AC Weirdness - help

[gypsysouls]

We have a 2018 Escape19. We are currently parked in the Fargo, ND area enjoying their sweltering weather (90s during the day, 70s at night) and drought. And also working the Sugar Beet Harvest.

Our problem is our AC. Or at least we think we have a problem with our AC. It shuts off periodically, literally for 2-3 seconds, then starts back up.. This process repeats itself maybe every 20-30 minutes.

The second problem is that, even though we drop the thermostat temp to about 68 degrees before bed, the AC just literally shuts off in the middle of the night. We have to shut off the thermostat, then reactivate it, and the AC comes back on. We have been going through this process of resetting it every night at least 2-3 times per night. We wake up sweating which is how we know it has shut itself off.

This glitchiness has never happened before. I intend to remove the inside cover and make sure everything is clean; cannot tell from looking at it whether there is a filter to clean or not. I also intend to go up on the roof to remove the cover up there and makes sure everything is clean and unobstructed. Beyond taking those steps, I'm perplexed by the unit's behavior.

Any helpful thoughts or suggestions?

[oldwave]

Originally Posted by gypsysouls

We have a 2018 Escape19. We are currently parked in the Fargo, ND area enjoying their sweltering weather (90s during the day, 70s at night) and drought. And also working the Sugar Beet Harvest.

Our problem is our AC. Or at least we think we have a problem with our AC. It shuts off periodically, literally for 2-3 seconds, then starts back up.. This process repeats itself maybe every 20-30 minutes.

The second problem is that, even though we drop the thermostat temp to about 68 degrees before bed, the AC just literally shuts off in the middle of the night. We have to shut off the thermostat, then reactivate it, and the AC comes back on. We have been going through this process of resetting it every night at least 2-3 times per night. We wake up sweating which is how we know it has shut itself off.

This glitchiness has never happened before. I intend to remove the inside cover and make sure everything is clean; cannot tell from looking at it whether there is a filter to clean or not. I also intend to go up on the roof to remove the cover up there and makes sure everything is clean and unobstructed. Beyond taking those steps, I'm perplexed by the unit's behavior.

Any helpful thoughts or suggestions?

Do you have the ems system that reads about the amperage draw ? Are you hooked up to 30 amp circuit ? I wonder if it’s a slight brown out with your electric hook,up . When the compressor kicks in the draw is high on the circuit.
Just a few thoughts

[rubicon327]

It’s hard to tell what might be going on but the digital thermostat is suspect. A lot of Dometic issues posted online when you google “Dometic A/C randomly shutting off”. Jon V. replaced his thermostat after having issues with the poorly engineered capacitive touch design. Some owners have experienced changes to their settings without touching the the thermostat. Even if this isn’t your current problem it might be a good investment to consider.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post376374

Jon’s Amazon link takes you to the -352 but -351 is recommended when you use Micro-Air’s selection tool.
https://www.microair.net/products/ea...32199143587924
https://www.amazon.com/Hutch-Mountai...8PJ9BCH5&psc=1

[oldwave]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

It’s hard to tell what might be going on but the digital thermostat is suspect. A lot of Dometic issues posted online when you google “Dometic A/C randomly shutting off”. Jon V. replaced his thermostat after having issues with the poorly engineered capacitive touch design. Some owners have experienced changes to their settings without touching the the thermostat. Even if this isn’t your current problem it might be a good investment to consider.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post376374

Jon’s Amazon link takes you to the -352 but -351 is recommended when you use Micro-Air’s selection tool.
https://www.microair.net/products/ea...32199143587924
https://www.amazon.com/Hutch-Mountai...8PJ9BCH5&psc=1

Wow that’s not cheap

[wackyburggeezer]

Our Dometic Capacitive Touch Tstat refused to function for no apparent reason. After discovering that the schematic for the Dometic system was attached to the upper side (non reachable) side of the controller, and trying repeatedly to get it to do anything except hang on the wall, We opted to spend the money for the MicroAir, rather than not have A/C. Money well spent, and the install is easy.

[MVA]

I have noted the same concern when we were traveling in the southeast part of the US this summer. We were using the AC near continuously in a very humid area. I suspected two problems: the AC was icing and thermostat placement.

Icing was suspected when the air temperature from the AC vents was >65F. After turning off the AC for a couple of hours, the air temperature was <56F.

Cycling was solved by adjusting the thermostat up or down by a couple of degrees. In retrospect, I suspect the thermostat may be in a poor placement in term of air flow. Next time this happens to me I plan to tape some cardboard to right side of the thermostat so the air flow from the air conditioner is not blowing across the thermostat. If that works for you, let me know.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by gypsysouls

Our problem is our AC. Or at least we think we have a problem with our AC. It shuts off periodically, literally for 2-3 seconds, then starts back up.. This process repeats itself maybe every 20-30 minutes.

With the fan on our thermostat in our 2020 Escape 19 set to 'Auto', I've notice that it will do this as is switches the fan from high to low and back again.

[MVA]

FYI - from the manual:

"When auto fan is selected fan speed will vary depending on room temperature and temperature set-point. In auto fan compressor and fan cycle On and Off with thermostat. When difference is:
> 5ºF Fan operates on HIGH
< 4ºF Fan operates on LOW"

I could not find the reference, but I believe the span for cooling is set at 1F (really tight!). BTW - the heating mode span is adjustable. Hence, any cold breeze across the thermostat will shut off the AC. As an example, I installed a rod to hang a towel to dry over the bed. When the AC is on and a towel is on the rod, the air flow hits the towel and the thermostat shuts off the AC.

2 cents

[gypsysouls]

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. We don't like that touch screen thermostat at all. So that may have to be replaced. We don't have any "high" modes appear; just "low" mode for both cool and heat modes. Maybe that is another sign the thermostat is toast?

After posting last night, the AC ran all night with no shutoffs and restarts necessary. Go figure!

On our Casita, we had some cheezy filter elements that could be cleaned in the sink. Does anyone know if the AC unit on the Escape19 has any filters that need to be cleaned periodically? There are none that are readily apparent to us.

Thanks Again...

[MVA]

So it seems odd, but you select the cooling speed from the fan speed mode. From the manual:

"Press / Mode button until Fan icon appears. See (FIG. 5). The LCD will show “Low”, “High”,
or “Auto”. Press the or button to select desired fan speed. "