Ac not working

[3wheeler]

Well looks like my ac has crapped out. I noticed it was gettin warm in the camper so I felt a couple of vents and the air wasn't cool. Thank goodness we have bedroom air. Climbed up on top,removed cover and checked it. The compressor is running but appears to be very low to out of freon. Since I am camping, I called my dealer to see if they could help me out. Told me to call dutchmen/keystone customer service. They told me to call Dometic. Dometic said to take it to a dealer. I asked them if they would send a mobile rv service out and they said they don't do that. I said I aint taking it to a dealer in the middle of my camping trip to let it set for several days. Anyway, I located some piercing valves and gonna install them tomorrow so I can attach guages and see whats going on. If its low on gas, I'll re-charge it and see how long it lasts. I might end up replacing it with another brand. I don't know about everybody else, but I aint like our ac unit since day one. It makes so much fan/air noise, you can't hear anything else. Its by far the loudest rv ac that I have ever heard.

[EricNSTL]

Once you put in piercing valves, you will void you warrantee. There has to be service ports on the unit, and you shouldn't need to add the valves.


I would get it fixed, no reason to spend the cash on a new one when yours is brand new. As far as I know, they all make a fan/air noise.

[3wheeler]

Originally Posted by EricNSTL

Once you put in piercing valves, you will void you warrantee. There has to be service ports on the unit, and you shouldn't need to add the valves.


I would get it fixed, no reason to spend the cash on a new one when yours is brand new. As far as I know, they all make a fan/air noise.

I've never seen a rooftop rv unit with service ports. Most look just like a window unit with the cover off. I'm not saying they don't exist, I've just never seen one. Mine included.
I know I will void the warranty, but oh well life goes on. I do HVAC for a living so not a big deal to me. We are camping till next wednesday, then going home for 4 days, then going camping again for 8 days. Not really got time to take to a dealer and let them "get to it when they can."

[memgrove]

It may be a long shot but, is the thermostat/control panel set to "cool" or just run the fan?

[Mole]

I had a similar problem with the AC on our first TT which turned out to be the capacitor. Practically the same symptoms as low pressure to me but I'm just an industrial electrical worker.

[3wheeler]

The compressor is running. The discharge line should burn a blister to the touch but is barely warm. The suction line should be cold but its not. If the cap was bad, the comp wouldn't run.

[wahoonc]

If you take it to the dealer they are going to toss the old unit, no one services RV AC units that I am aware of. The last one I had that COULD be serviced was an Armstrong BayBreeze that was on my 1975 Airstream, that thing was a beast and built like a tank. The only guy I could get to work on it was a buddy of mine that did commercial refrigeration for a living. Somewhere along the way they decided it was more cost effective to build a sealed unit and just throw it away and whack the customer $1500 or so for a new unit rather than make them repairable.

Good luck with it.

Aaron

[3wheeler]

Well its cooling now. Was almost completely out of refrigerant. I didn't see any obvious signs of a leak but there has to be one somewhere. When I get time I'll get my electronic sniffer and some bubbles and see if I can find it. Hopefully it will hold up for a while.