Coleman 13.5K 8333E856 - no fan - no compressor

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Frank B

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Joined
Apr 23, 2005
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Location
Calgary, Alberta
A/C worked fine last year.  Now, the first warm day of the year, it won't work. No fan. No compressor.  No hum, no buzz - nada.  Almost appears like there is no power to the unit at all.  The unit is a Coleman 13.5K 8333E856, and is about 8 years old.  We have never used it except to test it each year.  It cannot have much 'wear' on it.


Breaker in the trailer wiring panel is not tripped.  Thermostat that controls furnace and a/c continues to make the furnace work, and the little glass fuse in the thermostat is fine.


I have the plastic roof cover off, and the fan turns freely.  Now I have to start pulling the metal shroud off the a/c before going any further, so it is time to call in some experience before mister 'ham fists' gets in there with his multi tester.  ;D


Is there any breaker on the unit itself on the compressor motor or inside the metal box?


Any suggestions on what to look for?


Thanks.


Frank.
 
No breakers inside anywhere, just the control board with its relays. I'd be looking to see if 120v power is actually reaching the a/c, and the +12v (cooling needed" signal from the t-stat as well.

Before going further, have you verified that you have 120v power elsewhere in the RV?
 
Gary:


Yes.  Microwave works fine, as does electric water heater.


I'd be looking to see if 120v power is actually reaching the a/c, and the +12v (cooling needed" signal from the t-stat as well.


I was afraid you were going to say that.... :-\


OK, back on the roof, and pull the metal shroud, I guess.  Gonna wait till the sun goes down a bit first.  Too hot up there at the moment.


Where do I check for the 12v control circuit supply line?  Can that be done at the thermostat?  As noted, the Tstat does control the heater, so the heat side of the tstat is working.  Is the a/c side supplied differently?


FWIW, the last time I tried to use the a/c it was as a 'test' on my Honda 2000i generator.  As expected, the breaker on the Honda popped before the a/c got going. I can't imagine that damaging anything on the a/c, other than to pop any breaker that might have been installed on the a/c motor itself.  But, in the interests of full disclosure....  ;)


Frank.



 
Well, I took it all apart, and made sure the power was unplugged before I went up to test the voltage on the AC wires.


Once I was up there, I got my wife to plug the units back into Shore power. Air conditioner started up and ran just fine. Wouldn't you know it.


Unplugged the trailer, buttoned it all back up again, plug it back in, and it continues to work.


So, no idea what happened. There must have been a bad connection there somewhere, and just opening it resolved the issue. There is no corrosion, all is clean and bright. So I don't know. However, it now works!
 

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