Basement AC generates a burning wire smell

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judway

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 9, 2005
Posts
1,179
Location
West Melbourne, FL
More trouble!  I think Someone is telling me I should get rid of the MH and stay at the house or in a Nursing Home.

A month ago when we were camping at Eustis, Florida one morning, there was a bad smell in the motorhome like there was something electronis/electrical burning in the basement AC heat pump. The smell was worst in the bedroom just above the heatpump. I turned it off and aired it out with the fans. Later, when we were back at the house, I tried to see if I could find where the smell was coming from. I checked the circuit board and it looked like new. I turned it on and everything seemed to work OK. Tried some different things and still seemed OK. I figured that it might have been something else and quit looking. Yesterday, when we got to the campground in Bushnell and turned the AC, the smell was back. Turned it off and am using fans to try to keep cool. I just had the unit replaced a couple of years ago for a cost of about $3800.

Any ideas as to what might be the problem. Hopefuly, not to replace it again. Any help is appreciated.
 
I don't have an answer for you but whatever you do, STOP using the AC until the cause is conclusively found. Smoldering high amperage wires can quickly turn to a devastating fire.
 
Pull the access plate(s) on the heat-pump and do a visual inspection. I wouldn't expect a capacitor to emit a smell like that, a bad relay might though. Bummer. You've had more than your share of problems lately.
 
Another problem last night. Lost power in the motorhome caused by the surge protector. Got it bypassed by 9:30pm. Lots of work. The AC problem might be related to the surge protector problem. I will check it out next week. Need a nap.
 
Was the surge protector the cause of the power outage, or was it just doing it's job?
 
I just recently had to replace the control board on mine. One of the compressors would not start. While checking it out I saw some smoke come from the old board. Didn't see any burn marks. Troubleshooting procedure said board was bad. Replacement was an upgraded board with a lot less components.

If you had the unit replaced a couple of years back it may already have the newer board.
 
Wizard46 said:
I just recently had to replace the control board on mine. One of the compressors would not start. While checking it out I saw some smoke come from the old board. Didn't see any burn marks. Troubleshooting procedure said board was bad. Replacement was an upgraded board with a lot less components.

If you had the unit replaced a couple of years back it may already have the newer board.

    The best thing I did was to get rid of my printed circuit board. I could tell by the burn marks that it had gone thru the original and a replacement board, no way I was replacing a board every few years.
 
I am back at the house and running the AC to see if it is still bad or was fixed when the surge protector was bypassed. Will know more tomorrow.
 
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