A/C and Heat

[North Texas Camper]

While checking out the new to me pup I turned on the a/c and heat to check it out.
The a/c blew but I never heard the compressor kick in.
The heater blew but when I adjusted the thermostat to get the heat stips to kick in the blower cut off and the the heat strips kicked in, then nothing. Didnt trip the breaker or anything it just quit heating and blowing. Then I adjusted the thermostat again and it started blowing again but heat strips werent on.

Is this a possible supply power issue?

[Jim K in PA]

NTC - welcome to PUT.  Perhaps some more info might help.  What year/make/model camper?  What brand model A/C unit?  Is the "heater" a propane furnace?  Voltage will definately affect operation of the gas valve on the furnace.

Trouble shooting systems via internet is not particularly effective, but it never stopped us before! :U  

[North Texas Camper]

NTC - welcome to PUT.  Perhaps some more info might help.  What year/make/model camper?  What brand model A/C unit?  Is the "heater" a propane furnace?  Voltage will definately affect operation of the gas valve on the furnace.

Trouble shooting systems via internet is not particularly effective, but it never stopped us before! :U  

Whooppsss , , , sorry about that. Guess it would be helpful to know a little back ground.

The pup is a '85 Coleman Sequoia with roof mounted a/c heat unit.
120 v. supply power going thru an internal (inside pup) breaker pannel up to the unit which is a "rotary mini-machine" model 6727. Heat/cool assembly 6723A716

I  was running power from a garage outlet thru a #10 extention cord with a adapter on the end so I could hook it up. I initially was going under the assumption that if I had too large of a draw that atleast 1 of the breakers (1 on the house or 1 in the pup) would trip. Both are 20 amp breakers. That is what lead me to think that maybe I had a supply power issue. Maybe needing a 30 amp circuit.
 
Thank you for taking an interest Jim K in PA and thanks for the welcome.

[tlhdoc]

I am not familiar with your AC unit.  Yes it could be a power supply issue.  Try plugging the AC unit into the outlet directly, not going through the campers wiring.  If the AC unit is not getting enough power it will not run correctly and it will damage the AC unit.  You should not need a 30 amp outlet.  The outlet that the AC plugs into should be a 20 amp circuit.  On the heat setting the unit should not draw any more power than a portable heater draws.  I use my AC/heat often.  It will not feel hot when it is blowing out of the vents, because of the speed the fan is blowing it.  It is nice that the AC/heat circulates the hot air out into the bunkends.  When it is hot I use it in conjunction with a cube heater.  Good luck with getting it to work properly.

[4Campers]

This could very well be a power supply issue. I experienced the same thing running the A/C at home on a 120 volt 20 amp outlet. There was not much cooling happening, but when we're on 30 amp power at a CG the A/C can freeze you out even on a hot day.

[North Texas Camper]

Unfortunatly I do not have the addapter to plug the a/c in direct. I will either have to make one or purchase one.

I will be finding out towards the end of this month if it is a supply power issue. We intend to take the pup out on its first trip with us.

Since I was unable to continue with the a/c issue I moved on to other areas over the weekend. What I ran across was the previous owner had filled the water tank and I had failed to check that. Fortunatly the were no damages, but did find that the water pump was froze up so I woked with it, got it working (some what) and emptied the tank.

Now I need to purchase a water pump. It emptied the tank but wasn't doing so well.

I do thank everyone for thier interest and ideas on my a/c and heat issue. I will keep you all posted as to what I find out.

Thanks again . . .  
Carl

[wavery]

Unfortunatly I do not have the addapter to plug the a/c in direct. I will either have to make one or purchase one.

I will be finding out towards the end of this month if it is a supply power issue. We intend to take the pup out on its first trip with us.

Since I was unable to continue with the a/c issue I moved on to other areas over the weekend. What I ran across was the previous owner had filled the water tank and I had failed to check that. Fortunatly the were no damages, but did find that the water pump was froze up so I woked with it, got it working (some what) and emptied the tank.

Now I need to purchase a water pump. It emptied the tank but wasn't doing so well.

I do thank everyone for thier interest and ideas on my a/c and heat issue. I will keep you all posted as to what I find out.

Thanks again . . .  
Carl

I tried to find an adapter for that silly 20A outlet and couldn't. I finally purchased a good HD 15A plug and replace it.

It doesn't sound good that the blower started the 2nd time and the heat strip didn't come on. You may have burned out the heat strip.

I would definitely not turn the AC on until you resolve the voltage issue. You may burn out the compressor. They don't like low voltage.

If you have a multi-meter, try plugging in a small electric heater in one of the outlets then check the voltage at another outlet. If it is 105V or lower, you have an issue with your power supply or wiring.

I would unplug the camper, pull the power supply out and check all of the connections for a loose or corroded connection. The 110V side of the power supply is nothing more than a circuit breaker box, like in your home. It really does nothing more than distribute the voltage to different circuit breakers.

If you have 110V at the end of your extension cord, you should have 110V at your outlets in the camper. If you don't, you have a loose connection or a corroded buss bar (where the breakers snap in) or a bad breaker or a bad power cord.

The first thing that I would check would be the solid copper ground wire that attaches to the frame. I would pull it off of it's connector, sand the end of the wire, put it back in the connector and tighten it real good. Most power problems are from a bad ground.

BTW.....this could also be the cause of your w/pump running slow. Check the voltage on your 12V side as well. Make sure that you have some lights on when you check the voltage. No draw voltage can be very deceiving. It is important to have a substantial draw when you check your voltage....both on 12V and 110V.

No draw voltage may be 12V but as soon as you put a draw on it, it may drop to 9 or 10V due to a bad ground or connector somewhere.

[North Texas Camper]

I tried to find an adapter for that silly 20A outlet and couldn't. I finally purchased a good HD 15A plug and replace it.

It doesn't sound good that the blower started the 2nd time and the heat strip didn't come on. You may have burned out the heat strip.

I would definitely not turn the AC on until you resolve the voltage issue. You may burn out the compressor. They don't like low voltage.

If you have a multi-meter, try plugging in a small electric heater in one of the outlets then check the voltage at another outlet. If it is 105V or lower, you have an issue with your power supply or wiring.

I would unplug the camper, pull the power supply out and check all of the connections for a loose or corroded connection. The 110V side of the power supply is nothing more than a circuit breaker box, like in your home. It really does nothing more than distribute the voltage to different circuit breakers.

If you have 110V at the end of your extension cord, you should have 110V at your outlets in the camper. If you don't, you have a loose connection or a corroded buss bar (where the breakers snap in) or a bad breaker or a bad power cord.

The first thing that I would check would be the solid copper ground wire that attaches to the frame. I would pull it off of it's connector, sand the end of the wire, put it back in the connector and tighten it real good. Most power problems are from a bad ground.

BTW.....this could also be the cause of your w/pump running slow. Check the voltage on your 12V side as well. Make sure that you have some lights on when you check the voltage. No draw voltage can be very deceiving. It is important to have a substantial draw when you check your voltage....both on 12V and 110V.

No draw voltage may be 12V but as soon as you put a draw on it, it may drop to 9 or 10V due to a bad ground or connector somewhere.

The plug on the a/c is what we use at work for 208v. 1 vertical 1 horizonal and then the ground prong.
All of the papers I have on the unit says it is 120v. I will wait on the air until I take it out later this month. (which is killing me waiting to camp)

As for the heat, it will continue the same cycle as long I continue playing with it. It will blow then after adjusting the thermostat the blower cuts off and the heat strip kicks in then it all cuts off, then I can lower the stat and the blower will come back on. I can repeat the same thing over and over. I beleve the heat strip should cut off on a over heat (lack of better term) since the blower is not removing the hot air.

I knew I had 2 different cords to plug in. 1 for the a/c & heat and the other for the converter. There is a duplex that is run from the breaker pannel for the a/c (under cabnet) and there is another duplex on back wall below small bunk. I have used a heater in that plug with no problems.
I checked the breaker pannel while I was tracking problems with a/c. Ground was still good to frame. That is a Very good point.
I will check the voltage on the converter plug (I know it is not part of the a/c circuit) to prevent any future issues.

The water pump (after I finally dug it out) was in bad shape before I killed it. There was a previous water leak and the pumps water tight integrity had already been jeparized. It was froze up, after I unfroze it , ,  it put up a good fight for the duration of draining the tank but that was all the life it had left. It will be missed (but soon replaced) and it will recieve a burial befitting a hard working water pump that it was.

Thanks for the input wavery. Ill keep you posted.

[coach]

240v 20A is a similar plug as 120v 20A. They both have  1 vertical and 1 horizontal with a ground. Fortunately the vertical and horizontal are switched between them so one can't plug a 120v 20a into a 240v 20a. The 120v has a neutral the 240v has 2 hots!!!!


See NEMA 5-20 and 6-20 plugs
NEMA Plug configurations

[wavery]

As for the heat, it will continue the same cycle as long I continue playing with it. It will blow then after adjusting the thermostat the blower cuts off and the heat strip kicks in then it all cuts off, then I can lower the stat and the blower will come back on. I can repeat the same thing over and over. I beleve the heat strip should cut off on a over heat (lack of better term) since the blower is not removing the hot air.

Thanks for the input wavery. Ill keep you posted.

It sounds like when the heat strip comes on, there is not enough voltage to run the fan. Then when the heat-strip cuts off, the fan comes back on because it has adequate voltage to run. I still think that you may have a low voltage problem.

[spicyville1]

I would take it to the nearest park and hook it up. That way you know for sure you have the correct current to the pup. I know I have tried to hook mine up at home using an extention cord and it just does not work well at all. Works great at the park though. I think it is a lack of amperage to the unit.

[North Texas Camper]

First I want to thank all of you for your input and insight.
I am still leaning REALLY heavy towards the lack of amperage (supply power).

The time for us to take the pup on our first trip is coming soon. Haven't decided where yet. She doesn't want to go to far and I tend to agree until we find out just how well we get along with the pup and vise versa. Im thinking Texoma shes thinking closer.

Thank you all again , , ,  Ill let ya know how everything came out.

Carl

[coach]

Loyd Park in Grand Prarie is nice and close!

Grapevine has a nice park