greetings. i have a 2007 attitude FSAKG 34' fifth wheel. man, i am always working on this thing but it has 2 ac's, one in the master which is a 12,500 i am pretty sure and the "main" one which is a 15,000 btu unit. the main one has taken a dump, i think it is toast, although i am not a air cond tech, have the guages though but the rv shops here in vegas are pretty cut throat. I would be better of having ISIS work on it. between driving the trailer down to ISIS headquarters, having them fix it for no doubt in the hundreds of $, i can get a new unit and put it on myself for 5, which seems really easy (except for getting it on the roof)so my question is for those who have experienced a similiar problemare the newer models a lot better and more efficient than the 10 year old models?is it worth getting repairs (assume the worst like the pump is bad)?is it as easy as it seems?thanks in advance for any helpful responses. (fyi, i asked on another forum also)

The rules of thermo dynamics havent changed so the new ones arent really any more efficient.But labor rates have gone up. I replaced the motors on mine that failed about two weeks apart. A little over a hundred each but if it is the compressor I would replace the entire unit.It could also be something cheap like the starting capacitors or the startup device PTCR. Depends how handy you are. You might try to find a decent rv guy that says he can take a look.

I think if mine failed at this point I would go new. To get them to repair it will likely cost 50~75% of new. The new ones dont seem to employ the modern technology that makes all residential AC's so efficient but at least it would be "new" and maybe give us a good chance to upgrade the BTU rating.Anyway, that's one opinion. YMMV!

i'm pretty darn handy but i also don't want to waste my time polishing a turd to save 200$ for 10 hours worth of work. (although i love learning something new ) i guess the big mystery here is what exactly is wrong, i've messed around with house ac's, and these ac's on my rig and from the way it is acting, i think the pump/motor went. i will switch out capacitors cause i think i have a spare and see what happens

I replaced two 13,500 BTU's with two 15K's. one of them (Advent air, which for maintenance reasons I do NOT recommend) takes the exact same current, running, as the OEM, bit more starting,, The other (Coleman) takes 0.4 amps more The originals were Carrier AirV's But at 10 years.. It depends on why it has failed, a New A/C, installed, is roughly 1,000 give or take a bit depending on where you do it.. Less if you DIY but I really don't recommend DIY as it's about 70-90 pounds you need to raise to the roof.. Within my capacity when I was 30, not so much today :).On mine I have spare blower motors, fans, blowers, and such (For Carrier if you need one) even cowling.. But the cooling system,, Compressor, evap, condenser, dryer and piping and valves.. if that's shot, or dry (lost coolant) replacement is indicated in most cases.

1. 13,500. They don't make a 12,5002. What good are the gauges??????? RV AC units have NO service ports. Since you are a novice, I would advise against trying to tap into and install clamp on ports. Clamp on ports are good for one thing---making money for qualified service people because they all leak eventually from the compression of the copper tubing. You always solder in fill ports after draining the system with clamp on taps. 3. The ONLY way to test an RV AC is by temp corrected compressor amp draw. Which you can do by buying an inexpensive clamp on AC amp meter. Doug

new air conditioner or repair 10 year old unit | Good Sam Community

rockwind1
Explorer II
Mar 17, 2017
the t stat only operates one unit, the main one i am working on

well, that worked great! put on the supco spp6 from the other unit and it started right up. was pulling about 14 amps as it was running. the fan pulls about 3 amps so the compressor was pulling 11, and the compressor RLA is 10.7 so that should be good, right? it didn't seem to be as cold of air as i would have liked though.

any thoughts on what i should do with the Dometic A/C WSX-5 Motor Starter that is on the old start capacitor? should i keep it on there?
Ivylog
Explorer III
Mar 16, 2017
If both units use one Tstat with two zones a new unit will not work with it unless you buy an additional convert board...$150.
j-d
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2017
Your compressor should have a label showing Running Amps and Locked Rotor Amps/LRA. Our home A/C would show LRA on my clamp meter if the Run Capacitor was bad. With a new capacitor, it started normally and fell into the Running Amps range. If you have a good capacitor and the compressor draws LRA, it's probably shot. We had a case where the compressor wouldn't start. I suggested going to the roof, A/C shroud off, and be ready with a rubber mallet when a helper turned the A/C on. Smack compressor with mallet right when the power came on. This has to be quick, since the compressor has a thermal overload inside and will disconnect the power if it stays at LRA. It worked! I do not know for how long it worked.
Chris_Bryant
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2017
Either start cap/ptc combo will work on either a/c- the Coleman should be 88-108mfd as well. Also look closely at the run capacitor.
rockwind1
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2017
so, the blower fan turns on and runs fine, running amps at 2.5 ish. however, i had my setting at 40 amps and the compressor motor went over that when trying to start because it said overload. then i could hear it sort of humming, like it was still trying to do something. anyway, the start capacitor is a NGM88-108 MFD 50-60 HZ 165 VAC MADE IN MEXICO IN APRIL 2006

although it is not tripping the 20 amp breaker (piggy back style breaker) it would seem like it should. any thoughts?

ANYTHOUGHTS ON HOW LONG START CAPACITORS LAST, IT ALSO HAS A Dometic A/C WSX-5 Motor Starter STUCK ON THE TOP OF THE CAPACITOR.

what is the general consensus of using the start capacitor from my 13,500 btu dometic unit jsut for a quick "see if it works" test?
the ac unit that is not working is a rvp rv products division of airxcel, inc.
dougrainer
Nomad
Mar 16, 2017
MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
This is a "I want to learn" question :)

What type of freon did they use back then?

The OLDER units used Freon 22. The Newer units do NOT use Freon. They use 410a. Normally I would not nitpick(Freon versus 410a), but YOU usually nitpick on some issues:B They phased out 22 about 6 to 8 years ago. Doug
rockwind1
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2017
thanks everyone, i didn't know that about no ports. kinda used to residential and auto ac stuff, mostly auto. and i do have a inductive amp reader, a couple years ago i checked the start up and running amps for both my units cause i was going the 2 honda eu2000 route to run one of them and i was seeing if the smaller unit would work with just one, it didn't , but i will look a little bit closer at it today.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Mar 16, 2017
This is a "I want to learn" question :)

What type of freon did they use back then?
time2roll
Nomad
Mar 16, 2017
I would repair external components.

However motor, compressor, leaks etc to the main unit I would just replace the whole thing at even five years. Get a high efficiency unit the size you need and review the ducting connections during install.
j-d
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2017
If you're handy and have a little time, BigKatuna and MattColie have the plan I follow. Clean, oil, test... Clean the Coils and Blower, Oil the Motor, Test or Swap the Capacitors.

I'm blessed to have a DVOM that tests capacitors. With that and my cheap Harbor Fright AC Only Ammeter (plus one of their little free DVOM's) I can do a goodly amount of troubleshooting. I replaced the blower motor in ours (Coleman Mach 15) for about $100. It's never needed capacitors, but I keep spares for those on board. Anything "Sealed", the coils, compressor, even lines, I'd replace the unit.