AC not working

[cuffer101]

Went to florida this January for a month, the second day there, I flipped the air on to cool it down alittle bit. If I remember right, It started for about a minute and then quit. I decided to fix it this spring...... well, it's spring. All it will do is make one click from the ceiling unit when you turn it on. Turn the switch off and turn it back on...... click. The same if you turn just air on, just the one click from the ceiling unit. Any ideas at all, I know nothing about AC. Chuck

[Drake]

Is the click mechanical...ie. the switch or does it sound electrical...as if something tries to come on then powers off? I'd start with the fuse panel.

[cuffer101]

When I turn the wall switch on, There is a click up on the ceiling unit. Or I can turn just the air on, it does the same thing, click. So I would say that there is power going up to the unit. Chuck

[Sunline Fan]

So the fan doesn't even stay running? I've heard of the compressor not starting, which is more common, but the fan keeps running then.

Does the fan come on/stay running if you turn the thermostat on just fan mode (not cool mode)?

[cuffer101]

No, fan doesn't come on at all. Just a click. Nothing comes on.

[EMD_Driver]

Something you may want to look at...

My 2653's fan would also not run. I removed the intake grill and physically tried turning the fan. It was frozen solid. It turned out to be a mud daubber's nest.. A big one. Once I cleared it out, the fan runs fine.

Also, Sometimes water condenses on the fan/motor shaft and causes it to rust. You can sometimes turn it by hand and free it up. If it is rusted solid, replacement is the only option.

[cuffer101]

Ok, I'll try that this weekend after work, hope it works.

[cuffer101]

It's the weekend, sunny, 55 degrees, got my plywood out to get on the roof. Took the cover off, boy is that thing brittle, may have to get another one. Anywho, the shaft on the motor turns very freely. There is no wasps or mud daubbers nest at all. Whole unit looks nice and clean. I went back in and checked on the ceiling, it still just clicks in the metal box. Now what??? Is there anyway to put power from a extenstion cord to check things out?? Chuck

[Gene]

Chuck, Is that click on the "fan only" setting or are you turning it to cool?

Even the so called heavy duty extension cords are usually only #16 wire. You need a short #12 minumum or better a #10 wire cord. The #16 wire extension cord will handle the fan but not the AC compressor.

[cuffer101]

Gene, If I turn the ac on and off, it just clicks. If I turn the fan on, it just clicks. All the clicking is from the metal box in the ceiling. Chuck

[Gene]

I have been looking for some wiring diagrams but not sure just which model AC you have. I am guessing it does NOT look like the picture below of mine.

The clicking sounds like a relay operating and mine doesn't have a relay. I did see some wiring diagrams online that had an electronic control unit that required 12 volts DC to operate and had an external thermostat which is what I suspect you have.

Here is a link to a diagnostic document which is a 3meg PDF file but I think it may just be confusing if you are not familiar with the AC. http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/ccc.pdf

I am sure someone here may be able to shed more light on this.

[cuffer101]

Thanks Gene, I've been looking at some old posts of John's, He also had the 2499. I have a call into my younger brother, he is a jack of all trades, Hoping he can help.

[JohnB]

Hi Chuck,

Just came back from camping and saw your post.

H'mm, your Durotherm needs both 120 VAC and 12 VDC.

Odds are high the click is the fan relay on the control board of the roof unit. That click would come from the 12 VDC side.

Since your fan spins free, and you hear a click but no fan, even when you are on "fan only" then this is going to take some electrical trouble shooting.

1st is to verify you have 120 VAC going to the AC unit. I know this sounds strange but is the 20 amp circuit breaker in the panel on and reset?

I do not know how electrically friendly you are. How friendly are you?

This sort of boils down to, is the problem in the control board

This area







The control board itself


Or is it on the roof unit?




The combo motor starting capacitor


Basically you or your brother has to sort out is it the control board of up on the roof? Or is this too much for you.

The fan and compressor relays are just contactors. If you have a 120 volt light you can unplug the compressor and the fan wires off the board and test with the test light. If the relay board is good, you can hot wire the roof unit to see is the motors are OK. The fan only can run on a 15 amp circuit but you will need a solid 20 amps to run the compressor and fan.

Odds are high IF 1st you have 120 VAC to the control board area, must verify this, then it is the control board or maybe a starting capacitor up top.

If you are not electrical friendly, do not attempt any of this.If brother can, then this is pretty straight forward and we can give him some pointers on how it is suppose to work so he can back into what is and what is not working.

Hope this helps

John

[cuffer101]

Hi John, This morning I took the trim down around the inside of the AC so I could see up there. It looks just like your pics. Now I can hear and feel the click in the control board. My brother is downstate for awhile, so he can't help. If it's the control, can you still get them and what's the cost, just in case. Chuck

[JohnB]

Chuck

This is where I "might have" bought mine. Parts are still very available. I searched and hunted down the Dometic parts list and then had to cross reference to the new parts number. If your not into the search and destroy mission, best is write all the serial numbers down and call

Duo Therm Parts for Air Conditioners for Sale - PPL Motor Homes

Enter the online parts catalog. Click again until you some to a part search area.

Where it says search by category, use the pull down and go to air conditioners

Then go to Duotherm Brisk air. Or just plain call them. You will need all the serial numbers. Odds are high the circuit broad you have has been upgraded. Mine was and it was a 2004.

I cannot find the actual sales slip. Which is odd. I have this note stating

Control Kit 3107541.009 use 3310727007 relay board 3106996.022

The entire module (the steel box and all) 3106997.004

I did a hit on 3310727007 relay board and found one of the capacitors I bought

Dometic 3310727.007 Motor Starter Kit Trailer Camper RV

Then did a hit on relay board 3106996.022
Dometic 3106996.022 Heat and Cool Relay Analog Control Board Kit Camper Trailer RV

Then did the entire module
Mobile Home and RV Parts

And the other capacitor
Dometic 3313107.027 3100248.420 Run Start Fan Capacitor 30 50 MFD Cap

I have bought from American RV and PPL. The others are just hits on the web so you can get a handle on pricing.

Parts are not that bad. If brother can check out the relay with a meter/test light, he can then hot wire/jump the fan on high and it should run or the start capacitor on the fan may be bad. You really have to sort out if it is the control board or the up on the roof.

Hope this helps

John

[cuffer101]

Ok, I had my brother look at the ac and try to troubleshoot it. He tried but no success. So I called the local camper dealer, They said bring it in and they would fit it around other things they had going on. It was going to cost $100 find the problem, plus what ever it took to fix the AC. Well, they called last night, said it was fixed. Cost me the $100 dollars plus $12.00 to do it. I was ready to just throw parts at it, but it wouldn't not have fixed it. It was a broken wire in the distribution panel. The wire was making just enough contact to make the clicking sound in the ceiling. Thanks John and everbody else who tried to help me. Much appreciated. Chuck

[JohnB]

That is not a bad deal. Think of it as a cool 112...

It hit 88F here today.... the weather is nuts... we had frost on Monday morning