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Old 04-16-2016, 10:20 PM   #1
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2016 Second Air Conditioner not cooling

Well, the challenges continue on our 2016 Flying Cloud FB.

This week, the second AC unit decided to stop cooling.

We ordered the coach with 50A service and two AC units specifically for the summer heat. Up until about three days ago, we could use either AC, and both cooled well, with ducted air and temps in the 80s.

We started noticing that the Zone 1 AC (front, near the hitch) just blows air. I can hear the fan start, then what sounds like the compressor. But no cold air. I had 79F in the front, set to 75, and it had no effect after 30 minutes.

I've located the breaker for the AC, and turned it off for 10 minutes to try and reset it, no luck.

I've looked up into the air return registers, the look clear (we've only been using the coach since 3/4 when we left Tampa, we are in Phoenix AZ tonight.)

Any thoughts as to what I can do to trouble shoot this?

Is there a filter somewhere I am missing I need to clean?

Or do I need to go to a dealer? (Which would be the third separate warranty issue with this brand new 2016 RV so far.).
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Old 04-17-2016, 03:41 AM   #2
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If the compressor is running, and there is only room temperature air coming out of the ducts, you will need to take the trailer to the dealer for repair.
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Old 04-17-2016, 04:33 AM   #3
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Llando88, are you sure the front of the AS is zone 1. In our 2015 FC the set up, with dual AC and 50AMP is the front is Zone 2 and the rear our bedroom area is zone 1. There are several threads on hear dedicated to the ducted systems relating to lack of air flow. Seems at times the insulation used to form the ducts collapses on itself and interferes with air flow. I'd suggest you use only the front A/C and see what happens, no matter which unit is on, air will flow from all the ducts, at least that is the way ours works.
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Old 04-17-2016, 04:43 AM   #4
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One of the culprits is high humidity and slow fan which lets ice form on the coils. Look to see if the water is dripping from the drain tube, if not, turn switch to low fan only for a while, (could be up to 40 min), if the unit was iced up you will eventually see the water drain from the tube. I would not expect the coils to be dirty, but that is another culprit lack of air circulation. Another culprit as I suspect it is, low on Freon. Since you have a new unit this should be covered by warranty. Either the Freon was low to start with or there is a leak. I would definitely have a dealer inspect and or repair. Good luck!
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Old 04-17-2016, 07:27 AM   #5
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Thanks all. Looks like we will schedule it in for service. Again.

Yes, Zone 1 is in the front, our bedroom, in our trailer. Zone 2 works fine (rear of the trailer.). The Zone 2 AC distributes cold air to the entire coach, front and back, so the ducts are ok. Ambient temp here in Phoenix was 83 or so yesterday afternoon, so it's been warm. Not sure how it could freeze up.

Anybody know where the filters are on these ducted air coaches?

Sigh. Feeling kind of snake bit with warranty issues. We've been on the road 5 weeks with this brand new 2016 Airstream and have had two service visits (power jack failed, LP regulator faulty) not to mention picking up a nail in a tire resulting in replacing the GYMs way before I wanted to.
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Old 04-17-2016, 07:50 AM   #6
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If your new unit IS low on refrigerant, it will appear to be operating correctly but as there is insufficient gas to compress, you will not get any cooling effect.

Run your rear A/C on high cool and place the front unit to 'fan only'….usually in the low speed setting. This will help distribute the cool air from the rear thru the ducting at the front of your trailer until you van get to your service appointment.

Also, if your evaporator does freeze due to excess humidity or several other causes like insufficient air volume crossing the evaporator coils (always run the unit on 'High Cool' , Dometic A/C units have a freeze sensor that will automatically shut down the compressor until the ice is melted from the evaporator coils and will then resume cooling.

If you unit is a heat pump and you want to melt the ice rapidly, simply place the unit in heat pump mode and max out the temperature setting at the t/stat. This will cause the evaporator to become a heat source and will melt any ice on it very quickly.

Luckily, it is an easy problem to diagnose.
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Old 04-17-2016, 09:51 AM   #7
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^^^ Thank you Lew. Much obliged.

When I get the issue resolved, I'll post back in the thread. Sounds like a leak of refrigerant, most likely. Maybe something shook loose on the road at some point (gas fitting?) and it needs a recharge.
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Old 04-17-2016, 11:48 AM   #8
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Llando88,

Unfortunately, if you have a leak the only remedy is a unit replacement as there are no process valves on RV units that would allow for them to accept the new refrigerant.

Regardless, your Airstream or Donetic warranties should have you covered.


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Old 04-17-2016, 02:12 PM   #9
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Lew - Wow. Unit replacement. Ok, that helps, actually.

We are currently in Phoenix AZ, headed out down I10 west on Tuesday. Our next stop is in Palm Springs CA, then north to Oregon (eventually).

We'll locate a good Aistream service center in southern CA and plan for a lengthy stop in case they need to order a new unit from Dometic.

Rich
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Old 04-17-2016, 03:49 PM   #10
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Lew - Wow. Unit replacement. Ok, that helps, actually.

We are currently in Phoenix AZ, headed out down I10 west on Tuesday. Our next stop is in Palm Springs CA, then north to Oregon (eventually).

We'll locate a good Aistream service center in southern CA and plan for a lengthy stop in case they need to order a new unit from Dometic.

Rich
There's Airstream of Los Angeles, you can check with them.
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Old 04-17-2016, 08:00 PM   #11
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We just discovered we have the identical problem on our 2016 dual a/c. in our case the unit had never run since delivery. We just decided to give it a trial run in preparation for summer. The aft unit works perfectly in either cool or heat mode. The forward unit just blows air. The compressor sounds like it may be running, but has a different sound than the rear.

We called Dometic. After going through a few preliminary diagnostics agreed it wasn't something simple and they want us to take it in for inspection. They recommended three repair locations but none would look at it claiming they loose money doing warranty work for Dometic. Our Airstream dealer has agreed to service it, but they are 250 miles away and aren't certain they can diagnose and fix it in one visit. May take some time to get parts.

By the way, our forward unit is on Zone 2 along with the furnace. The aft unit is zone 1.
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Old 04-17-2016, 08:41 PM   #12
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By the way, our forward unit is on Zone 2 along with the furnace. The aft unit is zone 1.
Sorry to hear you have the same issue.

Yeah, it may be I was unclear or ours was wired differently. We have a 27' Front Bed, and Zone 1 (problem AC) controls the front (bedroom, looking forward). Zone 2 (working AC) has our furnace, and contols the back / rear / kitchen lounge area of our coach.

We weighed our options and are going to check with Desert Autoplex here in Mesa AZ to see if they can fit us in this coming week. If so, we may stay in Phoenix. If not, we are going to check with Lazydays in Tucson, and see if they can get us in.

It was 83 here this afternoon, and our one working AC was working hard to keep the coach cool in the bright sunshine.
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Old 04-17-2016, 08:45 PM   #13
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Sorry to hear you have the same issue.

Yeah, it may be I was unclear or ours was wired differently. We have a 27' Front Bed, and Zone 1 (problem AC) controls the front (bedroom, looking forward). Zone 2 (working AC) has our furnace, and contols the back / rear / kitchen lounge area of our coach.

We weighed our options and are going to check with Desert Autoplex here in Mesa AZ to see if they can fit us in this coming week. If so, we may stay in Phoenix. If not, we are going to check with Lazydays in Tucson, and see if they can get us in.

It was 83 here this afternoon, and our one working AC was working hard to keep the coach cool in the bright sunshine.
Don't forget to run the forward unit on 'low fan only' to help circulate the cool air coming from the rear unit.
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Old 04-17-2016, 08:51 PM   #14
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Don't forget to run the forward unit on 'low fan only' to help circulate the cool air coming from the rear unit.
Lew - Thanks. Not sure if it is part of my problem, but I tried that this afternoon, and it did not help, based on observed temperatures, front and back.

I had more cool air in the front with the front AC fan set 'off', and it was cooler.

Weird.
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Old 04-17-2016, 09:27 PM   #15
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Lew - Thanks. Not sure if it is part of my problem, but I tried that this afternoon, and it did not help, based on observed temperatures, front and back.

I had more cool air in the front with the front AC fan set 'off', and it was cooler.

Weird.
It's a suggestion that I give to my clients with larger motor homes. It's quite possible that the shorter distances between the units does not follow the pattern.

Of course, use what ever method gets you maximum cool in up front until you get the 'fix'.
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Old 04-18-2016, 09:05 AM   #16
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Call Airstream support and see if they will pay for a mobile RV service to come out and check/replace the unit.
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Old 04-18-2016, 09:10 AM   #17
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We had a similar situation with our new 2015 FC 28 twin. After only two months of ownership, while having used the heat pump function, I checked out the cooling on both units in preparation for a trip. I discovered there was no cooling from the after unit. Our local dealer checked it out, and replaced the entire unit under warranty.
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Old 04-18-2016, 11:13 AM   #18
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I have an appointment with Desert Autoplex Airstream here in Mesa AZ (1.5 miles from me) tomorrow at 7:30AM. They are going to check it out. They did indicate it is a complete swap out; there is no refill or repair on these units.

He also said it might be a few days to get a unit. In that case, we may head up to Flagstaff and cooler weather until it gets here.

I will post back with the results when we are fixed up.

Rich
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Old 04-19-2016, 03:17 PM   #19
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Desert Autoplex diagnosed a bad AC unit, requiring a replacement.

A new unit is on the way from Dometic in CA, in approximately two days. As per the comments, it was fairly quick to determine the unit was not functioning, and there is no repair other than warranty replacement.
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Old 04-19-2016, 03:53 PM   #20
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Thank goodness it's under warranty. Thanks for posting your experiences with the air conditioner(s) and good luck!
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