Where to start. AC breaker trips... HELP

[littleboots]

I have a 2006 Redline travel trailer. Its left at our vacation place by the Colorado River. It's plugged into 30amp power.

The problem is last time we went down the AC didn't work (and it was 112 degrees.. lucky me). When I turned the AC off at the breaker but turned the fan on, the AC fan would run but of course no cold air. The second I switched the AC on the 20amp breaker in the breaker cabinet would trip. I could reset it and breaker would hold with AC off but the second I clicked the AC on it would trip. Fridge and all other lights worked flawlessly so Im stumped on where to start. I was thinking of replacing the breaker as that has happened at my house where dust/dirt etc got in the breaker and caused it to trip easier. The batteries aren't new and I noticed the converter fan running pretty consistently. My thought is that power is obviously getting to the breaker so it should be between the breaker and the AC

Any and all assistance is appreciated.

Thanks again

[hddecker]

Weldon wrote:
When my capacitor went out, their was an odor in the trailer like burned wires. Our a/c would run but would not cool. I think it is your compressor, how old is the unit? If necessary to replace the unit, I would replace with the same type so the wiring should match up. If you work on the capacitor, be aware they still have electrical charge in them after disconnected, put a screw driver across the terminals of capacitor to remove the charge.

Very important that you discharge the capacitor before working on it. Some of them have quite a kick and could send you over the edge of the roof.

My grandson is in the appliance repair business, capacitors are his favorite. :S

[Boband4]

High outside temps could have everyone loading down the system using their air conditioners. Check your voltage at any outlet. If it is at or below 110 volts that will increase the amperage draw, so the air conditioner could be trying to draw too many amps. Try turning off the electric water heater to reduce your amp draw, which would leave more power for the air conditioner.

[littleboots]

The batteries topic was just a question. I didn't know if it had anything to do with the electrical system when connected to 30A shore power.

[Weldon]

When my capacitor went out, their was an odor in the trailer like burned wires. Our a/c would run but would not cool. I think it is your compressor, how old is the unit? If necessary to replace the unit, I would replace with the same type so the wiring should match up. If you work on the capacitor, be aware they still have electrical charge in them after disconnected, put a screw driver across the terminals of capacitor to remove the charge.

[LynnandCarol]

Clean the coils and lube the fan motor first. Have seen this happen and it puts a start load on the AC and will blow the breaker. Might not be your problem but have seen it.

[drnosty]

Oops. Sorry about the double post.

[drnosty]

Yes, you'll need to remove the shroud on the roof to access the compressor and capacitor.
Your AC won't run on batteries? The batteries shouldn't have any connection at all to your AC unless you have an unusual thermostat set up, but I've never heard of it. You said you were on 30A shore power. That's where your AC power comes from. Power to the breaker panel and from the load side of your breaker to your AC.

[littleboots]

Do I need to remove the housing on the AC unit to find the compressor? I'm great with engines but learning this RV thing as it's my first one. Would low batteries cause this problem? It is plugged in so I'm not sure if low batteries really play a part in the electrical.

[drnosty]

And the compressor is usually either mounted in a housing on the compressor itself or close to the compressor in the connector area/box inside the AC housing up top.

[drnosty]

Usually, if it's the start capacitor, the compressor will hum for a little while, then kick off.

I don't know whether there's anything in between the breaker and the wires to your compressor so, if at all possible, it's usually better to clamp the ammeter on the wires close to the compressor. You'll need a helper to reset the breaker down below.

[littleboots]

Where would I locate the start capacitor? I don't want to here it's the compressor. I just ran the AC for the entire weekend the weekend before. The AC is out in the heat day in and day out so it could have finally kicked the bucket. If it is AC is there a recommendation to which one is better than others?

Secondly, do I put the amp meter on the breaker output side to test it? I have an amp meter but not familiar with electricity enough to know how to check it.

[Roadpilot]

I agree with jamnw, check the start capacitor. It's more likely then the compressor and it's a $100 fix versus a $1200 fix.

[jamnw]

I'm not an AC man, but isn't there a start capacitor on these? If it was bad, then it could cause this.

[mhardin]

I'd say compressor locked up. When mine did that, I replaced the 13.5 with a 15.0 for the extra cooling power.