armstrong a/c

[mike beech]

hello i was wondering if anyone could tell me if this is normal or not if i turn the a/c on the fan seems to run for 5-10 seconds and go off for about 5 seconds and back on. it does this on high or low it seems the be cold when it blows. does this sound like a fan motor problem or some other little gremlin???

[jcanavera]

Mike,
I never have run into this situation with any air conditioner. Maybe there is a problem brewing. I don't believe that you can assume fan motor only. Lots of other things to check.

Jack

[Inland RV Center, In]

From your description, sounds like the fan condenser is shot. Andy

[JW84345]

Yeah, sounds like something is wrong. I have the old armsrtrong in my '69 overlander. When I set the thermostat to cool, the fan runs continously. The compressor cycles on and off as controlled by the thermostate, but the fan always runs. In fact I was just down in south florida and that 33 year old unit still works great!!!

Jim

[jcanavera]

Personally I would rather that the fan doesn't run continously. My SOB trailer previous had a Duo-Therm Brisk Air unit which was connected to a wall thermostat. It cycled the entire unit on and off as necessary. I found it was much more comfortable than the way my Penguin operates with the fan staying on all the time.

The problem with this mode of operation is that towards evening and night when the compressor cycles less, the continous air circulation picks up the condensation on the evaporator coils and you get that cool clammy feeling in the trailer.

Jack

[mike beech]

i want to thank you all for your info . i guess i will put my window mount in while its just sitting and try to fix the roof mount. or find 5 bills just laying around for a new one. thanx mb

[thenewkid64]

My understanding is that the Armstrong units are repairable buy a GOOD AC guy. The components used were Commercial Grade and there are some of them still available. The only part that I am aware of that is very hard to find is the fan motor.

I can not remember where I read this info but I think it was on the VAC list.

Don't give up hope, keep trying!

[MikeT]

Does anyone know where a replacement compressor could be found for Armstrong A/C on a 71 Sovereign? Also, could a compressor from a large window unit (15,000 btu's?) be used as a replacement? Thanks, MikeT

[davidz71]

Don't give up on that Armstrong. I had a bad 14 volt transformer that I traced myself through the use of a service manual. An RV dealer didn't really want to fool with the Armstrong and was recommending a Duo-Therm High Efficiency Brisk Air unit. I had a friend bring his freon gauges over and check the freon level. He put in just a tad of freon. We couldn't get the compressor to engage when jumping across the thermostat. Matter of fact, we could not get a voltage reading at the thermostat. We pull the AC cover off and went further inside to the transformer. The compressor was getting 125 volts and so was the transformer; however, the transformer was only putting out 9 volts on the other side rather than 14. I went to an electronics supply store and bought a replacement transformer, adapted a mounting bracket because this one was a larger unit and bolted it in. As soon as I turned the AC on, the compressor engaged. Cold, cold air was the end result. Have someone check out that condenser as Andy suggested and that may take care of the problem.

By the way, didn't someone say a replacement fan motor could be purchased through Grainger? Craig

[davidz71]

Mike T,
Someone on this board or www.airstreamcentral.com replaced their Armstrong with another unit. Their compressor may still be working. I wish I could remember which post it was but they were going to sell the unit or parts. Good luck.

[MikeT]

Originally posted by davidz71
Don't give up on that Armstrong. I had a bad 14 volt transformer that I traced myself through the use of a service manual. An RV dealer didn't really want to fool with the Armstrong and was recommending a Duo-Therm High Efficiency Brisk Air unit. I had a friend bring his freon gauges over and check the freon level. He put in just a tad of freon. We couldn't get the compressor to engage when jumping across the thermostat. Matter of fact, we could not get a voltage reading at the thermostat. We pull the AC cover off and went further inside to the transformer. The compressor was getting 125 volts and so was the transformer; however, the transformer was only putting out 9 volts on the other side rather than 14. I went to an electronics supply store and bought a replacement transformer, adapted a mounting bracket because this one was a larger unit and bolted it in. As soon as I turned the AC on, the compressor engaged. Cold, cold air was the end result. Have someone check out that condenser as Andy suggested and that may take care of the problem.

By the way, didn't someone say a replacement fan motor could be purchased through Grainger? Craig

Thanks for the info, I will give it a try this weekend.

Mike T.

[74Tradewind]

If the fan is cycling on and off, it would seem that you have a circuit breaker reseting. It is probably in the unit itself. A short or more likely overload from the fan itself. The more I think about it the fan motor has a built-in thermal overload with automatic reset.

The condenser pump is running as you said the air is cold when the fan does come on so I don't think you have an evaporater problem.

Ciao, Brian

[MikeT]

Thanks for the input. However, the problem is with the compressor kicking in and out. Once the unit has been off an hour or more, I turn it on and the compressor will run for @ 2-3 min. No change in the air temperature. Then the compressor will cycle on for 5-10 sec and off. It will repeat this for 5-6 times and then the compressor will not come on again until it sits for several hours. Both fans work continuously throughout. Thanks for any info you all may have.

Mike T.

[jcanavera]

Originally posted by MikeT
Thanks for the input. However, the problem is with the compressor kicking in and out. Once the unit has been off an hour or more, I turn it on and the compressor will run for @ 2-3 min. No change in the air temperature. Then the compressor will cycle on for 5-10 sec and off.
Mike T.

Sounds like you have a freon leak. That's the typical symptom of a compressor that is low on charge.

Jack

[lexusparts]

I have a 73 tradewind with the original Armstrong A/C blowing worm air, any ideas as to the type of freon that this unit takes?
Thanks
Mark

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by lexusparts

I have a 73 tradewind with the original Armstrong A/C blowing worm air, any ideas as to the type of freon that this unit takes?
Thanks
Mark

All Armstrong AC's used by Airstream use R-22 freon.

Is the compressor running? If not, you could have a bad start relay.

Andy

[rideair]

I have one of the old "Bay Breeze" units used in the mid 60's to the early 70's. All the parts can be found, fan, compressor, dryer, comp., etc... If you do a search for "bay breeze" you will find a thread of a guy that had to rebuild his over time. The only problem you may have would be if the if the coils evap/cond were bad, but they can be fix or made. Even the shrould can be had from Andy (Inland RV). With that old unit, you have three small holes in the roof(motor spindle, supply/return freon)