Help! AC stopped working at the worse time.

[sailnbike]

I have a 2 year old Escape 19. In preparation for a trip tomorrow I checked the air conditioner two days ago it it ran fine. Today it sounds like the unit is trying to operate with the compressor clunking, but there is no fan noise and the amps build over a minute or so up to 27 and then the breaker trips. I tried running it with only the fan and nothing so I think it is the problem but I have limited knowledge.

Any help would be great.

Wally

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by sailnbike

I have a 2 year old Escape 19. In preparation for a trip tomorrow I checked the air conditioner two days ago it it ran fine. Today it sounds like the unit is trying to operate with the compressor clunking, but there is no fan noise and the amps build over a minute or so up to 27 and then the breaker trips. I tried running it with only the fan and nothing so I think it is the problem but I have limited knowledge.

Any help would be great.

Wally

Sounds like your fan capacitor has gone bad. It's located on the side of the A/C on top - you will have to remove the top shroud to get to it.

Easy fix. Look at the capacitor size and get an exact replacement from any air conditioner supply house or Amazon. The wire connections are quick connect terminals - just make sure to put the wiring back to the same marked terminals on the new capacitor that they came from on the old capacitor. The one that has failed is the larger silver one.


note: pic is courtesy of Red Dog - his capacitor failed on him recently with exactly the same symptoms and supplied me the pic. Fred's capacitor was this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-33144.../dp/B07WV4WX4P or equiv.

[sailnbike]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

Sounds like your fan capacitor has gone bad. It's located on the side of the A/C on top - you will have to remove the top shroud to get to it.

Easy fix. Look at the capacitor size and get an exact replacement from any air conditioner supply house or Amazon. The wire connections are quick connect terminals - just make sure to put the wiring back to the same marked terminals on the new capacitor that they came from on the old capacitor. The one that has failed is the larger silver one.


note: pic is courtesy of Red Dog - his capacitor failed on him recently with exactly the same symptoms and supplied me the pic. Fred's capacitor was this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-33144.../dp/B07WV4WX4P or equiv.

I have some new info. If I start the fan moving with a knife it will continue fine, but only until it has to restart. Does this support your conclusion about the capacitor. I am relieved that it is only that.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by sailnbike

I have some new info. If I start the fan moving with a knife it will continue fine, but only until it has to restart. Does this support your conclusion about the capacitor. I am relieved that it is only that.

That's a very good indication of a bad capacitor. The fan start capacitor gives the motor a boost on startup - when it fails, the fan doesn't want to start but will run if manually spun up.

By the way, the start capacitors are what is 90% of home A/C failures. It is recommended to replace the start capacitors at least every 5 years. A/C repairmen really don't want you to know this - that's their bread and butter.

Some don't last three.

[sailnbike]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

That's a very good indication of a bad capacitor. The fan start capacitor gives the motor a boost on startup - when it fails, the fan doesn't want to start but will run if manually spun up.

By the way, the start capacitors are what is 90% of home A/C failures. It is recommended to replace the start capacitors at least every 5 years. A/C repairmen really don't want you to know this - that's their bread and butter.

Some don't last three.

Thanks for your advice. Now that you mention it the capacitor in one of my home units went at 5 years and the service guy said that it is the number one service call.
There is a problem sourcing the proper 60/15 370 VAC capacitor for my Dometic. It is an odd ball size and Dometic are backordered with no ETA. None of the RV or electrical distributors I have called can get that size.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by sailnbike

Thanks for your advice. Now that you mention it the capacitor in one of my home units went at 5 years and the service guy said that it is the number one service call.
There is a problem sourcing the proper 60/15 370 VAC capacitor for my Dometic. It is an odd ball size and Dometic are backordered with no ETA. None of the RV or electrical distributors I have called can get that size.

The Dometic pn references a 55/15 MFD so that size should work but it seems that Dometic has put 60/15 MFD caps in some of the units. The 60/15 will pull a little more current than the 55/15 on start - other than that, they both are within tolerance for the compressor motor.

Keep in mind that the number that is printed on the capacitor is +/- the actual value by a percentage - it's not the actual capacitance. Many caps are rated at plus or minus 6%.
A capacitor rated at 55/15 could be the same as one rated at 60/15 and be within tolerance. Without a capacitance meter, you wouldn't know.

Here are a few sources for the 60/15:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/233679210312
https://www.northamericahvac.com/new...itech-4jr1560/

[sailnbike]

Thank you. I just ordered from NAHVAC.