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JohnnyRad
06-02-2016, 05:16 PM
Hello again everyone, sorry to keep posting questions, just trying to work the kinks out on our new Cougar. I would appreciate some feedback on the Brisk Air II AC. Its the !3,500 BTU unit located in the bedroom. Maybe this has been discussed before but couldn't find a real answer.

When I cut the unit on the compressor kicks in and it cools like a champ for a short while, but after a few minutes I can hear the compressor shut off with the fan running. I'm wondering if there is some trick to keep the AC working so the bedroom would stay at a cooler temp. I thought about adding a wall thermostat so I could set the temperature lower and possibly keep the compressor running longer. Any suggestions?

dcg9381
06-03-2016, 08:29 AM
The compressors will always kick off eventually. This is to prevent the evaporator from freezing up with ice and not flowing any air.
If the compressor goes off and doesn't come back on, you've got a problem.
The AC should continue to hold a ~20 degree drop of ambient. That difference should decrease and eventually the compressor should come back on.

Most of these AC units have a thermistor that detects the temperature on the coils. I wonder if yours is correctly positioned.

JohnnyRad
06-03-2016, 08:44 AM
The compressors will always kick off eventually. This is to prevent the evaporator from freezing up with ice and not flowing any air.
If the compressor goes off and doesn't come back on, you've got a problem.
The AC should continue to hold a ~20 degree drop of ambient. That difference should decrease and eventually the compressor should come back on.

Most of these AC units have a thermistor that detects the temperature on the coils. I wonder if yours is correctly positioned.

Thanks for the response. The compressor does come on but won't cool the bedroom to the desired temperature. Its like the compressor is short cycling. I wanted to try moving the internal thermostat or insulate it somehow to "trick" the unit into thinking its warmer than it is.

BirchyBoy
06-03-2016, 08:47 AM
I'm not familiar with your camper. But, if the A/C is operated via roof controls, not a thermostat, the fan will run continuously and the compressor will come on as needed. You can change this but it requires a new board, thermostat and wiring.

sourdough
06-03-2016, 08:49 AM
Where is your thermostat located? How many do you have?

I have 2 ACs; a 13.5 in the bedroom and a 15k in the living area with one thermostat which is located in the hallway between the living area and bedroom. If I turn on the bedroom AC and I'm not careful the cold air from the bedroom cools off the hallway causing the thermostat for the 15k to turn off letting the living area get warm. Maybe it's something as simple as that.

JohnnyRad
06-03-2016, 08:54 AM
I'm not familiar with your camper. But, if the A/C is operated via roof controls, not a thermostat, the fan will run continuously and the compressor will come on as needed. You can change this but it requires a new board, thermostat and wiring.

Yes its the roof controls. I like the fan constantly running, but I would like the air to be cool instead of lukewarm. I'm thinking it might be a thermostat issue. Just checking opinions...

sourdough
06-03-2016, 09:03 AM
This is a dumb question I'm sure but you do have the temp control knob turned all the way to max cold??

The 13.5 in our bedroom is a Dometic Penguin II and will get the bedroom cold enough to hang beef; even here in FL at the moment. If you have it set to max cold and it still puts out lukewarm air I would have it scheduled to see the dealer. It's a 2016 so should be under warranty I assume.

JohnnyRad
06-03-2016, 09:03 AM
Where is your thermostat located? How many do you have?

I have 2 ACs; a 13.5 in the bedroom and a 15k in the living area with one thermostat which is located in the hallway between the living area and bedroom. If I turn on the bedroom AC and I'm not careful the cold air from the bedroom cools off the hallway causing the thermostat for the 15k to turn off letting the living area get warm. Maybe it's something as simple as that.

The bedroom AC has the roof controls on the unit itself, the other thermostat is in the kitchen. My problem is the bedroom AC wont cool as well as the main unit in the living area. I know the unit in question will work and cool, its that it won't cool enough. Like the internal thermostat is saying its cool enough when in reality it isn't.

JohnnyRad
06-03-2016, 09:04 AM
This is a dumb question I'm sure but you do have the temp control knob turned all the way to max cold??

Haha, yes it is turned to MAX cool

bobbecky
06-03-2016, 02:38 PM
The Dometic A/C's have a two year warranty, regardless of Keystone's warranty. Had our front unit replaced as it had a failed freon system, compressor oil all over the inside of the unit, and this was at less than a year old. It was blowing air, but not at all cool.

JRTJH
06-03-2016, 06:44 PM
There is a "freeze sensor" that is supposed to be mounted in the condenser fins. If it's not pushed in properly or if it's in the wrong location or not hooked up, the compressor will short cycle. Remove the inside filter cover and you should be able to see it mounted in the condenser fins. Hopefully you'll find it not fully pushed in and fixing that will solve your problem.

Good Luck

dcg9381
06-03-2016, 07:02 PM
Thanks for the response. The compressor does come on but won't cool the bedroom to the desired temperature. Its like the compressor is short cycling. I wanted to try moving the internal thermostat or insulate it somehow to "trick" the unit into thinking its warmer than it is.

If the compressor is on and you're not getting a 20 degree temperature difference, something is wrong.

If the unit is short cycling that's a different type of wrong.. :-)

I thought you were describing a short cycle scenario.. you'll need to clarify for best suggestions, but as stated above, 2 year warranty

JohnnyRad
06-04-2016, 05:12 AM
If the compressor is on and you're not getting a 20 degree temperature difference, something is wrong.

If the unit is short cycling that's a different type of wrong.. :-)

I thought you were describing a short cycle scenario.. you'll need to clarify for best suggestions, but as stated above, 2 year warranty

Sorry about that. When the compressor does come on it works great. I have plenty of cold air, the problem is keeping the compressor running. It won't stay on long enough to keep the bedroom comfortable. That's why I'm thinking its a thermostat issue. If I added a wall thermostat I could bring the target temp down so it would be in "cool" mode longer, if that makes sense.

JohnnyRad
06-04-2016, 05:13 AM
There is a "freeze sensor" that is supposed to be mounted in the condenser fins. If it's not pushed in properly or if it's in the wrong location or not hooked up, the compressor will short cycle. Remove the inside filter cover and you should be able to see it mounted in the condenser fins. Hopefully you'll find it not fully pushed in and fixing that will solve your problem.

Good Luck
Thanks I'll check on this today!

Jgkopp
06-04-2016, 07:56 PM
If it only runs a few short mins your problem could be electrical. Components that need to be operational and within spec like the run capacitor could be an issue. The compressor will quickly overheat and trip out a thermal overload causing the compressor to stop running. After a while the thermal overload will reset and this will turn back on the compressor but it will quickly shut back down if electrical issue cause it to overheat again. Other than this a loss of refrigerant will also cause compressor to stop as this also overheats the compressor. But you said when it runs it cools great so your problem sounds like an electrical issue that is overheating the compressor. If you had an amp meter and new how to use it one would want to check the amp draw when the compressor starts and when it is running to see if it is drawing higher amps than normal. This sounds like the problem and it will take a RV tech to check this out. Use a stop watch to time the run time of the compressor till it trips. Also the time it takes to reset. This would be good info to have for the service writer.