1996 American Eagle - No power to front air

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ctjahn

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Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Posts
19
Howdy!

A few of you helped me with my inverter which I used an old topic for in the past.  Ended up replacing it with a brand new one which hurt the wallet a bit.

Long story short either the RV I have (new to me in the last few months) was hit by lightning, plugged into improper power, or ???  Needless to say I was screwed by the auction company who sold it as fully functional (and unfortunately didn't have time to check it out in person due to work)  Thus far I replaced the Inverter, fuses across the board, new microwave this weekend (used replacement) and more. 

Now I have been troubleshooting my front Air now and it appears I don't have AC power.  But I have power (I believe) at the breaker.  I do have 12 volt power at the thermostat.  And within the ckt board inside the air conditioner.  But no power from the AC.  There is power at the breaker box to the ckt under the bed. 

Is there a sub breaker somewhere else that I need to check?  Or does it go to the roof and then back into the sub panel?  I cant believe the wires just broke or melted apart?

Let me know if you have experience with this.  Would hate to try to figure out how to run a new wire without pulling down every panel that it goes through?

Thx! Cj
[email protected]
 
No sub-breaker cause the a/c power does not pass through the inverter. Should be direct wire from the breaker to the a/c, with nothing else sharing the circuit. You will need to check at the breaker (input & output sides), and if you have power there, at the a/c end. If power is lost somewhere between those two, it's gonna be a serious hunt to find the open circuit. There is possibly a junction box in between, placed for the convenience of the assembly workers, and a wire has come loose there. The constant vibration and road shake of an RV often loosens wire nuts or even screw terminals.
 
Thanks Gary, I was hoping it went to the roof unit then down into the sub panel but I knew in my heart that wasn't right...  Was also hoping I was missing something but....  Power at the breaker and none at the sub-panel leads me to believe the wires are broken, or there is another box somewhere...(I hope)... Then again I didn't check every breakers output...  Maybe they are labeled wrong...  Even so do breakers go bad?  Other than loose wires?

cj
 
Yes, a breaker can fail. Easy to test, though. Just make sure the breaker is in the On position and test voltage at the screw terminal. The breaker gets its power from the bus bar connection and delivers it via the terminal where the wire attaches. If you have power at the wire terminal on the breaker, the power loss is somewhere else, downstream along the wire somewhere.

There is typically a junction box near the roof a/c to facilitate removing/replacing the a/c unit. Usually accessed from inside, through the roof opening.

American Coach offers free wiring & plumbing schematics, but I don't know if they have them back as far as 1996. A phone call to Customer Service should get an answer to that.
 
Thanks Gary,

Its still on the list but I haven't been able to find the source of the outage...

Moving on to other issues....

Cj
 
OK, its been awhile but I have spent time this past weekend tracking this issue.  No power or AC to the AC.... (thats supposed to be funny).  Breaker shows power.  In the wiring diagrams it shows a sub-panel for AC but I cant find it. Anyone got an idea where it is?  I used a volt meter and a voltage tester at the source and ac panel!  (electrical engineer - but lots of wires on these things....)

Thx
CJ

[email protected]
 
I had a similar issue. Mine was not having D/C power. Your thermostat will not work if you don't have sufficient D/C power. I believe that this is a result of a lot of A/C issues. Hope this helps you.
 
Thanks for your reply.

Pretty sure the AC isn't feeding it.  I hear the relay kicking on and off when I flip the switch on the thermostat.  I did replace both thermostats recently.  Measured voltages at the panel on the Thermostat and at the AC unit itself.  When I measure the AC in the box inside the unit I have nothing.  My voltage probe also shows no current going to it.  That's why I was looking for the sub panel shows on the owners manual (small print)

Tx
Cj
 
I was trying to understand why I didn't have power at all to breakers in my A/C panel only to find out that after extensive research and checking I discovered that I did not have D/C power which happens to work in direct conjunction with your A/C breaker panel. I'm not sure that is your problem but something too maybe consider checking if you have not done so already. Also maybe something else too consider is to check your ATS (automatic transfer switch) for mode setting. May be in incorrect mode for shore power vs. generator power. I know I have had a huge headache repairing all of my electrical issues with my 99' Dolphin Motorhome. Good luck.
 
Does your Eagle have a EMS (load management) system, i.e. can it monitor amps when on a 30A or less shore power system and shed loads to keep under 30A?  If so, the power to the a/c units is wired through that so its relays can switch power on/off.  Fleetwood used Intelletec modules for that, either the Intelletec ECC Climate Control or the Intelletec EMS load center.  The ECC is a combined two-zone thermostat and load manager while the EMS is integrated as part of the 120v load center. The actual relay modules is behind the load center breaker panel.
 

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