Power and Air Conditioning

[judatt]

Greetings, everyone. We made it to Brownsville on Thursday and got all set up. Very nice resort and the people have been great to greet us and offer help as needed.

Have a couple of questions that I thought the experts on this forum might be able to help with.

We averaged driving about 350 miles per day. We noticed when we were driving the fridge continued to run but the electrical outlets did not have power. Had to reset the clocks every evening. Then we drove 425 miles one day and at the end of the day the batteries were dead. The fridge had shut off (still cold so hadn't been shut off long). We plugged into the post and everything was fine again. The next day we drove about 250 miles and no issues other than the fact we had to reset our clocks again when we got here.

The other issue is the cooling (air conditioning). Didn't need it until we arrived in Brownsville. Temps here have been around 80 so turned on cooling. The coach cooled down fine but it just seems like it is not running correctly. We put it on 75 and turned all 3 units on. The one in the middle and the front cool great. It seems a little warmer in the bedroom in the back. Also, you can hear the compressor come on and sometimes it is only on for a few seconds and shuts off. Sometimes it is on for a few minutes. As I said, the coach is cool - I'm just concerned that it is not cycling properly.

Remember, I know nothing - and I mean nothing - about how things work. Just want to make sure I'm not damaging anything.

By the way, I have scheduled a guy to come out and look at the power to make sure the batteries/alternator are working correctly. I think we just don't have something set correctly on the main board. Can I (should I) ask the guy coming to check the power to check the cooling? Or do I need to get a heat/air guy to come and look?

Thanks for your input. One of these days we'll get our coach exactly like it's supposed to be and know what changes we need to make as we drive. For now, we really appreciate your input and advice. David

[wolfe10]

David,

Will get started on your list:

1. "...when we were driving the fridge continued to run but the electrical outlets did not have power.". When driving (i.e. not on shore power, the outlets which are 120 VAC will only work with generator on or power from an inverter turned on. And on most coaches, not all outlets are wired to be powered by the inverter.

2. "Then we drove 425 miles one day and at the end of the day the batteries were dead." This is an important one-- when the engine is running, the alternator should be charging both chassis and house battery banks. Some coaches use a diode-based battery isolator, some a solenoid-based battery isolator. You/or a tech need to determine if this is an alternator issue, battery isolator issue, or merely a loose connection. Be aware that low voltage can cause the engine/transmission to quit working! Will also cause premature battery failure and "hard time" PC boards that work on 12 VDC.

3. Concerning the roof A/C's, yes you need someone familiar with RV roof A/C's to check it. Could be something as simple as a bad capacitor, connection, etc.

[blakeloke]

I can't add anything to #1 & #2 above but may offer the following for your air conditioning.

After a day's travel and when we need air conditioning, I lift the engine cover hatch to allow the engine heat a better way of dissipating out the back of the coach. This helps the rear AC unit in keeping the back of the coach cool. Once at camp and after a few hours you can close the cover and should be good to go.

We also had an AC issue last summer. We had a tech come out to the campground we were at and told us our ACs were in fine working order. Hmmmm....the front AC would only work intermittently and it got durn hot in there. So, after a bit of researching (I actually found the clue in this forum) I started to experiment with our lights as someone suggested a fluorescent light ballast may be interfering with the thermostat. Lo and behold, through a process of elimination, we narrowed our AC to the fluorescent light in the kitchen next to the thermostat!

Now have changed most of our tubes to LED and have not had an AC issue since then. The LED bulbs don't require use of a ballast and tie right into the existing fixtures.

Not sure if your coach uses fluorescent lighting but if so it may be worth a try.

Blake

[tbutler]

Regarding the air conditioners, in our coach the air conditioners feed a common duct system so air from the front air conditioner also feeds to the rear of the coach though not as vigorously as to the front of the coach. At night we set the front AC to a lower temperature so we don't have to listen to the rear AC running. Sometimes when the front AC kicks on, it will dispel warm air from the ducts in the rear which will cause the rear AC to come on briefly then it will go off once the air coming from the rear ducts is cool again. If one AC is cycling quickly, try changing the settings of the other AC units. Let the one that is cycling quickly handle more of the work for a while and see how it behaves.

Like Blake, when we park after driving in hot weather I raise the engine cover to allow maximum air circulation and cool the engine quicker. I'll close it up before we turn in for the night but it helps the air conditioners cool the coach much quicker. In our first coach the engine was under the bed. That was really nice in cold weather but we definitely had to raise the cover on the engine compartment in hot weather!

We only use our generator while driving when we need heavy air conditioning while on the road. Our inverter is on full time in the coach. We've never had batteries go dead while driving no matter how long we are on the road. With the inverter on it is powering our residential refrigerator. We never have to reset clocks! The only time we've had problems with batteries is when they have reached the end of their useful life and are no longer taking a charge.

Glad to hear that you made it in Thursday. I was looking at the weather this morning and hoping that you weren't on the road somewhere along the SE Texas coast! Cooler today, warming tomorrow. Enjoy south Texas weather! If you are looking for a fun experience, there is the Causeway Walk/Run from Port Isabel to South Padre Island on Saturday, January 9. They close one lane on the causeway bridge and several thousand people race or walk across from Port Isabel to South Padre Island. Buses return you after you complete the walk or run. We've been doing this for a number of years, great fun if the weather is good. Every year is different. Registration information is available at this website for the Port Isabel Chamber of Commerce. You have to register to get the wrist band to be able to walk across the causeway bridge. If you walk they have buses at the South Padre Island end of the causeway but you can also walk north to the end point of the race at Louie's Back Yard which hosts the medal awards and HEB grocery stores sponsors hot dogs, chips and drinks for all participants, walk or run! That adds about a mile to the distance you would walk and there are buses there for all participants as well.

[judatt]

Thanks everyone for your input. As a CPA, I'm much more comfortable with numbers. For example, I have already started a spread sheet and can tell you in various categories what we have spent so far on the motor coach - total expenses are $16,748.68 so far. Wish I could do the systems as well as I can do the numbers .​

I did look at the main board and there is an inverter panel there with lots of settings. I'll ask the guy coming about where it needs to be set when we are driving down the road. I think I'm going to ask a heat/air guy to take a look. I think they are ok - the coach stays warm when needed and cool when needed - just seems to cycle kind of weird. I'll also check on the thermostat locations.

One other question - I was told that while we are parked we need to run our generator periodically. How often do you recommend and how long do we need to keep it running?

We did have quite a rain storm here this morning. We were in Church and could hear it hitting the roof of the building. Overnight low was 75 after a high yesterday of 82. It is now 61 so the front moving through really cooled things off. Supposed to be down to 51 tonight but back to 80 again tomorrow.

Tom and Louise, we may very well do the 5 K walk across the causeway. We have an event in Richmond called the Ukrops Monument Avenue 10K and about 40,000 people participate. Judy and I have participated and really enjoyed it. We'll see about registering in the next day or two.

Would love to meet you - I'm guessing there will be a few thousand people there.

Maybe we can form a plan to meet. David