    Also, you can turn the AC off in the breaker box even with the generator on. It will have its own breaker.
  • joe0508's avatar
    joe0508
    Explorer
    Jan 08, 2016
    DrewE wrote:
    Is the thermostat near the kitchen? Does it have a separate off setting, or did you just turn the temperature knob all the way up? Perhaps it was getting warm enough from the cooking to turn on. It's also possible that the thermostat is just plain broken/malfunctioning.

    One sure way to prevent the air conditioner from running is to manually flip the air conditioner breaker in your electrical distribution panel. Usually there will not be anything else on that circuit.
    The thermostat is near the kitchen and i had a lot of moisture in the air from cooking because the windows were steaming up.It does have a separate off switch.When you turn it on their is a green light that will come on.Just the opposite i turned it all the way down.The funny thing is the unit wasnt even in use when it happened.Are they supposed to kick on automatic like this when it get to warm even without a heating element?
  • coolmom42's avatar
    coolmom42
    Explorer II
    Jan 09, 2016
    joe0508 wrote:
    DrewE wrote:
    Is the thermostat near the kitchen? Does it have a separate off setting, or did you just turn the temperature knob all the way up? Perhaps it was getting warm enough from the cooking to turn on. It's also possible that the thermostat is just plain broken/malfunctioning.

    One sure way to prevent the air conditioner from running is to manually flip the air conditioner breaker in your electrical distribution panel. Usually there will not be anything else on that circuit.
    The thermostat is near the kitchen and i had a lot of moisture in the air from cooking because the windows were steaming up.It does have a separate off switch.When you turn it on their is a green light that will come on.Just the opposite i turned it all the way down.The funny thing is the unit wasnt even in use when it happened.Are they supposed to kick on automatic like this when it get to warm even without a heating element?


    The nature of an air conditioner is that it is SUPPOSED to kick on when the room temp gets warm.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Jan 09, 2016
    coolmom42 wrote:
    joe0508 wrote:
    DrewE wrote:
    Is the thermostat near the kitchen? Does it have a separate off setting, or did you just turn the temperature knob all the way up? Perhaps it was getting warm enough from the cooking to turn on. It's also possible that the thermostat is just plain broken/malfunctioning.

    One sure way to prevent the air conditioner from running is to manually flip the air conditioner breaker in your electrical distribution panel. Usually there will not be anything else on that circuit.
    The thermostat is near the kitchen and i had a lot of moisture in the air from cooking because the windows were steaming up.It does have a separate off switch.When you turn it on their is a green light that will come on.Just the opposite i turned it all the way down.The funny thing is the unit wasnt even in use when it happened.Are they supposed to kick on automatic like this when it get to warm even without a heating element?


    The nature of an air conditioner is that it is SUPPOSED to kick on when the room temp gets warm.


    Not if thermostat is set to heat and furnace is running

    Your t-stat was being shorted due to the moisture.
    Pull cover off t-stat and check connections. Spray with some WD-40 to get rid of the moisture.
  • joe0508's avatar
    joe0508
    Explorer
    Jan 09, 2016
    Old-Biscuit wrote:
    coolmom42 wrote:
    joe0508 wrote:
    DrewE wrote:
    Is the thermostat near the kitchen? Does it have a separate off setting, or did you just turn the temperature knob all the way up? Perhaps it was getting warm enough from the cooking to turn on. It's also possible that the thermostat is just plain broken/malfunctioning.

    One sure way to prevent the air conditioner from running is to manually flip the air conditioner breaker in your electrical distribution panel. Usually there will not be anything else on that circuit.
    The thermostat is near the kitchen and i had a lot of moisture in the air from cooking because the windows were steaming up.It does have a separate off switch.When you turn it on their is a green light that will come on.Just the opposite i turned it all the way down.The funny thing is the unit wasnt even in use when it happened.Are they supposed to kick on automatic like this when it get to warm even without a heating element?


    The nature of an air conditioner is that it is SUPPOSED to kick on when the room temp gets warm.


    Not if thermostat is set to heat and furnace is running

    Your t-stat was being shorted due to the moisture.
    Pull cover off t-stat and check connections. Spray with some WD-40 to get rid of the moisture.
    Will time clear out the moisture?
  • Almot's avatar
    Almot
    Explorer III
    Jan 09, 2016
    I'm curious - is there a control panel with thermostat knob on the A/C itself, and what position it is in? Because on my A/C there is such a knob.
  • joe0508's avatar
    joe0508
    Explorer
    Jan 11, 2016
    Almot wrote:
    I'm curious - is there a control panel with thermostat knob on the A/C itself, and what position it is in? Because on my A/C there is such a knob.
    This is a separate thermostat on the wall.
  • Chris_Bryant's avatar
    Chris_Bryant
    Explorer II
    Jan 11, 2016
    If its the new Dometic digital, the air blower will run with the furnace If the fan mode is set high or low. Set the fan to auto to stop this.

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