Basement A/C Compressor Help

[NickM]

2004 Itasca Workhorse. While plugged into 30 amp and running generator. While at Colorado River I noticed multiple times that my A/c was not blowing cold air. But the fan was blowing. I have green indicator lights for the fridge, A/C Compressor, microwave, fan. The A/C light was off and the amp indicator only drawing 3 amps. If i reset the thermostat by turning off then on, it all worked again. It seemed to have no issues at night, but durning the day (110 degrees) it would happen a few times.

[BobC]

"While plugged into 30 amp and running generator."???

I'm no expert, but my understanding is that your automatic transfer switch is an "either or" device and, if there's shore power present, it will prevail and your generator will be idling on it's own and not providing power. 100% of your power will be coming from shore power.

This means that, as long as you're plugged into shore power, you're limited to 30A, and your power management system is shutting the A/C down when the amp draw of the A/C and whatever else you're using (refrigerator, etc.) gets to large.

Try disconnecting from shore power and running your A/C on the generator alone.

In case there's something else going on, here's the service manual that has several troubleshooting diagrams:

[creativepart]

Also, don't run other stuff like the fridge on AC and the water heater on AC when you are on 30-amp.

Your A/C unit needs as much amperage as you can give it - whether through shore power or generator. The fridge and water heater use tons of amps when on AC and don't leave any for your air Conditioners.

[NickM]

So if the power management system shuts down compressor, why does it not come back on? Sometimes I’ll return from a day on the lake and AC worked great and it’s cold in motorhome. Other days, it’s been blowing room temp air because compressor shut down. Also that’s 30 amp without generator. So I guess my question would be, if I was hooked to 50 amp could I trust the system to work properly? I’m afraid if I left my dog for the day and it turned off

[BobC]

Originally Posted by NickM

So if the power management system shuts down compressor, why does it not come back on? Sometimes I’ll return from a day on the lake and AC worked great and it’s cold in motorhome. Other days, it’s been blowing room temp air because compressor shut down. Also that’s 30 amp without generator. So I guess my question would be, if I was hooked to 50 amp could I trust the system to work properly? I’m afraid if I left my dog for the day and it turned off

I have no idea about the power management issue question. It may be a built in safety factor.

You could simulate the 50A situation by running of your generator on a hot day without being disconnected to shore power. That should give you some idea of how 50A shore power would work but I wouldn't assume that it'd be OK and depend on the AC keeping my dog safe. There are too many things that can fail and a motorhome can heat up very quickly. I would never leave my dog alone in my MH for a day even if I didn't have to depend on the AC.

[deckape]

Are you plugged in to 30 amp or 50 amp ,one a/c or two ? If 30 amps then load manage may shut of one a/c if amps reach 30 amps . Turn off waterheater , put on gas , and refreig if you can put it on gas . Learn how your load manage works . If 50 amps then you should be able to run both a/c's ,but you need to watch loads at your a/c's need all the power you can give them with 100 + temps . Close sun shades and nite blinds to help cool coach .

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by BobC

I'm no expert, but my understanding is that your automatic transfer switch is an "either or" device and, if there's shore power present, it will prevail and your generator will be idling on it's own and not providing power. 100% of your power will be coming from shore power.

The transfer switch in your RV is “generator priority,” if you start the generator while on shore power it will switch to generator provided power. It will disconnect from any shore power automatically.

The transfer switches used in RVs are generator priority switches. This means that the switch will connect to shore power when under normal use or even when there is no power present. As soon as the transfer switch detects the presence of 120 volt power on the generator input lines it will switch over to the generator's inputs and drop the connection to shore power. Transfer switches are designed so that only one input can be connected at a time in order to prevent any backfeeding of electrical power back down the other input line, which would be a hazardous condition. In addition, RV transfer switches generally have a built-in delay so that the generator can come up to speed and warm up a bit for actually switching the load. This prevents stalling or stumbling that could cause the generator to die if the air conditioners or other heavy loads while the engine was still cold and not producing full power.

[tim myers]

Maybe I missed it, do we know if the coach if 30A or 50A and the KW of the generator?

[Morich]

Originally Posted by NickM

2004 Itasca Workhorse. While plugged into 30 amp and running generator. While at Colorado River I noticed multiple times that my A/c was not blowing cold air. But the fan was blowing. I have green indicator lights for the fridge, A/C Compressor, microwave, fan. The A/C light was off and the amp indicator only drawing 3 amps. If i reset the thermostat by turning off then on, it all worked again. It seemed to have no issues at night, but durning the day (110 degrees) it would happen a few times.

One of the first ways to get a good answer is to tell us what RV you have. You have not mentioned the model and size as the "workhorse" is just which chassis it is on.

And it also will help to post what version of that model in that there are options for 50 amp or 30 amp on many model and year.
That often gets over into whether you have a load shedder which may be turning some things off as the power load reaches critical. Knowing if there is an automatic transfer switch is important, too.

Just too many unknowns to make a good guess!

[NickM]

50 amp system. However, this happened while plugged into 30 amp.

[tim myers]

Do you have an EMS load shed controller?

[AFChap]

Originally Posted by NickM

2004 Itasca Workhorse. While plugged into 30 amp and running generator. While at Colorado River I noticed multiple times that my A/c was not blowing cold air. But the fan was blowing. I have green indicator lights for the fridge, A/C Compressor, microwave, fan. The A/C light was off and the amp indicator only drawing 3 amps.

The transfer switch is normally generator default, so if both generator and shore power are running you would be using only generator power. You should have an indicator light to the left of the amp display telling what the power source is.

The fan does not operate when the ac compressors are off UNLESS you have the fan turned to "on" vs. "auto".

The green indicator lights for fridge, ac compressor2, refrigerator, and fan on the right side of the amp display shut down those items (fan goes to low vs high) if you exceed 30a, and allow them to resume when the amp demand goes down. With the #2 compressor shut down you will not have as much cooling available. On a very hot day you will not be comfortable w/only one compressor. If only drawing 3 amps, NEITHER compressor was on. With #1 running you will be pulling apx 17a, and with both #1 and #2 running the amp pull will be 24-28. Obviously you cannot add much at that point before you go over 30a. Shutting the refrigerator ice maker down will help as it runs on 120v. No other significant 120v loads can be handled.

Normally, when running the generator you will have sufficient power to run what you need to run ... a 5500 generator would provide apx 45a. (5500w/120v=45a).

HOWEVER, if your transfer switch points are worn, it may not be switching from shore power to generator if the points are sticking. One of mine did that, and I would have to smack the transfer switch with a fist or rubber mallet to get it to switch over.

IF you have a 50a coach, AND you are plugged into 50a shore power, you should have no power problems.

[Rickb33952]

Originally Posted by AFChap

The transfer switch is normally generator default, so if both generator and shore power are running you would be using only generator power. You should have an indicator light to the left of the amp display telling what the power source is.

The fan does not operate when the ac compressors are off UNLESS you have the fan turned to "on" vs. "auto".

The green indicator lights for fridge, ac compressor2, refrigerator, and fan on the right side of the amp display shut down those items (fan goes to low vs high) if you exceed 30a, and allow them to resume when the amp demand goes down. With the #2 compressor shut down you will not have as much cooling available. On a very hot day you will not be comfortable w/only one compressor. If only drawing 3 amps, NEITHER compressor was on. With #1 running you will be pulling apx 17a, and with both #1 and #2 running the amp pull will be 24-28. Obviously you cannot add much at that point before you go over 30a. Shutting the refrigerator ice maker down will help as it runs on 120v. No other significant 120v loads can be handled.

Normally, when running the generator you will have sufficient power to run what you need to run ... a 5500 generator would provide apx 45a. (5500w/120v=45a).

HOWEVER, if your transfer switch points are worn, it may not be switching from shore power to generator if the points are sticking. One of mine did that, and I would have to smack the transfer switch with a fist or rubber mallet to get it to switch over.

IF you have a 50a coach, AND you are plugged into 50a shore power, you should have no power problems.

I have a 2005 Itasca Suncruiser 35A. I would add that if the load management system is working properly on a 30 amp shore power connection and the number 1 compressor is energized but not running, (broken compressor) the air handler fan will blow.
Rick

[SaltLife]

Originally Posted by NickM

50 amp system. However, this happened while plugged into 30 amp.

You need to be plugged into a 50amp receptacle. When running the generator I would turn the breaker off at the post. Your generator should provide enough service to run everything. I ran down the road yesterday with the a/c, fridge running and generator on...

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Rickb33952

I have a 2005 Itasca Suncruiser 35A. I would add that if the load management system is working properly on a 30 amp shore power connection and the number 1 compressor is energized but not running, (broken compressor) the air handler fan will blow.
Rick

I know of no RV that has a 35A main breaker panel, or is rated for 35A. You either have a 30A main breaker or a 50A main breaker.
The EMS/load shedder will not exceed a 28A draw to prevent the main breaker from disconnecting while on a 20A shore power connection.

[Rickb33952]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

I know of no RV that has a 35A main breaker panel, or is rated for 35A. You either have a 30A main breaker or a 50A main breaker.
The EMS/load shedder will not exceed a 28A draw to prevent the main breaker from disconnecting while on a 20A shore power connection.

Ray, 35A is the model number of my Itasca Suncruiser.