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Old 05-24-2010, 04:13 PM   #1
justrave
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RV air conditioner problems

My air conditioner appears to be working fine but occasionally the circut breaker will trip. It might run several hours before this happens. My filter is clean. It is not freezing on the evaporators It is a Duo-Therm 15,000 btu model.
Any suggestions?
 
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Old 05-24-2010, 04:28 PM   #2
racerjoe
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How is your park power voltage? It sounds like you are getting low voltage and tripping the breaker.
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Old 05-24-2010, 06:27 PM   #3
jackel1959
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It could also be the breaker itself going bad. Sorry I don't have the knowledge of how to test for that other than replacing the breaker. How old is the rig?
Jack
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Old 05-25-2010, 12:10 AM   #4
ole dude
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With the power turned OFF, you might tighten the luds that hold the wires in the breakers--all breakers--and then tighten the neutral lugs also. A loose connection will cause higher amp, extra heat, and can cause a breaker to trip.
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Old 05-25-2010, 12:36 AM   #5
justrave
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My camper is a little over 5 years. Is the breaker a simple repair?
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Old 05-25-2010, 06:16 AM   #6
jackel1959
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justrave,
If you are handy, you should not have a problem replacing the breaker. The procedure is similar to replacing a circuit breaker in a stick home. You may have to get the breaker from an RV supply store depending on the type of breaker it is. Some of the breakers used in our RVs are not the standard types you would find in a stick home. I would try what "ole dude" has suggested first.

DISCLAIMER: I am not an electrician and by no means am I saying to attempt these procedures if you do not feel you are up to it. IF YOU DECIDED TO PROCEED PLEASE REMEMBER...SAFETY FIRST...BEFORE PERFORMING ANY WORK ON THE ELECTRICAL PANEL, FIRST UNPLUG THE RIG FROM SHORE POWER AND DISCONNECT THE BATTERY. IF YOU DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE WORKING WITH ELECTRICITY AND ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS FIX AND HIRE A PROFESSIONAL!!!!

Jack
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Old 05-26-2010, 04:58 AM   #7
dmacy
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A loose connection will not cause a breaker to trip. At 120 volts a loose connection will cause resistance to increase and amperage to drop. Simple Ohms Law.

Dave
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Old 05-26-2010, 05:32 AM   #8
Bill and Lisa
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Okay Dave,
would low current cause the breaker to trip? (I think the answer is no)
would the increased resistance, which leads to an increase in temperature, cause the breaker to trip on a thermal limit? (I don't know)

It is clear from your answer that you disagree with someone else's idea. While it is helpful to know that an answer is incorrect it is even more helpful to suggest something that would help justrave fix his problems. Do you have any suggestions on what he should look at?
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Old 05-27-2010, 10:14 PM   #9
Fjkiss
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Turn the power off and check the wire nuts at the A/C unit. mine were so loose it melted the one white wire and the wire nut.
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Old 05-28-2010, 06:39 AM   #10
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Verrrryyyy Interesting.
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Old 05-28-2010, 02:59 PM   #11
dmacy
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I would say that it must be a bad breaker or an excessive load (high amperage). As fjkiss mentioned a bad connection will cause high heat (high resistance) but did not trip their breaker because amperage dropped. When breakers start to fail they trip easily. Square D seems to be the one breaker that trips extreamly easy when it starts to fail. I did send justrave a private message about my thoughts I just didn't post it until now. Sorry about that.
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Old 07-06-2010, 01:44 PM   #12
Colden
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So, justrave, did any of these suggestions solve your problem?

We just came back from a 4th wknd camping trip in Erie PA. We got back from the beach on Sat aft to find the campground breaker had tripped and the a/c was off - that was a hot camper!. We re-set it and shortly thereafter, it tripped again (30 amps). We moved the Monty up about 4 ft so we could plug right into the 50 amp circuit and while the a/c would run for about a minute, it then tripped the inside fuse. DH will be working on it this wknd. Amazing how HOT it can get w/ no breeze and no a/c. Don't know how our ancestors did it!!!

Thanks for the thought on fixes. I'll be passing this info on to him!
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Old 07-07-2010, 10:16 AM   #13
pbahlin
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My breaker started doing this today. It trips and when reset the AC runs fine for another 2 hours or so. I've measured voltage and it is 116-118 (several different measurements at different times). My outside temp right now is 106 (yikes) and it is 90 inside. The (single) air conditioner in my Big Sky can't keep up in the heat we are having.

I'm concerned about the tripping but not so much as I would be on a normal day. I'm guessing that with the heat we are experiencing the power is not what it should be even though 116 volts doesn't seem so bad. There could be hiccups on the line that you can't catch with a one time measurement and the air conditioner is seeing it all (and struggling).
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Old 07-07-2010, 10:27 AM   #14
CamillaMichael
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We had problems with the A/C tripping the circuit breaker on our previous (SOB) rig...but only at certain parks and when it was particularly hot outside. All I can offer is experience and observation: I believe the power management system in the SOB was somewhat sensitive to power flux and during excessive heat the A/C was drawing a lot of power...maybe too much for the 30amp input we had at the time. As a result we had to keep reducing power use (turning off things) and resetting the circuit breaker. This all made for a very bad situation if we wanted or needed to leave the rig for any length of time because we would need to leave the puppy at "home" and worry all the while when away: will the power kick off and leave the puppy in an oven?
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Old 07-07-2010, 03:27 PM   #15
pbahlin
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Update:

My breaker is no longer tripping and my voltage has gone from a low of 116 to presently a fat 121 volts. I'm thinking my previous guess was correct. The grid sagged a bit today, causing my current draw to increase slightly and this coupled with a wickedly hot day put a serious load on the compressor making the breaker pop. Now that temps (it's 9:00 and temp is 85) moderated the breaker is fine.
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Old 07-08-2010, 05:21 AM   #16
Ozz
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Glad it is running, folks keep the condenser coils clean, (rooftop coils, clean with Simple Green and a mild spray.) and also the filter.
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Old 07-08-2010, 02:10 PM   #17
Waynem
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A loose connect can reduce the number of strands that are passing current. If the voltage drops, the current will increase. This can cause the breaker to trip. If the line voltage is fluctuating at the pedestal it can cause serious problems. That is why I purchased the PT-50C Surge Protector with Voltage Protection, from Progressive Industries (rvupgrades.com was cheapest)

At a CG yesterday, leg 1 was 101 volts, and leg 2 was 124 volts. Unfortunately my AC's run off of Leg 1. The CG reversed the leads on the pedestal so the AC would run through the night if needed. Apparently everything stabilized and both were in the 120's by the time we went to bed.

I'll never leave home without it!!

Edited:
Oh! The PT-50C will cut the voltage to the RV if it drops below 104V, or above 132V. It polls the voltage for each leg, and when the voltage comes to within normal (104-132v) it will automatically reset and power the RV.

Also, for those with generators, you can get an automatic start. If the pedestal voltage disappears the generator will start. When the voltage re-appears at the pedestal the generator will stop. At least that is the way I understand it.
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Old 07-08-2010, 03:18 PM   #18
pbahlin
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One thing I've been experimenting with is the fan setting. When your fan is set to 'auto', it comes on whenever the compressor comes on. This means you've got a momentary starting surge for the blower and compressor going through your breaker at the same time.

I've set mine to 'med' today. This makes the fan run regardless of whether the compressor is making cold or not. But it also means no concurrent surges (compressor and blower). At night I set it to 'low' and this prevents that 1 AM stagnant air when the outside temp gets low enough to keep the compressor from firing up. It kind of goes against the grain to run the blower all the time as it seems wasteful but in the long run it increases comfort level without setting low temps so it might actually be saving money.
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Old 07-17-2010, 01:43 AM   #19
dmacy
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I just have to chime in on this issue. A loose or bad connection will NOT! cause a breaker to trip. No matter how many strands of wire are feeding a circuit the voltage will remain the same. If supply or voltage available is low, amperage will increase causing a breaker to trip. Low voltage on the on the supply box can do it. If resistance remains the same and voltage goes down amperage increases. If voltage remains the same and resistance goes up (bad connection) amperage goes down. If amperage goes up and voltage stays the same resistance goes down. This is all simple OHMS Law and goes a long way in understanding electrical problems. I highly recommend anyone trying to solve an electrical problem take a crash course in OHMS Law.
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Old 07-17-2010, 05:38 AM   #20
SlickWillie
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by dmacy

I just have to chime in on this issue. A loose or bad connection will NOT! cause a breaker to trip. No matter how many strands of wire are feeding a circuit the voltage will remain the same. If supply or voltage available is low, amperage will increase causing a breaker to trip. Low voltage on the on the supply box can do it. If resistance remains the same and voltage goes down amperage increases. If voltage remains the same and resistance goes up (bad connection) amperage goes down. If amperage goes up and voltage stays the same resistance goes down. This is all simple OHMS Law and goes a long way in understanding electrical problems. I highly recommend anyone trying to solve an electrical problem take a crash course in OHMS Law.
I would agree with most of your post. However, a loose connection on the breaker will cause excessive heat and the breaker will trip easier. Also, one needs a little understanding regarding impedance in AC circuits.
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