So I have a 3 year old mach III in the rear of our coach. It quit running randomly a couple months ago. No compressor, no fan, nada. Checked all the wiring. Nothing. Swapped out the fan switch (non ducted unit with twist knob controls on ceiling grille). Swapped out the thermostat (swapped using the parts from my brand new mach III unit up front) still nothing. Checked the capacitors, they all checked out good on my analog multimeter. Here's the question:
My front unit (working) has two capacitors in it. My rear unit (dead) has three and the third is black and has a pctr device attached to the top. Can someone sort this out for me? How does my front a/c run without that third start cap? I guess this is what I'm getting at, if my pctr device went bad, can I just use my rear unit without it for now until I get a replacement ordered? I am trying to get the rear a/c up and running and still not 100% sure what's wrong. But it does have power and the fan switch and thermostat are good. All three of the caps tested fine. So not sure where I'm at now other than the pctr and not sure how to run the a/c without it to test.
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Did you add the hard start capacitor Coleman doesn't come with it somebody added it that is probably your problem
Hi cliff.
No I didn't add that. It came with the unit. Bought it new from an rv parts outlet in Virginia. So, question, how do I bypass it?
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You don't need the capacitors to make the fan only run, do you?
Colemans have a fan capacitor,run capacitor and a start relay
Where's the relay?
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It should be mounted in that area a small square black gizmo with 5 wires unless they tossed it when someone installed the hard start kit
i am not a Coleman kinda guy...but... most AC systems have a delay timer that i call an anti slug timer....sometimes they are built into the thermostat.... if it goes bad nothing will work...
THE purpose of the timer is to allow the compressor time to relieve so that it can't start on full pressure.... for instance, if it cycles off and then you immediately change the setting to cooler..it won't restart for two minutes...or to whatever you set it for...
regardless.. if the timer goes,nothing goes....does a coleman have one ?
Coleman has a delay but the fan still runs
Quote from: luvrbus on August 24, 2014, 07:53:56 PM
Coleman has a delay but the fan still runs
as it will on most AC's.....but not the compressor....ask me how i know.. :) it can be jumpered....
but you need to become the timer till the new part shows up... some places i have been residential/commercial parts are only sold to licensed vendors.
roof warts...not so much....
So I pulled the hard start cap out of the equation. I swapped both caps from the dead a/c to the brand new a/c and vice versa. The new a/c runs perfect on the dead a/c caps. The dead a/c still does nothing. Something is wonky here. Consequently, I forgot to kill the breaker to the front a/c and whilst fiddling with the caps, jolted myself enough to launch my needle nose pliers into the air. Standing on the roof of a 12 foot bus and getting jolted like that is a death wish. Breaker is killed, cap is drained, rubber soled shoes donned, and gloves too. Original boxers in laundry machine. Ok. Taking a breather and then going to chase this one down if it kills me. (Pun intended)
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So, finally realized one of my splice solders was bad. Chased it down, and viola. We are in business. Thanks for the help. Sometimes just talking it through out loud is what I need. :) happy camper. $0 fix
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Scott - I'm assuming you are using a vom and checking voltages? This will quickly tell you what piece is failing. Also, don't be afraid to give airxcel a call. They were very helpful when I called and asked a bunch of questions about the best way to install a thermostat. They also have excellent documents on the website.
-Sean
Yeah, I started using the meter to actually trace where the 115v was ending. It ended at a splice. Fixed. In other news, I discharged one of the capacitors into my hand while standing on the wet roof of our coach. Let's just say....my advice? Don't do what I did.
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Quote from: Scott Bennett on August 25, 2014, 09:03:51 AM
Yeah, I started using the meter to actually trace where the 115v was ending. It ended at a splice. Fixed. In other news, I discharged one of the capacitors into my hand while standing on the wet roof of our coach. Let's just say....my advice? Don't do what I did.
Scott "Sparky" Bennett
I like my new nickname
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I've done that in the back of tv sets years ago. Makes you touch your chest to see if your heart still works.
Well, I must say, it's almost energizing..kinda like a good stiff coffee in the morning to get your juices flowing. That being said, I'm enjoying the nice flow of cool air from my now-fixed roof air unit.
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