Duo Therm Air conditioning

[Dee]

Hi Folks
I have a 2008 BH 3500 and on a recent trip to Fresno Ca the air was not doing anything. So when I got home the temp was about 68 I turned it on and
hung a thermometer from the blower it pulled the temp down in about ten min to 46 or so? So that tells me it was working fine at home?
Wondering why it would not do anything in Fresno? where the temp was about 90?
It seems to me that the referigant must be fine if it pulled it down at home? So some sort of short or ground issue?
This coach is not used much and probably less than 200 hrs on it, we usually travel on west coast in the cool season.
Contacted three rv repair shops, over the phone I was told by one Referigant needs re charging
told by another cannot re charge must replace
the third says if needs re charged they drain and solder a filling port on?
My gut tells me if it pulls temp down at home referigant is not the prob? am I all wet?
The inside filter is clean. have not checked on top yet.
Thanks for any insight on this
Dee

 

[Invizatu]

Hi Dee... I had a car once that the A/C worked just fine when it wasn't hot outside and would work sometimes when it was hot (but not when it was really hot).
It was kinda useless in that regard. It was low on freon, once it was charged it worked fine. Kinda sounds like the same thing, but then it could be a loose wire or thermostat issue also. Good luck, let us know what you find out.

 

[danemayer]

Maybe the coils were iced over. Icing could be due to low freon or poor airflow, or running the fan on low in a high-humidity situation.
Our Heating and Cooling Guide might provide some additional ideas. I agree with your reasoning that if you get a 20 degree temp drop in 10 minutes at home, low freon level is less likely as the cause.

If it is low on freon, repair can be tricky. I'm pretty sure that RV A/C units don't come with fittings to add freon. Most RV dealer techs probably don't have the training or expertise to find a freon leak, repair it, add fittings, suction moisture out and refill the system with freon. So they generally will replace the unit. If there's a leak, a real A/C tech could probably repair it for less than the cost of replacement.

 

[guitarpicr]

When it wasnt cooling could you hear compressor kicking in. On ours the fan starts first & then a few seconds later the compressor kicks in. Almost sounds like you have a loose connectiuon in the unit feeding the compressor. Maybe the ride home jarred it & it might work ok. Like said by the others there are no gauge ports on these units. One can be added & usually all the existing freon is sucked out & new freon is weighed back in. I would pull the cowl on top & look for a loose connection b4 replacing anything.Could also be a circuit board problem if compressor is not getting powered. Good Luck, Bill