Camper a/c not working

[jasonpeloquin84]

I have a 95' Terry camper and last hunting season in the middle of the night, the refrigerator, radio, all lights that don't run on 110v and the a/c went out. When I got into it I found that the power converter went out. I changed it recently and everything that was off starting working again except for the a/c. The whole time that the converter was out I just assumed that was the reason for the a/c not working but I found out later that the a/c didn't have anything to do with the PC. I have been told that its possible that when the PC went out it may have fried the board in the a/c. I have checked all wiring to the board and its all good, I checked the thermostat and it's good, also checked all breakers and fuses on the panel. Is there anyway to test the board without it being hooked up (brought the board home, camper is at hunting camp 2 hours away)? Or any other ideas on what could be my problem?

[popupcamping]

jasonpeloquin84 wrote:
I'm not understanding why it now needs a battery to run while hooked up to shore power. It ran for 10 months with no problem, with no battery. Could it be the new type of convertor that i installed? Where would the 12VDC panel be located? The only 2 fuses that i saw were on the convertor and both good.

It wouldn't need a battery. You need to trace the thermostat wire BACK to the converter. it needs 12v power to run it. Simple as that. obviously your mouse chewed it as well. Once you find the wire check for continuity with an Ohm meter.Simple as that

[jasonpeloquin84]

I'm not understanding why it now needs a battery to run while hooked up to shore power. It ran for 10 months with no problem, with no battery. Could it be the new type of convertor that i installed? Where would the 12VDC panel be located? The only 2 fuses that i saw were on the convertor and both good.

[RoyB]

from you last remarks I suspect the problem may be indeed be in the area of the thermostat like the A/C mechanic stated. This requires 12VDC to operate. You need to make sure the 12VDC is present at the thermostat. This 12VDC will come from the 12VDC distribution panel which is feed both by the converter unit and/or the connected 12VDC battery.

Be sure all of the ATC automotive type fuses in the 12VDC Distribution panel are good...

This may have been answered before but are all the ceiling lights and other 12VDC items working now when plugged into shore power...

I also didnt realize this is an older post...

Just my thoughts
Roy Ken

[jasonpeloquin84]

Ok. I know it's been a few weeks since i've been here but i'm hoping someone can still give some advice... I had an A/C guy come look at and it and he determined that the problem is that the thermostat isn't getting power. He couldn't tell where all of the wiring from the thermostat ran to so that's as far as he got. Does anyone know where they might run? Doesnt seem like it would be to bad to check the wiring if i knew where all it went to.
On another note, a mouse got into my heater DSI board and chewed a hole. I have the model number on it ( ATWOOD/HYDROFLAME EXCLUSIVE PART# 35-505902-113), however they no longer make that model. How could i find one that would work?

[teejaywhy]

jasonpeloquin84 wrote:
There is 120 A/C to the circuit board.

OK. If it is getting power, all the other suggestions are moot. The air conditioner is broken.

RE: the converter question - my advice is based on the assumption you have a popup (this question is in the folding trailer sub-forum) but that doesn't appear to be the case. I'm not familiar with the wiring of a bigger rig, but the concept is the same. On a popup, the converter provides a space for the 110VAC breaker panel. From the breakers, the power is distributed to the camper AND routed to the INPUT of the converter. The converter takes the 110VAC and makes 12VDC. The 12VDC OUTPUT of the converter is protected by fuses.

So even though the breakers are physically located on the converter panel, they are not part of the converter's function (other than providing input power to the converter).

[jasonpeloquin84]

Where would this plug be located? All of the visible wiring that i see goes from the board then goes through the walls and not sure where from there, but assuming to the back of the breaker panel.

[bondebond]

Ok, that last post sort of answers my question but I will ask it anyway. The air conditioner should have a 20 amp male plug on it. For purposes of testing only, see if you can get that plugged directly into your shore power connection, bypassing all of the wiring of camper. Get a 20 amp to 15 amp adapter like this:

and run the shortest extension cord you can (preferably 12/3 gauge) to your power pole.

This will remove the converter and all wiring in your trailer out of the equation and help only focus the troubleshooting on the air conditioner itself.

Turn on the air conditioner to fan only first. If the fan blows, turn to "cooling" and ensure the compressor starts. If neither of these happen, does anything happen and are there any sounds being produced, such as a stalled/locked motor?

If there are no sounds/actions, I would focus in on the controls, primarily the turn knob.

If all of this DOES work, then the problem is back at the converter and/or wiring.

The converter does not "do" anything for the 120v AC power, but it does serve as a distribution panel and housing for the 120v breakers, depending on the exact model and configuration of converter you purchased. It would be helpful to have that information, including model number, and also for the air conditioner. Without specifics, we're all just giving educated but still guesses.

[jasonpeloquin84]

There is 120 A/C to the circuit board.

[jasonpeloquin84]

Yes it is my air conditioner, im not sure of the a/c model without looking at the manual, but it is a 27' bumper pull. I apologize i should have been specific, but when i said that i tested wiring i meant that i tested with a meter. If i'm understanding you correctly, your saying that the breaker for the 20 amp dedicated to the air conditioner should be tied into the convertor? You'll have to excuse my terminology on electricity because i dont know it well at all, but i dont see why it would tie into the convertor if the air conditioner wasn't ran through the convertor? If that is the case then im assuming the convertor going down is why the air conditioner stopped working at the same time, but dont understand why it won't work with a new convertor? I also don't remember hacing a breaker on the convertor (old or new), only fuses. Below is an attached website of the new convertor i bought ... Even though it is a hunting camp, we have electricity from a pole as we all do in our homes. Thanks so much for the help so far!

[teejaywhy]

OK, just to be clear - A/C = Air conditioner ? Right?

The A/C operation has nothing to do with the converter or its output wiring which is the 12VDC side of things.

First thing is to check that the A/C unit is getting 110VAC power. And you can't just visually inspect the wiring, you have to get a meter and verify the voltage is there.

The A/C is powered from the 110VAC shore power. I don't know about your trailer or how it is wired or what kind of A/C unit you have. Most modern popups have a 30A service, which is split into two circuits, a 15A circuit that runs the converter and the inside power outlets, and a 20A circuit dedicated to the Air Conditioner. There would be two breakers on the front of the converter for these circuits. Also look for GFCI outlets that might be tripped.

In any case, you have to verify that you are getting 110V power to the plug that powers the A/C. If the A/C is getting power OK, it is probably fried. I can't offer any advice on fixing it.

If it's not getting power, then you need to work your way back to find out where it stops.

You said the trailer is at your hunting camp. How is the trailer being powered? Generator?

I think the event that took out the converter (power surge? brownout?) might have also damaged the A/C unit.

[jasonpeloquin84]

I have already checked all wiring that i could reach and that includes where you take the plastic filter screen and filter off on the inside of the camper and all of the wiring ties into the board. The only area that i worked in during the change out was where the actual convertor was. It has 5 wires that connected to it, not counting the power wire. 1 ground, 2 that go into a pos port, 2 that go into a neg port. The thought did cross my mind that one of those wires in the 2 pos/neg ports may have a bad connection, but even though i'm not exactly sure where those wires go, i wouldnt think any of them belong to the a.c. unit. Plus, the a/c stopped worked the second the convertor went out..before i even touched anything to try to troubleshoot.

[TucsonJim]

Can you get a volt meter to the AC unit and see if you have 120V to it? Is it possible that when you installed the converter, you could have disconnected one of the wires that leads to the circuit breaker for the AC?

[1492]

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