AC compressor issue

SSmbs · 07-19-2013, 04:57 PM

I have a Rockwood 5th but am assisting my daughter with an AC issue on her hybrid. It is a non-ducted AC from RVP-a division of airxcel. Never heard of them but I see the Coleman name on the case. It is a 2006. She keeps the AC on the whole weekend and the compressor works for 8-10 hours then stops working for several hours. It does not have a thermostat but a control on the unit. The only thing that comes to mind is that maybe this cooling level switch may be bad. Any other possible issues causing the compressor to not kick in for extended periods?

08flagvlite · 07-20-2013, 12:15 AM

I had a Coleman pop up, and if you let the air run all night, the coils would freeze up in the morning, and would have to be turned off to defrost. I was told running it on the low speed causes this- not as bad of a problem on high cool. Don't know if that is happening on hers or not; but just a possibility. Randy

SSmbs · 07-20-2013, 08:19 AM

The compressor actually runs more at night than during the day which I thought was odd.

tanddc · 07-20-2013, 08:52 AM

The compressor is hermetically sealed I'm sure and the motor is probably getting hot and kicking out the thermostatic overload. As you can tell by the name it is temperature dependant. Gets hot. Shuts down. Cools off and starts back up again. Probably runs more at night because it can. Look for ways to keep it cool (I.e. park in shade) and run more efficiently (all vents open, awning out etc.)!

**Herk7769** · 07-21-2013, 05:57 AM

Have you checked the campground voltage?

This sounds like low campground voltage under load.

Put a plug in volt meter where you can see it when the air conditioner is in use.
When the compressor starts, glance at the voltage. Any voltage less than 105 volts under load will spike amps to well 30 amps and can cause the thermal switch in the compressor to open before the 20 amp circuit breaker can trip.

SSmbs · 07-21-2013, 08:31 AM

The issue has been the same with all campgrounds. In the last campground she was using the 30 AMP socket with 50 AMP available in the utility box.

**Herk7769** · 07-21-2013, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssyrett

The issue has been the same with all campgrounds. In the last campground she was using the 30 AMP socket with 50 AMP available in the utility box.

Just because there is a 50 amp service does not mean there is 120 volts available on both legs under load. The 30 amp RV plug most likely comes off the same phase all the way down the line.

Electricians like to do things the same way and may have used the black lead on all the 30 amp RV sockets and the red lead on the 20 amp duplex.

Just because you are using the 50 amp socket with both phases available does not mean there is 120 volts on each phase. It can depend on the load on each phase; which can vary significantly.

SSmbs · 07-22-2013, 03:36 PM

I checked the unit out today and don't believe she has the correct description of the issue. She felt it was running at night but I think it just felt cooler due to lower temperatures.

The compressor comes on and works for 3-4 minutes and goes off. From reading other posts and the internet it seems short cycling is most often caused by low refrigerant. Thought it would be an easy fix but other posts mention that it is not cost effective to recharge and a new AC is needed. Something about many RV ac's not having a valve to add refrigerant and it is expensive to add the valve. Seems odd.

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