Basement central air conditioner

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Art. those pics are just down right scary,  yes you got lucky-buy lots of LOTO tickets.

Fred
 
John, parts are ordered. It will be towards the end of the week before I know if it's working a 100 %.
Will keep you guys posted.
Thanks ya'll.
 
Hey guys, after reading the posts from Art and aprs about the capacitors and wiring problems from overheating, I began wondering if that was my problem, since my basement a/c won't keep the temps lower than about 7 or 8 degrees lower than outside temp.

So I drove over to the RV expert that has my coach today. I wanted to look at the work they did on the windshield rust anyway. I asked the guy about the possibility that the second compressor wasn't coming on and he said that could be tested, but if it was the problem, it was in back of the first unit and the whole a/c had to be pulled to get to it.

So now I'm wondering if he's just trying to add more labor onto the already high bill, or if this is legit. Can anyone tell me if the entire a/c unit has to be pulled out of the coach in order to get to the second compressor? We're talking about a 2005 Adventurer 38J. This guy was suggesting that the basement air wasn't that good to begin with and if it was his coach, he would install a 15K roof unit and forget about the basement air. I would appreciate your thoughts on that idea, also.
 
To see if the 2nd compressor is running, go to 30 amp shore power or generator so that your amp meter is displaying amperage.  With both compressors running, you should see about 21-23 amps (turn off the electric water heater, etc.)  DO NOT get rid of the basement air unit - one roof air isn't nearly enough BTUs to cool your coach.

We have several threads here in the Winnebago board about basement air, some tips and tricks, and how to determine if it's working nominally.  Use the search box near the upper right and enter basement air for a search term.
 
John - You confirmed my suspicions. Since purchasing this coach in January, and remembering it's hot down here year round, every time we have run the a/c, the amp meter has always shown 14-15 amps, never anything over 20.

The mechanic didn't say to only use a roof a/c unit. He said to make it the primary and continue to use the basement a/c with it's one compressor as the adjunct. Sorry I misspoke in my previous post. AT the moment, I'm trying to figure out which will be less expensive and more practical - fixing the second compressor unit or adding a roof air.
 
Roof air with a fully functioning basement air unit makes for a cool coach even in very hot situations.  Roof air units aren't that expensive relatively speaking and can be a DIY project like we did.  Use the basement air as primary and the roof air as backup/adjunct cooling.
 
I'll be following this thread with interest.  I have two new start capacitors ordered.  AC starts and goes up to about 14 amps.  A couple minutes later tries to start the 2nd compressor and briefly goes up to about 19, before settling back in at 14.  2nd compressor clearly isn't running.
 
aprs said:
Artstang, that's the exact jumper wire that I found fried in mine. Usually due to high current so you got to find the cause. Check your start capacitors, I found mine was fried by just looking at them closely. I ended up replacing the jumper and the two start capacitor/motor assemblies. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RCOW5Q?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00
Good luck.
PS: half the price on EBay these days

You can get a much better price at AnyRVParts.com. I have used them for many items. Good people.
 
Updated post: This is not a DIY repair unless you have basic electrical and mechanical knowledge.

Today I replaced 2 run capacitors, 2 start capacitors, and compressor relay switch. I also check the circuit board to make sure nothing was damaged. Before all the parts were replaced running a generator, amp would only read 14 amps. Now, #1 and #2 compressors are running and amps reads at 22-24. With the temperature inside the coach is at 95 degrees during test, the A/C brought that down to 85 degrees in less than 30 min.

The 2 start capacitors with PTCR cost me $23.50 ea from ebay; http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coleman-A-C-8333A9021-Hard-Start-Kit-/141566700340?hash=item20f6086b34&vxp=mtr . The 2 run capacitors I purchased locally were $6 each. The Coleman compressor relay switch was $18 from ebay; http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coleman-1460-1131-Air-Conditioner-AC-Compressor-Relay-/252033718646?hash=item3aae615976&vxp=mtr

Tested A/C running for 1 hour run time, everything is now working with #1 and #2 compressors running  :).
 

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Thanks John,
For now I'll just leave the control board alone. Green LED light is ON and red LED 2 sec delay is ON as well when A/C is running.
It's good to know you have a spare CB.
 

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Bob-

Assuming yours is like mine, the basement air unit is in the very right rear of the coach.  It is behind a ventilated panel.  The panel is kind of like a hatch, only with no latch and no hydraulic struts (IIRC).  It is hinged.  Crawl underneath and you will see some screws near the bottom securing the hatch to the framework.  Remove those screws and lift up the hatch.  As you look at the A/C unit, most of it will be the cooling fins.  To the left, but facing you, is a black metal panel about 10"x18" (approx.)  That is also secured by some screws near the bottom.  Remove screws and remove panel and you will see the birds nest of wires and capacitors, etc.

Of course Art has his close at hand so maybe he can take a photo to show you.

-Scott
 
Thanks Scott.
I posted the same problem several weeks ago and received some good advice on several items to check out, but so far I haven't had the time to get to this project yet, and I don't have the wherewithal to actually pull the unit out.
Our last trip from Milwaukee was unbearably hot in the coach with the AC running the entire trip with inside temps roughly the same as ambient (84-87 degrees). The odd thing is it's running and blowing cool air. On the gennie it's reading 13 amps. This thread seems to point to a spot on solution.
I'm encouraged that I don't have to pull the unit to check this out.
 
Watching this thread with interest. Just before we flew back to the UK for the summer, our basement air was running around 19 amps instead of the normal 24/25 on shore power and only 13 amps on the generator.  It looked as though the 2nd compressor wasn't firing up on the genny power and I asked at the time about this but wasn't able to resolve it.  Without wanting in any way to hijack this thread, any ideas?

Dougie.
 
Bob, I have a 2001 Itasca Sunflyer, so I don't know if yours is different but maybe similar.
As Scott described to you, there maybe more than one screws that you have to remove in order to lift and open the door panel. On mine, the forward screws can be accessed by opening the propane tank door panel. The other rearward screws are located underneath the basement framework. See photos. Mine only have two screws. Once you open the door panel, you see a black metal door to the left of the A/C condenser. That is where all the wiring, circuit board, and capacitors are located. Be sure you disconnect the shore power when doing this. Capacitors sometimes store voltage in them if they just been powered recently. Good Luck.
 

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