Fan on Heat Pump

[Dwmooney]

I have a 2005 Winnebago Vectra 40AD. The squirrel cage blower on my heat pump stopped working, this causes the unit to switch over to propane. Anyone have any experience with this unit? Thank You Dan

[Old Crows]

Absent a failure on the compressor or system failure, the heat pump auto shuts down around 40F as it is not effective heating below 40F. It auto shifts to furnace. It will not restart until the outdoor ambient rises above 40F. It will also run concurrently with the furnace if the temperature in the coach drops about 2 degrees below the “set point”. If heat pump goes to defrost mode only the furnace will run.

Just like your home heat pump.

[Dwmooney]

That is good to know but the outside temp today was 53 degrees? Is there a simple test for the fan?

Thanks for the reply.
Dan

[ThomB]

If it’s anything like mine, you should be able to turn the thermostat to off and set the fan to on (move from Auto). I answered you over on irv2 about it possibly being time to replace the fan motor and capacitor.

[Old Crows]

Originally Posted by ThomB

If it’s anything like mine, you should be able to turn the thermostat to off and set the fan to on (move from Auto). I answered you over on irv2 about it possibly being time to replace the fan motor and capacitor.

Yes. That would be the “next step”. Circulation fan is independently controlled via the FAN switch on the ‘stat. There should be a HI/LO switch on the ‘stat. Cycle that a couple times. If it doesn’t operate correctly then it is likely the fan motor.

It is a slim possibility here. Make sure everything is off. Carefully remove the inside cover and inspect the filter AND the intake throat for the fan for something jamming the squirrel cage. The Wee People, Fairies, Gremlins, Selkies, or Trolls may have been busy! It should spin freely.

If all is well, I’m afraid it might be toast. It’s 15 odd years old now..... Considering age and hours on it, I’d put good money toward a new AC unit.

[Morich]

Before replacing, testing both the cap and the fan motor are easy enough to do if one has the tools to take a look. While it is common to replace things when they stop working, I find it is often a simple item like wiring that is the problem.
Looking at U-tube videos of replacing thermostats, I see it is quite common for the wiring to just use simple screw type fasteners and that leaves me thinking it's not hard for them to jar around enough to come off when we drive it down the road!

[BobC]

To expand on Old Crow's response, there are a number of temperature-related issues that could cause the propane heater to take precedence. This is from the 2005 Vectra Operators Manual:


To Operate the Heat Pump:
• Slide the thermostat switch to electric heat
mode.
• If the inside temperature is 5 degrees or more
below the thermostat set point, both the heat
pump and the furnace will run initially to
bring the interior temperature up to the set
point as quickly as possible. (If the inside
temperature is 4 degrees or less below the set
point, then only the heat pump will run initially.)
• When the thermostat calls for heat again,
only the heat pump will run. The heat pump
will remain the sole heat source unless it
cannot maintain the inside temperature.

If If the furnace must assist the heat pump three
times in a row, the thermostat will shut down the
heat pump for two hours and the furnace will
take over as the heat source. After two hours the
heat pump will become active again and try to be
the primary heat source.
The furnace acts as a standby heat source if
the outside temperature drops below a point that
the heat pump can no longer extract heat from
the outside air to maintain the desired inside
temperature.

If you need a copy of your manual, you can get it here: https://winnebagoind.com/resources/m...5/05Vectra.pdf

[AlexP]

I have the same unit (2004 Itasca Meridian) There are a number of ways these can fail. There was a poster here with a forum name of Duner who put together a PDF on how to remove and replace the basement air unit on our rigs. It was really helpful to me. Once to remove the former owner's cat hair from the coils. And once to replace one of the blower motors. There are bearings which if one had easy access one would oil once a year. Mine dried out mostly froze and caused the motor to over heat. In Duner's write up were the Granger numbers for equivalent sealed bearings which did not require oil. I swapped in those when I replaced the motor. I know caps seem to be an issue on these, but mine have held up fine. I have lived in this since 2011.


Alex

[jabass]

Turn thermostat to off. Then turn fan to run. This should tell you if the squirrel cage is turning. This is a big problem with old units. Replacing the fan, all capacitors and squirrel cage with a vinyl one will fix your problem, most likely. Get the PDF on taking out the basement heat pump.

[Dwmooney]

Thanks to everyone for the excellent responses, big help. This forum is great.

[jabass]

I replaced my heat pump fan motor, squirrel cage, and all capacitors for less than $300.00 and I put them in

[BobC]

Here's a PDF on removing the basement air:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...zBiZTYxYzU5ZWQ