AC problems

[Plumbtrician]

Hey guys, we’re on a 4 day trip and the ac is acting up. 2019 243 BHS Bullet. Been on 6-8 trips with absolutely no issues whatsoever. Here are the symptoms today:

- Air is cool when it blows, but not cold. Feels like it’s 5-10 degrees warmer than what it’s been.

- About once an hour, fan will turn off and compressor will stay on for 3-4 seconds then comes back on. Will do this 3-4 times, then continues to run.

- Unit will not come on when it needs to. I have to turn thermostat off then back on for the AC to run. Doesn’t matter how low I put thermostat. And it runs almost constantly because the warmer air coming from unit isn’t cooling it down like it has in the past. I have to get up in the middle of the night to turn it off then back on.

- My 7 yr old said he heard a loud clicking coming from inside the unit when he was standing under it. I didn’t hear this myself, and haven’t heard it since.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.

[ChuckS]

The loud clicking noise is a set of relays in the gateway unit that arent engaging properly and may be the cause of your lack of cooling... Im assuming you can actually hear the compressor kick on after the initial timer delay when fan comes on... ?

[Plumbtrician]

Yes I can hear compressor come on. Are these relays in the grey colored junction box that I see when I remove grill on inside?

[ChuckS]

Yes and there should be many wires running to it and to the thermostat and AC unit

Inside are 3 relays.. one for the AC Fan, one for the AC compressor, and one for the heater if a wall thermostat is used to control both AC and furnace

[Plumbtrician]

Thanks Chuck, I’ve ordered a replacement control box. Also, I climbed up on top to remove cover on ac unit and the bottom third of the coils were iced over. Is this something to be concerned about? Or is it because it’s 98 degrees out?

[ChuckS]

run the fan on Hi position to prevent icing the condenser up... if that doesnt resolve icing issue then freon level may be low and its a closed system

[Plumbtrician]

Great, thanks Chuck.

[BeagleMan]

run the fan on Hi position to prevent icing the condenser up... if that doesnt resolve icing issue then freon level may be low and its a closed system

A/C not cooling here either. Ran fine and very cold till yesterday. Had a storm blow through, then about an hour later, the power at the Park went out. Turn A/C back on and it wont get cold again. We are thinking there maybe icing in there. We've had it off for several hours now, thinking it might melt. Any idea how long that can take? Cleaned filters and all. but, only slept 2 hours last night. I'm withering on the vine here. If I were to turn it back on, do so in your suggestion? Fan on HIGH? Been told to leave it on Auto and COLD.

[Northofu1]

Good morning Andrew,
I'm going to ask what all IT guys ask. Have you tried turning it off then on again.
Checked fuses? When the power went out it might have caused a fuse to blow. How long was the power out for?
Adding your tv and tt / 5er to a signature partially helps folks when trying to figure out what might be the problem and how to fix it.
Thanks

[BeagleMan]

Good morning Andrew,
I'm going to ask what all IT guys ask. Have you tried turning it off then on again.
Checked fuses? When the power went out it might have caused a fuse to blow. How long was the power out for?
Adding your tv and tt / 5er to a signature partially helps folks when trying to figure out what might be the problem and how to fix it.
Thanks

Good morning sir. We have done the turn off/turn on bit. Same results.

Fuses!!!! :facepalm: I'll check right now. Get back to you.

Okayyyy! LOL. I'll do my signature. :banghead:

[BeagleMan]

Oh, by the way....Until I get my Signature up, I have a 2019 Keystone Outback 260UML.

I checked the fuses and breakers, nothing tripped but I did go ahead and flipped the AC breaker of and back on. Think I should fire it up and see what happens?

[BeagleMan]

My apologies for the hijack, Plumbtrician

[BeagleMan]

Nothing. Flipped the breaker back and forth, waited a bit then turned it on. Still blowing room temp air. Starting to get a little miffed. not at yall. LOL

[JRTJH]

Depending on the thermostat that Keystone installed, there may be a 2 amp fuse on the back of the thermostat.

Do you have an EMS on your trailer? If not, when the power went off, it may have 'surged" causing the compressor to fail

[Plumbtrician]

Ours would start to cool off somewhat after about 2 hours of running, but it never got down below 78 degrees inside the camper. When we got home I ordered a new thermostat and control box. Replaced them, and didn’t change anything. Next step will be taking it back to the dealer I guess.

[BeagleMan]

Depending on the thermostat that Keystone installed, there may be a 2 amp fuse on the back of the thermostat.

Do you have an EMS on your trailer? If not, when the power went off, it may have 'surged" causing the compressor to fail

I do have a surge protector from Camco.

Not sure where the thermostat is, but we do have a mobile tech coming tomorrow to look a it. Raining all day and at least in the low 70s, so looking at this as a boondock opp. THanks all for your help!

[Plumbtrician]

Please keep us updated curious to know what becomes of that since we’re having identical issues.

[travelin texans]

I do have a surge protector from Camco.

Not sure where the thermostat is, but we do have a mobile tech coming tomorrow to look a it. Raining all day and at least in the low 70s, so looking at this as a boondock opp. THanks all for your help!

The thermostat should be on the wall somewhere, where ever it is you're turning the AC on/off from.
A surge protector is not necessarily an EMS! The SP is just that, it only protects from surges. The EMS will protect from every possible electrical issues other than a direct lightening strike.
If it's not an EMS I'd upgrade ASAP!

[BeagleMan]

Please keep us updated curious to know what becomes of that since we’re having identical issues.

I sure will. The warranty clique is out today, no mobile techs to be had, but we do have something lined up for Wednesday morning. At least its not blazing hot here now and temps are falling as the week goes on. We have fans that are helping. Just looking at it as a boondocking pre-requisite. LOL.

[BeagleMan]

The thermostat should be on the wall somewhere, where ever it is you're turning the AC on/off from.
A surge protector is not necessarily an EMS! The SP is just that, it only protects from surges. The EMS will protect from every possible electrical issues other than a direct lightening strike.
If it's not an EMS I'd upgrade ASAP!

Ok, I call it the control box. :facepalm: I'll look at this and see what I can muster up. You think we should just shut it off for the day? And start it up in the morning?

Oh we will upgrade for sure on a EMS. This is just the beginning purchase. Bought it before knowing the differences. You have a recommendation?

[travelin texans]

Ok, I call it the control box. :facepalm: I'll look at this and see what I can muster up. You think we should just shut it off for the day? And start it up in the morning?

Oh we will upgrade for sure on a EMS. This is just the beginning purchase. Bought it before knowing the differences. You have a recommendation?

Progressive Industries (PI) was the brand I had in the portable version. They also have a hardwired with a remote display. They are pricey but cheap insurance as compared to replacing acs, fridge, microwave or any other electronics onboard.

[wiredgeorge]

A/C not cooling here either. Ran fine and very cold till yesterday. Had a storm blow through, then about an hour later, the power at the Park went out. Turn A/C back on and it wont get cold again. We are thinking there maybe icing in there. We've had it off for several hours now, thinking it might melt. Any idea how long that can take? Cleaned filters and all. but, only slept 2 hours last night. I'm withering on the vine here. If I were to turn it back on, do so in your suggestion? Fan on HIGH? Been told to leave it on Auto and COLD.


Leave the fan on HIGH as the start up amp draw is more when both fan and A/C condenser kicks on. Also when you ice up, leave the fan on high and the ice will melt a whole lot faster. As already noted, the fan tends to ice up if the fan speed is on low.

[CampNBrew2]

We do not use our AC much but I did notice recently that the fan would should down for a few seconds and restart, while the compressor continues running. Seems it maybe went from high to low speed? I was curious about this but forgot to look into it further. Following :)

[wiredgeorge]

I have an old camper with analog thermostat. There is a board inside the lower A/C assembly (can't recall name) that the wires from the thermostat plug into. This is simplest and most reliable set up although I can't use a remote or my phone, etc. Any A/C I have owned did NOT change fan speeds or have the fan stop running if set in either the HIGH or LOW fan speed setting. I leave my fan running if the A/C is on (and on high) and leave it running if we turn the A/C off at night in cooler weather to circulate air. I am not sure but don't think the fan should change speeds automatically or turn off/on. Dunno for sure as this may be a function of newer tech.

[ajlight]

Are the filters clean?

[BeagleMan]

Are the filters clean?


Yes they are.

[BeagleMan]

Leave the fan on HIGH as the start up amp draw is more when both fan and A/C condenser kicks on. Also when you ice up, leave the fan on high and the ice will melt a whole lot faster. As already noted, the fan tends to ice up if the fan speed is on low.

Been running the fan on HIGH for 2 days now. Still just blowing air. We got 2 fans to get us through. Its not been terrible tho. Not blazing hot here and supposed to cool down more in the next couple of days. Service was supposed to come Monday, but they're not mobile techs. Warranty folks found us one today, going to be approved for warranty work today then comes tomorrow morning. Like i said, its not too bad, but I'm getting a feel like I'm boondocking. Kinda like it. :D

[Plumbtrician]

What did you find out?

[BeagleMan]

Well, we think it was the control board but the compressor would run and blow air but not get cold. Everything checked out soooooo, he was a guy that looked in my DWs post on FB and thought, hmm, 192 responses and comments and no one is fixing it. So, he fell out of the sky and was close by to us. He works on Tour Buses, not RVs, but knows the biz. He had some FEMA trailers he has been working on, so he just traded out one of theirs for ours and now all is well. In fact, we were freezing this morning with it on 70*. :lol: But, everything is right in the world now. Thanks for asking...