Diagnosing An RV Air Conditioner That Is Not Cooling

Good video. Thanks.

Curious was there an error code on the thermostat? I missed you testing the freeze sensor. If it was a leak there should have been oil/dirt in the pan and you found none.

If the legs of the compressor are grounded..does that mean a bad compressor? I installed a soft start sta01 from amazon, it was sopose to be a sealed box, but after a rain, I noticed the ac not working... I checked the soft start and water got inside the box and fried it..the company sent me a new one and after installing it like I did the first one and making sure it was sealed good, the ac would trip the breaker inside the rv... removed the soft start totally and it trips soon as I turn on the ac...fan only runs fine...tested the compressor and the legs are grounded..any idea? Thanks

Thanks!

I have 120 volts coming into my water heater element. 120 goin out. So element is good or not. Reads 10 oms installed. I have a new one same 10 oms not installed. What next

Thank-you for taking the time to make this, I learned alot and fixed mine from watching this video, hi from Yukon, but now drilling in nevada, really cool here now in my RV, thanks to you...

Very detailed video! Thank you so much. I tried to turn my ac and it popped the breaker twice, the third time I heard a rattling sound and something burned, I could smell it. With this I can try and figure out what the problem is hopefully. Thank you!

Good vid, but, I think I might get a second opinion on that refrigerator! Just say’n! 😏

Yesterday, I woke from a nap and the air conditioner in my RV wasn't working, so I checked the fuse, found it was bad, and replaced it today after picking one up at The Home Depot. Before leaving, I put a frozen burrito in the microwave for 2 minutes. It made a sort of loud humming sound and the burrito was still frozen, so it looks like the magnetron went out. The air conditioner is now turning on and running, but doesn't seem to be cooling, and I don't hear the compressor turn off when I switch to fan. I'll have to get up on the roof and see if one side is hot and one side is cold before troubleshooting any further. I already suspected it may be the compressor or that it's out of refrigerant before watching this video, but hopefully it's some sort of electrical problem that can easily be fixed. This RV was made in 2001. The only things that haven't gone out are the stove and the furnace, both of which run on propane.

Thank you for such a detail video. It help me get some confidence to go up there and check my Dometic A/C unit. The symptoms of my A/C is that it will turn the compressor on for about 2 mins in which I get cold air, but then, I feel the compressor turns off and no cold air comes out. The compressor is in good shape based on the test described in the video, when I tested the compressor relay in the control board I got 57.0 volts when it’s compressor runs and 61.4 volts when the compressor is not running. I wonder if that’s the issue since you got almost double the voltage when you performed your test on your video. I gotta mention, i am using an easy start by micro-air and plugin the unit to a generator, the generator voltage indicates 120v, but I wonder if I gotta replace the relay or if there’s something in the easy start unit that is not ramping up the compressor voltage to what is needed. Do you know? I’m gonna do some more research anyways, thank you once again!

Great video thanks for your help man

This is excellent! I just followed along with your video and fixed my air conditioner!! Relay was stuck. Thank you!!

Thank you a bunch whenever you go to an RV dealer they want to sell you a new air conditioner. Mine was the pre-sensor. I’ve ordered one hopefully that’s my problem. My rear radiator freezes like a block of ice and then blows water all over inside the camper. Again, thank you for your video immensely

Thanks!

That round device that is your PTC. That solid state capacitor is wired in parallel across the run winding terminal that allows boost to get the high amp draw that allows the compressor to start.
What happens is 0.3 seconds after the start the compressor The resistance on that PTC rises dramatically out of the circuit. It acts like a hard start device. I'm surprised you didn't check your superheat and supercool to see if the system is charged properly.

He didn't fix it waste of time watching the video

No need to check the thermostat ?. Maybe the user has it on the wrong temperature set up

I had a mobile rv tech come to my home and find out why my ge ac compressor puts out ice cold air but after a few minutes it kicks off. His diagnosis was that the freon level is low but he couldn’t detect any leaks. He checked the capacitors and determined they were good. It cost me 252 dollars for that diagnostic test but didn’t fix the problem. Any thoughts?

Thank you so much for your excellent demo of fixing rv equipment, you are awesome mister.😊

My AC pipes do get cold! What do I do if it does have refrigerant? Could it be the thermostat?

Mine is getting so cold, where you first touched, those pipes and the bottom part of the coil that it froze, but it freezes to the point that it does not allow air to move, then it just blows warm air.
What could it be?

Great video, thank you.

Thanks

Great communicator and teacher!

It may not be refrigerant loss. Check amperage of wires to compressor. If numbers on 2 wires (not red) are between 1-6. Could be Inefficient (weak, worn out) compressor. Normal amps are 8-12 A

I have the exact unit but my meter does not have microfarads. It seems kind of hard to find one on amazon that reads this.

Cannot find just top unit to purchase

HELP—Hi. Nice informative video. I have a question. I have a dometic penguin ii 15k hp 2013 model that came with a 40+15 (+-5) 370vac. The capacitor is no good. I’m in a pinch and can only find a 55+15 (+-5) 370 vac. Usually it runs at about 1600 watts. I installed the 55/15 I was able to buy on a Sat. I installed it and it’s running at 2400 watts that’s 800 more watts than normal so I took it off. (Oh I also have a micro air easy start on my AC). My question is why did my watts go up and will it hurt my unit to run with it?

This is a great troubleshooting video

Muchos Gracias!

How cold should it be coming into the cabin generally??

Nice to see someone go all the way through the system most techs would just have replaced it and been done. So it’s nice to see a fellow tech show the proof in the pudding

Nicely done Sir! Learned a lot so I can at least check things short of the refrigerant level.

Best tutorial I’ve ever come across, informative and entertaining, good job!

Thank you very much, very well done

Man you are great! Very knowledgeable can’t wait to troubleshoot my A/C unit

Thank you so much for this video!!

Why not test the compressor through the wiring harness from inside??

Can you replace R22 , with R410 ??

Thank so much for taking the time to show how to test the ac. I have the same ac and it is blowing hot. The compressor is testing C to R .4 - C to S 4.3 - R to S is 4.9. It should be 4.7 correct? The compressor gets real hot and none of the copper is getting cool anywhere. Is it the compressor? Could a bad capacitor cause the compressor to not cool?
Thank you

Thanks! Now I have a game plan of attack on my main unit.

I watched every second of your video thank you

Very thorough

Wow I feel like I got all dressed up for a party and now you tell me your car broke down. Lol.

Pro tip taking a quick photo with your phone saves you a lot of mental strain and potential problems with referencing wire orientation make you own diagram hope it helps

Could it also be an inefficient compressor. Valvess bad?

Here in northeast TX, rv A/C blows 57⁰ but when we get those high temp, 100⁰+ it's reduced to high 60s. Is this normal some forums say it is but my neighbors don't have this problem.

what is up with dometic duotherm doesnt cool right in auto fan but works fin in low or high

I went step by step. Everything reads on the meter like it’s supposed to. I’d like to send you a video and see what you think. I’m getting cold ish air. In the video you’ll see fluid. I don’t know if it’s the oily residue or just condensation.