Dometic 13,500 A/C problem

[drsasser]

Hi Guys,
We purchased a 2014 heartland prowler 289 last fall and couldn't be more disappointed in heartland quality control, The fit and finish of this fiver is awful, First thing I noticed was the door that covers the propane tanks wasn't closed all the way, The dealer tried to adjust it but the compartment is to little for the tanks, They ordered me a new door (what will that fix?)
then the trim around the inside of the door came off. The screen in the bottom of the screen door comes out about every day, The screen door striker is broke, The back bumper has paint blotches all over it, The screws are stripped in the top of door entry hand rail, but let me get back to the problem in the header.

The living room A/C is ducted, it also has a sliding vent to open and let air only in the living area, If I leave it running thru ducts late at night when the outside temp cools down the fan will kick on and run about 10 seconds then kick off, at no time does the compressor kick on just the fan, If I leave the vent open only letting air to the living room it works perfectly,

I looked at the spacer between the air intake and exhaust and of course it was loose and dropped down about 1 inch. I installed it correctly and used a half of roll of aluminum tape to try to direct the air flow better and it did help some but it still does it late at night
Any Suggestions?
Thanks

 

[For20hunter]

I would contact Heartland Customer Service and have your VIN # handy and have a repair facility repair the things that are going wrong correctly. I would only be guessing to try and tell you what is wrong without testing your AC system completely. They have high and low pressure sensors that could be causing the problem, but again, just a guess.

Rod

 

[drsasser]

I would contact Heartland Customer Service and have your VIN # handy and have a repair facility repair the things that are going wrong correctly. I would only be guessing to try and tell you what is wrong without testing your AC system completely. They have high and low pressure sensors that could be causing the problem, but again, just a guess.

Rod

Thanks for the rely For20Hunter
forgot to mention it runs fine all day in either position, just does it at night.

 

[For20hunter]

As it cools down outside maybe it is freezing up? If that's the case it means that your airflow is being blocked or restricted, preventing the air from crossing the condenser properly.

 

[Rickhansen]

I think you have air blowing on your thermostat. Try directing your vents near the thermostat to blow the conditioned air away from it.

 

[For20hunter]

But if that were the case it wouldn't act normally during the day

 

[Rickhansen]

But if that were the case it wouldn't act normally during the day

It would. The heat load is higher during the day, so the A/C discharge air is warmer and mixes with warmer air in the room before reaching the thermostat. I can easily produce the same effect in our bedroom by adjusting the ceiling vent toward the thermostat, and the difference in the heat of the day versus night time is significant.

The proof of the theory is to try it, right? Place a dry, already room temperature washcloth over your thermostat for an hour or two. You should see the difference.

They have high and low pressure sensors that could be causing the problem, but again, just a guess.

Also, there are no pressure sensors. These A/C's are more simplistic, like an old refrigerator.

 

[drsasser]

It would. The heat load is higher during the day, so the A/C discharge air is warmer and mixes with warmer air in the room before reaching the thermostat. I can easily produce the same effect in our bedroom by adjusting the ceiling vent toward the thermostat, and the difference in the heat of the day versus night time is significant.

The proof of the theory is to try it, right? Place a dry, already room temperature washcloth over your thermostat for an hour or two. You should see the difference.



Also, there are no pressure sensors. These A/C's are more simplistic, like an old refrigerator.

Thanks guys I'll try the wash rag thing tonight

 

[jimtoo]

The A/C does not have pressure sensors, but does have a temperature sensor on the evaporator to prevent freeze ups. If it is not attached to the fins of the evaporator it will cause the A/C to freeze up. It would run without shutting off until ice formed over most all the evaporator. This sensor can be seen by removing the filter on most of the units. Just a small silver temp sensor (about the size of a quarter) with 2 small wires attached, about 1/2 way up the fins. It just clips on the fins. But I don't think this would be your problem.

 

[Rickhansen]

drsasser,
What became of our experiment? Hopefully, you've made some headway with your AC problem.

 

[drsasser]

drsasser,
What became of our experiment? Hopefully, you've made some headway with your AC problem.

We only stayed 2 nights at Jellystone campground in Cave City, KY with two grand children and took them to Mammoth Cave so didn't really have time to work with the A/C, I left the vent open on the A/C unit in question so they would stay cool.

I've installed a second 13,500 low/pro A/C unit in the bedroom with an outside plugin to run to shore power and used that so wifey and I could stay cool.

I'll have a chance to look at it more in September on my vacation.

Thanks guys for taking the time to help, I thought I would ask the question to see if anyone else had possibly had this same problem.
Denvis