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Old 09-11-2007, 12:28 PM   #1
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We have had an incredibly frustrating and very intermittent problem with our AC unit ever since the coach was new that we have tried to have repaired every now and then as the opportunity presented itself.

After a day of traveling in hot climates, the AC unit would sometimes blow ambient temperature air (as in NOT cold.) The current draw was nominal, the diagnostic lights on the control board were indicating normal, and we could plainly distinguish the deep rumbling of the compressors. Fortunately, we could call the unit back to life by turning the thermostat off and on (up to five times) and "cycling" the unit. Once we were set up and the AC was running, it would run for days or even weeks with out a problem! We could change it from cool to heat mode and it also worked fine. If we started the gen set in the morning along with the AC unit, it ran fine all day long!

Last year (or the year before), Winnie factory service replaced the freeze sensors and the thermostat just to try something since it worked fine for them (of course.) After we started traveling this season, it started acting up again so thanks to Bryan at Winnebago Service Admin, he got RVP involved and we arranged to be met in a campground by a tech from the RVP factory in Wichita right after we arrived from a day on the road.

Dale Cox from RVP met us as we pulled into USI campground and we went through our normal routine of jacks down, slides out, etc. The big moment came when we fired up the AC. And it, or course, worked

Dale rationalized the most likely suspect was the control board so off we go the next day to an RV dealer to have a new control board installed.

Fast forward about a month and the AC unit starts doing the same old trick of blowing ambient air. I call Dale and give him the bad news. Dale talks to the RVP engineers to see if they have any ideas - nope - no ideas there. I contacted Bryan about my frustration of having essentially wasted a detour to Wichita for nothing and he said he would look into what else could be done.

Bryan arranged for RVP to replace the entire unit so back we go to Wichita! The tech at Adventure RV did a great job of the replacement and I was very fortunate to be able to hang around the service bay and take pictures (link to the pictures).

We are extremely appreciative of Winnebago and RVP's willingness to go to quite a bit of expense to fix a problem they never personally observed. This makes us very, very proud to be part of the Winnebago family.
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Old 09-11-2007, 12:28 PM   #2
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We have had an incredibly frustrating and very intermittent problem with our AC unit ever since the coach was new that we have tried to have repaired every now and then as the opportunity presented itself.

After a day of traveling in hot climates, the AC unit would sometimes blow ambient temperature air (as in NOT cold.) The current draw was nominal, the diagnostic lights on the control board were indicating normal, and we could plainly distinguish the deep rumbling of the compressors. Fortunately, we could call the unit back to life by turning the thermostat off and on (up to five times) and "cycling" the unit. Once we were set up and the AC was running, it would run for days or even weeks with out a problem! We could change it from cool to heat mode and it also worked fine. If we started the gen set in the morning along with the AC unit, it ran fine all day long!

Last year (or the year before), Winnie factory service replaced the freeze sensors and the thermostat just to try something since it worked fine for them (of course.) After we started traveling this season, it started acting up again so thanks to Bryan at Winnebago Service Admin, he got RVP involved and we arranged to be met in a campground by a tech from the RVP factory in Wichita right after we arrived from a day on the road.

Dale Cox from RVP met us as we pulled into USI campground and we went through our normal routine of jacks down, slides out, etc. The big moment came when we fired up the AC. And it, or course, worked

Dale rationalized the most likely suspect was the control board so off we go the next day to an RV dealer to have a new control board installed.

Fast forward about a month and the AC unit starts doing the same old trick of blowing ambient air. I call Dale and give him the bad news. Dale talks to the RVP engineers to see if they have any ideas - nope - no ideas there. I contacted Bryan about my frustration of having essentially wasted a detour to Wichita for nothing and he said he would look into what else could be done.

Bryan arranged for RVP to replace the entire unit so back we go to Wichita! The tech at Adventure RV did a great job of the replacement and I was very fortunate to be able to hang around the service bay and take pictures (link to the pictures).

We are extremely appreciative of Winnebago and RVP's willingness to go to quite a bit of expense to fix a problem they never personally observed. This makes us very, very proud to be part of the Winnebago family.
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Old 09-11-2007, 12:49 PM   #3
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Great pics, as usual, John. When the new unit was installed, is there anything special needed to re-do the ductwork connections or does the install rely on those foam pads just pressing up to the ducts?

Great service from Winne, for sure. Bryan is the man!
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Old 09-11-2007, 12:59 PM   #4
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Gary - there are two "Z" shaped keepers that grab the duct flange and as I recall the plastic duct flange also had screws around its perimeter that screw it to the AC sheet metal.

When I move to coach to its concrete pad, I'll get under the duct area and do some leak checking. I think the seal is real good now, but I can't afford to have any of that cold air escape!!
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Old 09-11-2007, 01:37 PM   #5
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Good pics with descriptions as usual John!
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Old 09-11-2007, 02:25 PM   #6
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Hey John,
Nice job but I would really like to get the part number for that fine looking door holder they used! That is the cat's meaow. I think it is called improvising.
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Old 09-11-2007, 03:59 PM   #7
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Nice job by Winnebago and RVP stepping up to do this.

Did you have the 5 year extended warranty from RVP on the unit or was this 100% goodwill?

Looking at the last few pics, I assume the sheet metal over the condensor coils was removed before they closed the side up.
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Old 09-11-2007, 04:49 PM   #8
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We sent the warranty cards in for every major assembly on the coach and also purchased whatever extension that particular manufacturer offered as soon as we took delivery.

I believe some of the extensions cover parts only and not labor.

Not sure, but I believe Winnebago and RVP shared the expense of the replacement whatever wasn't considered warranty.

Yup - that piece of protective sheet metal is still in Wichita!

BTW - the pole that held up the door was taken from a discarded portable easel. Jim the tech recognized a jewel in the broken easel.
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Old 09-11-2007, 05:34 PM   #9
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Thanks for the photos.

Did you find any dead bats in your old unit??

I was under my old 1994 Vectra a few years ago and found a petrified bat on the hardware cloth that covers the condenser blower outlet. It was about a foot from my face when I noticed it. A little startling.

-Tom
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Old 09-11-2007, 07:49 PM   #10
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John

Interesting to see your pictures and compare to my unit ...very different. My unit was out 4 times last year ...twice mis-diagnosed for two different problems, so replaced without really being repaired, requiring removal and repair later each time. The last time it was done was in Wichita at Flint Hills RV. Their tech really know what he was doing ...far better than the other three places that worked on it. An independent RV repair shop (not a dealer) in Branson MO was pretty good to. Winnebago dealer was a miserable failure...

My outgoing air is in the same location (and that duct is secured to the unit with about a dozen difficult to reach screws!), but my incoming air duct is on the back (engine) side of the unit. It is "connected" by pressure only as the unit slides in and is secured in place by brackets on the outside edges. The wiring connections are at the rear (to the left facing the unit) rather than on top, and the unit sits on a shelf so literally slides straight out when removed. I'm curious how your unit is secured in the MH. It has a "carrier bar" across the outside edge? ...and I presume something similar on the engine side?
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Old 09-11-2007, 08:17 PM   #11
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">
I was under my old 1994 Vectra a few years ago and found a petrified bat ... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

So you ARE Batman.. !
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Old 09-11-2007, 08:30 PM   #12
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John: Is there any conjecture as to the problem? I'm not an AC guy, but if you have TWO compressors that are appearing to run and drawing the correct current, about the only thing I can think of is "vaporlock" (for lack of a better term) where the compressor(s) is just cavitating.
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Old 09-12-2007, 12:39 AM   #13
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Great job John. Will you be following up to see what the problem turned out to be? I am thinking I may opt for top airs the next time. I love my basement air, but the average bloke is incapable of working on the basement A/C.
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Old 09-12-2007, 04:04 AM   #14
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AFChap:
--snip-- The last time it was done was in Wichita at Flint Hills RV. Their tech really know what he was doing ...far better than the other three places that worked on it.

--snip-- I'm curious how your unit is secured in the MH. It has a "carrier bar" across the outside edge? ...and I presume something similar on the engine side? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Paul - The control board was replaced at Flint Hills. Those guys do quite a bit of RVP work and they do know their stuff!

Yes - we have angle iron running along each side of the unit on the bottom. There are four long bolts that when unscrewed fully, the unit drops down and can slide out. It is a tight squeeze vertically - the basement door needs to be fully raised for clearance.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">John: Is there any conjecture as to the problem? I'm not an AC guy, but if you have TWO compressors that are appearing to run and drawing the correct current, about the only thing I can think of is "vaporlock" (for lack of a better term) where the compressor(s) is just cavitating. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Jeff - that's an interesting scenario that I hadn't thought of. Whatever the problem is, it seems to be heat related. We need to be driving for several hours in 90 degree weather.

My thoughts always leaned toward a wonky reversing valve that somehow got stuck in a 'middle' position. The unit didn't blow hot air like it was in heat pump mode, but just ambient temp air. The reversing valve theory isn't very solid, but it was the only thing I could come up with.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">
Great job John. Will you be following up to see what the problem turned out to be? I am thinking I may opt for top airs the next time. I love my basement air, but the average bloke is incapable of working on the basement A/C. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Homer - no, I won't follow up on it because I seriously doubt if RVP will be doing a postmortem on the unit.

I'm still a fan of the basement air. I like not having that weight on the roof. There are advantages and disadvantages of each system and the presence/absence of it didn't factor in as a major point in our buying decision.
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Old 09-13-2007, 02:44 PM   #15
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John, great pictures. Mine is still in the shop awaiting repair. Hope they get to it soon.
My problems are different than yours, it just quit.
I'll let you know the outcome if and when they get to it.
Best regards...
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Old 09-13-2007, 03:23 PM   #16
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John, Thanks for the pix. I have been lurking trying to learn as much as possible about my coach and that kind of pics really help. I also went through all 106 of your pics (I hope you dont mind) That is a really nice coach and it looks like you made an awesome trip. Someday maybe I will be able to also.

Thanks for the lesson
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Old 09-13-2007, 03:34 PM   #17
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Hi Cliff! Let everybody know what the problem was. Home the $damage$ won't be too bad!

Bill - thanks for the kind comments Please enjoy the gallery!
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Old 09-13-2007, 04:33 PM   #18
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I hope that fixes your intermittent problem and good pictures as well. Our '05 Horizon needed it's whole unit swapped 2 weeks into ownership. I sure was glad to have had a shakedown period before doing any traveling. It's been over a year now and it's just humming along.
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