Air conditioner blower

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
B

bigtexan99

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 15, 2006
Posts
157
My Coleman / RVP 8000 Series air conditioner is acting up.  I had the RV in storage and when I turned on the air, the fan would not start.  It tried to turn, but just hummed.

Went up on the roof and shot some PB Blaster onto the shaft (it is very rusty) and then turned the fan blade with a screwdriver.

Went inside and turned it on and it worked fine.  Worked fine for about 5 days with normal on/off cycling.

Yesterday it tried to turn on, but just hummed.  Went up on the roof and lubricated and turned with a screwdriver.

Once running, it runs fine, but at startup it squeals and strains for about 10-30 seconds.

What is the best remedy?  Sand the shaft and lube it? 
 
Sounds like new blower motor time.

I can't  help much with a Coleman but I have Carrier V's in this motor home and of course Carrier no longer sells parts (never mind the rule somewhere that you got to stock parts for a period of years after you stop selling them) and the company that makes the motor wants both arms and half a leg.

I found a company that sold me one for about what I'd expect such a motor to cost, it is a superior product too.. And someone else found another company that's even cheaper (Grainger Industrial Supply).

But this I can tell you.. On the Carrier, and I assume on the coleman as well, the replacement job looks hard... Till you do it.. Turns out it is a 6 tool job

1 ladder to access the roof with
1 Phillips screwdriver
1 Flat Bladed screwdriver
1 Cresent or box end wrench
1 Pair pliars, assorted types work well
And the most important tool of all....

ONE BRAIN.

I cheated, I used 2 brains :) (Mine and the guy from the electric motor shop)
 
My AC unit is 13 years old.  At about $180 for a replacement blower motor, would it be better to spend $750 and get a whole new Coleman Mach 15 15,000 BTU unit?
 
PB Blaster is a penetrating oil, and not used for normal lubrication. If you're handy, pull the motor and give it a good cleaning and oiling. May work fine after that.
 
The bearings on the fan motors fail over time.  They aren't really replaceable without replacing the fan motor.  While it is possible to inject some oil into the bearings by drilling a small hole and using a syringe, it is at best a temporary fix.

Unless there are other reasons to replace the air conditioner as a whole I would just put in a new fan.
 
The only reason I was thinking about replacing it was the RV tech quoted 65 labor, 80 service visit, and 170 motor.  At $315 plus tax it seemed closer to go for a full replacement.

I have since found the motor on Amazon for 109 plus 14 shipping.  $123 and I do the replacement myself seems better than 800 or so for the full replacement.

However, here is a couple of pics of the corrosion I'm facing.    Does this unit look like it has some life left in it?  It cools just fine, inside temps at the vent are usually 50 degrees f.



 

Attachments

  • rvac2.jpg
    rvac2.jpg
    212.4 KB · Views: 40
  • rvac1.jpg
    rvac1.jpg
    124.6 KB · Views: 45
Thx Wacky.    But if it was the start capacitor that was the problem would the squealing go away when WD40 is applied?

Also, before I apply WD40 when it is squealing, the fan is 'sticky' when turning by hand.  After WD40 the fan is spinning freely.

Do those symptoms point to a capacitor?
 
bigtexan99 said:
Thx Wacky.    But if it was the start capacitor that was the problem would the squealing go away when WD40 is applied?
Also, before I apply WD40 when it is squealing, the fan is 'sticky' when turning by hand.  After WD40 the fan is spinning freely.
Do those symptoms point to a capacitor?
Click to expand...

I had the fan go out on my Coleman about a year and a half ago (20 year old AC).  Same symptoms as yours has.  I balanced a new motor (there was only one in the US) against a 20 year old system and went with a lightly used AC that I found.  When I was thinking of replacing the motor every tech I spoke with suggested replacing the capacitor at the same time.  Seemed like a good idea.  I don't think the capacitor has anything to do with your shaft problems.
 
Well, I've made up my mind.  I'm going to replace the whole unit with a Coleman Mach 15.

I went up today and when I touched the aluminum cooling fins, they disintegrated!!  Totally corroded.
 
bigtexan99 said:
Well, I've made up my mind.  I'm going to replace the whole unit with a Coleman Mach 15.

I went up today and when I touched the aluminum cooling fins, they disintegrated!!  Totally corroded.
Click to expand...

In the long run you're probably making the right choice.
 
I'm planning on replacing the unit myself.  Searched the site but did not come up with any other posts on how to do that.

Anyone have a guide or instructions on what I'm looking at in swapping out the Coleman Mach 15 upper unit?
 
bigtexan99 said:
I'm planning on replacing the unit myself.  Searched the site but did not come up with any other posts on how to do that.

Anyone have a guide or instructions on what I'm looking at in swapping out the Coleman Mach 15 upper unit?
Click to expand...

I changed out mine and the biggest problem was actually getting the new unit up to the roof and the old unit down.  With the help of an Oak tree limb and some rope I was able to do this.  My unit was held on by 4 bolts.  Long story short, I unbolted the unit, disconnected the power supply, placed the new unit over the hole, reconnected the AC, reinstalled the bolts (I was lucky in that the bolt holes matched up), and the rest is history. 
 
Got the unit today and installed it!  What a difference!!  The air flow out the ducted vents is about double what it was, and a infrared thermometer check of the air vents shows 39 degrees.

Install was a  piece of cake.  4 bolts and 1 wired plug harness.  As others said, the hardest part was getting the unit up on the roof.  I took a long ladder and leaned it up against the back of the rv.  Then we tied a rope to the AC and pulled it up the ladder ramp like a sled on the cardboard box it came in.  Helpers stayed alongside the unit on foot and then ladders to make sure the AC did not slip off the ladder.

The old unit got tossed over the side.  New unit dropped in and now its like an artic front moved in!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 471 (members: 16, guests: 455)

Forum statistics

Threads
132,095
Posts
1,390,250
Members
137,813
Latest member
CheriRv
Back
Top Bottom