|
07-15-2018, 07:38 PM
|
#1
|
Rivet Master
1973 31' Sovereign
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,255
|
Need A.C. Control wiring help
I have a 1973 31' International. During the remodeling process - several years ago now - I redid a lot of the wiring. I disconnected the heating and A.C. thermostat. I saved the thermostat so that I could refer to it when rebuilding. I can't find the thermostat right now because a lot of our things are in storage while I build our house and live in our Airstream while doing so. I want to see if the A.C. Can be made functional again but I don't know which of the 4 wires that used to connect to the thermostat would be for AC. I am guessing that 2 wires might have been to heat and 2 for A.C. but which ones. Also guessing that means 2 might normally have 12 volts on them and 2 would go to heater and AC. The color of my 4 wires are: red, green, black and brown. I would love a clue as to which wires are for the AC. Short of that some suggestions about how to figure which is which would help.
Thanks...
|
|
|
07-15-2018, 07:53 PM
|
#2
|
Rivet Master
1974 Argosy 26
Morrill
, Nebraska
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,014
|
When you say heater. Are you refering to the furnace?
If so, you should be able to ID the furnace thermostat wires by gaining access to the furnace area.
Not sure about the AC wires. You might try removing the inner shroud and see what you can see.
I would try the furnace first.
If you can ID it's wires. Then the others are the AC.
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 08:28 AM
|
#3
|
Rivet Master
1973 31' Sovereign
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,255
|
I no longer have the original furnace. I did open the bottom of the a.c. And found that all 4 wires in question appear to go to it. Still don't know which one does what though.
__________________
Only he who attempts the ridiculous can achieve the impossble.
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 12:01 PM
|
#4
|
Rivet Master
1974 Argosy 26
Morrill
, Nebraska
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,014
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by malconium
I no longer have the original furnace. I did open the bottom of the a.c. And found that all 4 wires in question appear to go to it. Still don't know which one does what though.
|
Here is my guess as to the 4 wires at the furnace location.
2 are for the power. 12 volt DC
2 are for the thermostat. Which is simply a switch leg to and from the thermostat.
Those wires should/could be different colors than those at the AC.
To what are the 4 wires connected in the AC?
Is there a schematic on or in the AC unit?
Is the AC an Armstrong? The original?
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 02:24 PM
|
#5
|
Rivet Master
1973 31' Sovereign
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,255
|
I did discover that all 4 wires go to the AC unit. I did discover a schematic on the bottom of the unit which helped. I Googled thermostat wiring and found out enough to figure out what the wires did. I connected up a fan wire and the cooling wire to the red 24 volt wire and things started running. Alas no cold air coming out. I have not seen any label that says what brand of unit it is. It does look like it could be the original though. It is attached with a bunch of digits around the outer flange.
How do I confirm if it is an Armstrong unit? Is it worth trying to fix it? Is it possible that it just needs the Freon to be recharged and is that something I could do myself?
__________________
Only he who attempts the ridiculous can achieve the impossble.
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 02:44 PM
|
#6
|
3 Rivet Member
Currently Looking...
Baltimore
, Maryland
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 194
|
I don’t think that Armstrong air conditioners had wall mounted thermostats in 1973. Back then, air conditioners had two black knobs on the air conditioner itself. One knob controlled the cooling/fan speed and the other knob was the thermostat.
Cheers,
John
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 03:01 PM
|
#7
|
Rivet Master
1974 Argosy 26
Morrill
, Nebraska
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,014
|
My Armstrong AC has 4 push buttons: Off; Fan; Low Cool; High Cool. Plus a 7 position rotary switch for setting the temp. 1 being the warmest and 7 being the coolest. There is no wall thermostat.
Can you post a pic of the inside cover?
Perhaps someone here can ID the make.
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 03:07 PM
|
#8
|
Rivet Master
1974 Argosy 26
Morrill
, Nebraska
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,014
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by malconium
I did discover that all 4 wires go to the AC unit. I did discover a schematic on the bottom of the unit which helped. I Googled thermostat wiring and found out enough to figure out what the wires did. I connected up a fan wire and the cooling wire to the red 24 volt wire and things started running. Alas no cold air coming out. I have not seen any label that says what brand of unit it is. It does look like it could be the original though. It is attached with a bunch of digits around the outer flange.
How do I confirm if it is an Armstrong unit? Is it worth trying to fix it? Is it possible that it just needs the Freon to be recharged and is that something I could do myself?
|
Do you know if the compressor kicked in? Or was it, just the fan?
Are there any controls on the unit itself?
Can you ID the 4 wires by reading the schematic?
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 03:12 PM
|
#9
|
Rivet Master
1974 Argosy 26
Morrill
, Nebraska
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,014
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by TG Twinkie
Do you know if the compressor kicked in? Or was it, just the fan?
Are there any controls on the unit itself?
Can you ID the 4 wires by reading the schematic?
|
You would need to find a willing heating and AC guy to repair the unit.
Not an RV tech!
If it is an Armstrong. They are worth fixing IMHO.
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 03:24 PM
|
#10
|
2 Rivet Member
1970 27' Overlander
Liberty
, North Carolina
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 47
|
My 1970 Overlander has an Armstrong with a 4 wire wall mounted thermostat.
Red-power
Brown-compressor
Green-low fan
Black-high fan
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 06:43 PM
|
#11
|
Rivet Master
1973 31' Sovereign
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,255
|
That is exactly the color and function of the 4 wires on my unit. There aren't any controls on the bottom of the unit.
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 06:46 PM
|
#12
|
Rivet Master
1973 31' Sovereign
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,255
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by TG Twinkie
You would need to find a willing heating and AC guy to repair the unit.
Not an RV tech!
If it is an Armstrong. They are worth fixing IMHO.
|
Would I have to dismount the unit to have someone work on it?
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 07:15 PM
|
#13
|
Rivet Master
1973 31' Sovereign
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,255
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by B Wilson
My 1970 Overlander has an Armstrong with a 4 wire wall mounted thermostat.
Red-power
Brown-compressor
Green-low fan
Black-high fan
|
How does the thermostat control the two fan speeds? Is there a separate switch for that function? I am wondering what to do for a thermostat if I can't find my old one or if it needs to be replaced. Is there a thermostat available today with the same functionality?
__________________
Only he who attempts the ridiculous can achieve the impossble.
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 07:20 PM
|
#14
|
Rivet Master
1973 31' Sovereign
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,255
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by B Wilson
My 1970 Overlander has an Armstrong with a 4 wire wall mounted thermostat.
Red-power
Brown-compressor
Green-low fan
Black-high fan
|
I see the text labels on your thermostat in include G1 and G2 which are labels on the schematic of my AC.
Is there a schematic visible on the bottom front of your AC through the front air vent? That is where my schematic is located. If so that would help confirm whether or not I have an Armstrong unit.
__________________
Only he who attempts the ridiculous can achieve the impossble.
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 08:25 PM
|
#15
|
Rivet Master
1974 Argosy 26
Morrill
, Nebraska
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,014
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by malconium
Would I have to dismount the unit to have someone work on it?
|
Depends on how willing the person is about working on top of your coach.
He/She would have to be mindfull of how to prevent dents in the skin.
|
|
|
07-16-2018, 08:29 PM
|
#16
|
Rivet Master
1974 Argosy 26
Morrill
, Nebraska
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,014
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by malconium
How does the thermostat control the two fan speeds? Is there a separate switch for that function? I am wondering what to do for a thermostat if I can't find my old one or if it needs to be replaced. Is there a thermostat available today with the same functionality?
|
It switches off the low speed and switches on the high speed. Probably done thru a relay to switch windings in the fan motor.
|
|
|
07-17-2018, 10:00 AM
|
#17
|
Rivet Master
1973 31' Sovereign
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,255
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by TG Twinkie
It switches off the low speed and switches on the high speed. Probably done thru a relay to switch windings in the fan motor.
|
What I was wondering was if there was something specific on the thermostat that allowed you to select the fan speed you wanted. Is there a fan speed selection switch? If so then my question is will I be able to get a new thermostat that has a similar fan speed control switch it i need to replace mine?
__________________
Only he who attempts the ridiculous can achieve the impossble.
|
|
|
07-17-2018, 10:35 AM
|
#18
|
Rivet Master
1974 Argosy 26
Morrill
, Nebraska
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,014
|
I believe you can get a thermostat with a high and low switch setting.
My new SOB trailer has a thermostat which has that function on a slide switch.
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|