Air Conditioner Tripping Breaker

[DerbyBailey]

Originally Posted by Iceman0987

21 year HVAC tech here, sounds like a dead short in the compressor. Compressor is done. Hopefully you can get a replacement compressor because of the back order on units

Tech from dealer said the same thing during a quick call Saturday afternoon but we had yet to do any of the troubleshooting recommended in this thread. All that later (and great learning, so thanks to all!) and that's probably where we will end up.

[DerbyBailey]

The Coleman ASC just a few miles away doesn't do mobile, so that's out. Forest River was fantastic this morning and said they cover everything (including mobile travel fees) with the exception of tax. The dealer they pointed me to did have a mobile tech they refer customers to who will be on site this afternoon.

With all the posts/help I thought I'd keep everyone in the loop.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by DerbyBailey

The Coleman ASC just a few miles away doesn't do mobile, so that's out. Forest River was fantastic this morning and said they cover everything (including mobile travel fees) with the exception of tax. The dealer they pointed me to did have a mobile tech they refer customers to who will be on site this afternoon.

With all the posts/help I thought I'd keep everyone in the loop.

Let us know what the final diagnosis and resolution was.

[Sunseeker16]

Originally Posted by DerbyBailey

The Coleman ASC just a few miles away doesn't do mobile, so that's out. Forest River was fantastic this morning and said they cover everything (including mobile travel fees) with the exception of tax. The dealer they pointed me to did have a mobile tech they refer customers to who will be on site this afternoon.

With all the posts/help I thought I'd keep everyone in the loop.

I wish I had such good luck with Forest River help on my slide problem. All I asked them for was advice on how to fix it and all I got was "Take it to a service center". Sure take it somewhere and leave it sit for months and shell out a ton of money, I think not.

[DerbyBailey]

Service tech stopped by today and said the unit was pulling 28A before tripping. Need an entirely new AC unit.

TBD on timeline based on parts availability, but good to know that's what it was. When asked why he said probably just a bad unit from the get-go. Just glad it didn't die during 100+ degree temps!

Thanks again to everyone for the troubleshooting tips. Definitely learned a lot from everyone!

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Iceman0987

21 year HVAC tech here, sounds like a dead short in the compressor. Compressor is done. Hopefully you can get a replacement compressor because of the back order on units

Nobody services compressors on RVs. The factory doesn't even bother to put on high-side or low-side ports for gauges. If it isn't just a capacitor or relay/contactor, they just replace the entire unit.

Once in a while, an equipped tech like you will add ports and recharge one, but I don't even think you could order a compressor, evaporator, or condenser. Maybe the blower and fan.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Nobody services compressors on RVs. The factory doesn't even bother to put on high-side or low-side ports for gauges. If it isn't just a capacitor or relay/contactor, they just replace the entire unit.

Once in a while, an equipped tech like you will add ports and recharge one, but I don't even think you could order a compressor, evaporator, or condenser. Maybe the blower and fan.

Grainger sells the compressor units. Pretty generic units. Lot of work involved and often something else fails soon after.

[rwhit]

Well I have been trying not to comment to much but... I have been doing commercial HVAC since 1982. They have found the problem but not the cause. I would question the guage of the extension cord along with the length. Ohms law is a basic princable of electricity. If the guage is to small for the length you will have the same result in a short time after replacement of the unit. With the high amps described I would almost bet the voltage was down close to 105 volts or less while running. This causes the insulation in the motor windings to degrade. You might want to find someone with electrical knowledge and a bugles book to check the wire guage and length.

[Sunseeker16]

Originally Posted by rwhit

Well I have been trying not to comment to much but... I have been doing commercial HVAC since 1982. They have found the problem but not the cause. I would question the guage of the extension cord along with the length. Ohms law is a basic princable of electricity. If the guage is to small for the length you will have the same result in a short time after replacement of the unit. With the high amps described I would almost bet the voltage was down close to 105 volts or less while running. This causes the insulation in the motor windings to degrade. You might want to find someone with electrical knowledge and a bugles book to check the wire guage and length.

I am not an electrician but understand the bare bones basics of ohms law. My last trip out my AC unit didn't sound right. I checked the display on the surge protector and the voltage was low and the amps were high. Not long after the breaker tripped. I was in a park with older pedestals, nearly 100 degree heat and a full park. When things cooled down everything was ok. Low voltage is a bigger issue than people are aware of in RV's.

[rwhit]

I couldn't agree more

[DerbyBailey]

Originally Posted by rwhit

Well I have been trying not to comment to much but... I have been doing commercial HVAC since 1982. They have found the problem but not the cause. I would question the guage of the extension cord along with the length. Ohms law is a basic princable of electricity. If the guage is to small for the length you will have the same result in a short time after replacement of the unit. With the high amps described I would almost bet the voltage was down close to 105 volts or less while running. This causes the insulation in the motor windings to degrade. You might want to find someone with electrical knowledge and a bugles book to check the wire guage and length.

We had an electrician do the work. Unsure who else to ask.

[rwhit]

I would just double check the voltage while the unit is running after it is replaced. Experiance tells me to find the cause of the failure not just cure the symptom . Just like I wish I had spell check right now. Remember experiance is knowing you made the same mistake the second time.

[Sunseeker16]

Originally Posted by rwhit

I would just double check the voltage while the unit is running after it is replaced. Experiance tells me to find the cause of the failure not just cure the symptom . Just like I wish I had spell check right now. Remember experiance is knowing you made the same mistake the second time.

Knowledge is knowing you didn't.

[rwhit]

Thanks for finishing the saying.

[Sunseeker16]

You bet

[TheWolfPaq82]

Originally Posted by rwhit

I would just double check the voltage while the unit is running after it is replaced. Experiance tells me to find the cause of the failure not just cure the symptom . Just like I wish I had spell check right now. Remember experiance is knowing you made the same mistake the second time.

Find the cause not just cure the Symptom ? RV AC units are prone to failure, just look at the number of post just in the last few months. Compressor went, it happens....and more frequently lately on these newer models it seems like. People are losing AC units in a matter a days lately, not just weeks or months. Quality is way down on these units.

[rwhit]

Not saying that the quality is good but no matter what size a unit is they still work the same. I have three 1500 ton chillers at one location and they work the same as the 1 ton units in elevator rooms on the refrigeration cycle. The biggest thing we look at is the build date codes. Any unit built just before the summer or winter holidays is usually poorly built.

[DerbyBailey]

Will definitely have the voltage checked when the new unit is installed. Thanks!

[ICanFixIt]

While your waiting for a new AC unit it would be a good idea if you could get some details from your electrician on the install of your pedestal.

1) How long of a run from the pedestal to your main electric shutoff?

2) What size wire was used?

3) How long is the power cord from the pedestal to the TT?

From that you can determine if the issue might be in the pedestal. Try to eliminate every possible weak point as you can.

[jessa82]

You have some good suggestions and some not so good ones. I didn't read every reply but it looks like you're waiting for a new unit to be installed. If you haven't already, you should get an electrician (not an rv repairman) to check out the pedestal while under load. That portion is suspect to me. If you are experiencing voltage drop due to an undersized conductor to the pedestal (it must be sized up if its a long run) that will result in higher amperage and thus a tripped breaker. It wouldn't happen right away when the unit starts up. If this is the case, a new AC won't resolve it.