Compressor won't start

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The "waiting" period for compressor start for ALL RV AC units that have a wall tstat is NO MORE than 2 minutes 45 seconds. IF longer than that, then the overload on the compressor is kicking out and that points to a BAD Compressor. There is NOTHING you will do that causes the reset to continue attempting a reset or delay that timed response. The timer is on the 12 volt side. Please monitor and I will bet you have future problems. Doug

OK - in case anyone finds this thread with a similar problem in the future (I couldn't find many that didn't talk about the same 3-4 possible issues), here is the conclusion...

Long-story short, it was the 30a breaker at the camp's power feed.

Where I got thrown off was in the fact that the AC unit would not immediately reset and operate. When the 30a tripped the second time, my first move was to switch to the 50a feed (which, it turns out, was the eventual solution). However, this immediately started to call for the AC to work, and it never did. As I switched between 50a and 30a, trying different things, nothing worked. The key here is that I was ALWAYS calling for the AC (never allowing the system to reset). It wasn't until I let the fan run on its own for a while, with no call for AC, that the system would reset and properly operate again.

Once I did this, late yesterday afternoon, it ran for a while before tripping the 30a again. It was at this point that I rested the system again, switched to 50a, and it has been working flawlessly since then (around 8:30p last night).

So - the moral of the story is, at least in my case, there needs to be a 'waiting period' after a blown circuit, during which time there is no call for AC from the thermostat, before the AC system will reset and operate correctly.

I don't know how long that waiting period needs to be (all I know is it is more than 5 minutes and less than 45), and I don't know what it is that is taking that time to reset (thermostat, compressor, etc...). However, I do know that had I simply switched to 50a (which I did do) and let the system rest for a while before rebooting it (which I didn't do), it would have avoided all of my issues and saved me about 4-5 hours of frustration.

Mickeyfan0805 wrote:

smkettner wrote:
30 amp trips? Is the water heater and fridge set to propane only? Could be a weak breaker.

Yes there is often a restart delay but only 3 to 5 minutes maybe.

Yes - it is the 30a at the campground's pole that is tripping. Nothing in our unit is having any trouble. That's why I moved over to the 50a - figuring that the 30a breaker might be bad.

I had been trying to get the compressor to kick right back in, but it never would. It wasn't until I ran it on fan alone for a while (not calling on the compressor at all) that it would come back on. I'll be back at the camper in a bit to see if it will come on again (and, if so, if it will now stay on when plugged to the 50a feed).

Usually the 20 amp breaker for the AC unit will trip. BUT, IF the load is more than 30 amps, the outside supply breaker mat trip first, due to the appliances in your RV drawing 120 current. Running the fan help cool the compressor down. You have a bad compressor. Doug

smkettner wrote:
30 amp trips? Is the water heater and fridge set to propane only? Could be a weak breaker.

Yes there is often a restart delay but only 3 to 5 minutes maybe.

Yes - it is the 30a at the campground's pole that is tripping. Nothing in our unit is having any trouble. That's why I moved over to the 50a - figuring that the 30a breaker might be bad.

I had been trying to get the compressor to kick right back in, but it never would. It wasn't until I ran it on fan alone for a while (not calling on the compressor at all) that it would come back on. I'll be back at the camper in a bit to see if it will come on again (and, if so, if it will now stay on when plugged to the 50a feed).

30 amp trips? Is the water heater and fridge set to propane only? Could be a weak breaker.

Yes there is often a restart delay but only 3 to 5 minutes maybe.

It's a 2013.

Does it make sense that the system would need to rest a while after a power failure, before being able to restart? I'm still tracking, but that seems to be what is happening.

A while ago, I let the system sit idle for 45 minutes, and then when I started it everything worked beautifully. About 30m later, the 30a at the pole tripped again. I have now moved the entire system to the 50a and am letting it sit idle for a while to see if it will start again.

Does any of this make sense?

How old is it? Seems early for a 2013 to fail.

Ranger Smith wrote:

dougrainer wrote:

Ranger Smith wrote:
Bad start capacitor

If the compressor starts and runs, then trips the breaker- the capacitor is not at fault. He has a BAD compressor. Doug

From OP

but compressor is not running.
-After futzing around for a while earlier, I did get the compressor to start again, but then returned to find the circuit tripped again.
-Since then, no compressor.

My point was, he got it to run. That points to a locked up compressor since it will not run again. A BAD capacitor will not cause the CB to trip. Once running the capacitor is OUT of the circuit. Doug

Ranger Smith wrote:

dougrainer wrote:

Ranger Smith wrote:
Bad start capacitor

If the compressor starts and runs, then trips the breaker- the capacitor is not at fault. He has a BAD compressor. Doug

From OP

but compressor is not running.
-After futzing around for a while earlier, I did get the compressor to start again, but then returned to find the circuit tripped again.
-Since then, no compressor.

My point was, he got it to run. That points to a locked up compressor since it will not run again. A BAD capacitor will not cause the CB to trip. Doug