Squealing noise when Air Conditioner starts

Hicks3456 · 08-23-2020, 05:56 AM

I have a 2016 Winn Vista LX with front and rear air conditioners. Lately when the rear unit starts there is a squealing noise that disappears after it gets running.

I assume it is a bearing going bad. Is this something that can be replaced easy or is the whole unit considered disposable?

Podivin · 08-23-2020, 06:49 AM

Does it make the noise when you turn on just the fan, not the AC function, so that the compressor isn't running? If so then it's likely the blower motor. The rear air conditioner on mine was making a 'bad bearing' noise so I replaced the blower motor. Easy enough to to do, the hardest part is getting it out and putting the new one back in without flattening a bunch of the cooling fins on the AC unit. Unbolting/bolting, wiring (5 wires, as I recall) was all very straight forward. I also replaced the fan start capacitor as long as I was right there connecting wires to it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That's the one that mine needed, I make no claim as to whether yours uses the same motor, just showing you this so that you can see what I'm referring to.

On mine replacing the blower motor made the AC MUCH quieter - more than just the bearing noise was gone. Either the motor had been making a extra noise prior to me noticing the 'bearing' sound, or newer motors are somehow quieter.

AveryF · 08-23-2020, 09:26 AM

Our front unit started making the same noise with the fan that started, oddly enough, the day before leaving on a short three day trip last week. Rather than letting it interfere with a trip we had already scheduled for our anniversary, I was able to lubricate the bearings with some light oil as a temporary "fix". Fortunately, it worked okay the entire time we were gone. I ordered a new blower motor yesterday which should be here by the end of the week and will tackle that job before our next trip in two weeks. After looking at it carefully, my guess is that it's going to be a real PITA, though............

Hicks3456 · 08-23-2020, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AveryF

Our front unit started making the same noise with the fan that started, oddly enough, the day before leaving on a short three day trip last week. Rather than letting it interfere with a trip we had already scheduled for our anniversary, I was able to lubricate the bearings with some light oil as a temporary "fix". Fortunately, it worked okay the entire time we were gone. I ordered a new blower motor yesterday which should be here by the end of the week and will tackle that job before our next trip in two weeks. After looking at it carefully, my guess is that it's going to be a real PITA, though............

I am pretty mechanical person but never worked on RV air conditioner. Did you access motor from above (roof) or inside?

AveryF · 08-23-2020, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hicks3456

I am pretty mechanical person but never worked on RV air conditioner. Did you access motor from above (roof) or inside?

The A/C on our rig is accessed from the roof.

Podivin · 08-24-2020, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hicks3456

I am pretty mechanical person but never worked on RV air conditioner. Did you access motor from above (roof) or inside?

If you're mechanical it won't be a problem - I'd never worked on one either.
Everything you need to access you get to from the top. Take off the plastic shroud and you can see the fan motor. Follow the wires and you'll see where you need to get to replace the wires. There are a few screws to take off so that you can bend back part of the the aluminum housing so that you can remove the 'squirrel cage' fan. The motor you're replacing does double duty. On one end it spins the blade that expels the hot air on the roof, on the other end is blowing the cool air into the RV.

Not surprisingly there are some pretty good videos on Youtube showing all the steps. One thing I saw that I thought was really clever, when you're removing the old blower motor CUT the wires 2 or 3 inches from where they connect inside the unit and leave the ends connected where they are. Then when you get the replacement motor mounted and are ready to wire it in you still have the ends to the old wires there, so you haven't lost the color codes. Now one at a time you remove the old cut off end and replace that wire color with the same color from the replacement motor.

AveryF · 08-24-2020, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Podivin

.......Not surprisingly there are some pretty good videos on Youtube showing all the steps. One thing I saw that I thought was really clever, when you're removing the old blower motor CUT the wires 2 or 3 inches from where they connect inside the unit and leave the ends connected where they are. Then when you get the replacement motor mounted and are ready to wire it in you still have the ends to the old wires there, so you haven't lost the color codes. Now one at a time you remove the old cut off end and replace that wire color with the same color from the replacement motor.

Here's a link to a YouTube video that explains everything step by step, including the trick about cutting the wires to the capacitor. He made it all look very simple - I just hope my repair goes as well.....

https://youtu.be/doJ_oD18lZs

**ThomB** · 08-24-2020, 12:51 PM

I replaced mine 3 times one day last winter. The first time I put the motor on the housing panel 90 degrees off; the second time I had some of the wires pinched in the assembly and the wires didn't reach the connectors then I got it right the 3rd time... (all within about an hours time). It's not a hard installation at all to replace the motor!

AveryF · 08-28-2020, 09:19 AM

All the parts came in and I replaced it yesterday. The only difficult part was fitting the new motor in place without damaging the cooling fins. Other than that, it was a piece of cake thanks to the instructions found on YouTube.

Podivin · 08-29-2020, 08:34 AM

Glad it worked out for you Avery. That was the hardest part for me to, not damaging the cooling fins. There isn't much in the way of extra space in there to get the motor in and out.

AveryF · 08-29-2020, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Podivin

Glad it worked out for you Avery. That was the hardest part for me to, not damaging the cooling fins. There isn't much in the way of extra space in there to get the motor in and out.

Oh, taking it out wasn't the problem - I just cut the shaft with a sawzall! Putting it back in, however, took a bit of wiggling.......