Duo Therm Penguin won't work after intallation Please Help

[1963tradewin]

After installing breaker would blow immediately. Found that there was nothing wrong with the input wires but as soon as you hook up ground to the ceiling kit breaker would blow. Thought it could be the circuit board on the ceiling box kit, took it apart everything looked good. Put back together, now breaker will not blow but no power from ceiling box kit to roof unit. Also ccc Thermostat will not turn on. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[markdoane]

More information please. On my Penguin there isn't a ceiling box kit, just a junction box hanging down from the roof unit and compressor. Do you have 120v at the junction box, but not at the compressor?

[lewster]

Originally Posted by 1963tradewin

After installing breaker would blow immediately. Found that there was nothing wrong with the input wires but as soon as you hook up ground to the ceiling kit breaker would blow. Thought it could be the circuit board on the ceiling box kit, took it apart everything looked good. Put back together, now breaker will not blow but no power from ceiling box kit to roof unit. Also ccc Thermostat will not turn on. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hey '63,

It's almost impossible to diagnose your problems with the info provided, but here are a few spots to check.

First, your CCC needs 12VDC to operate, and this comes from a power connection at the A/C unit and is fed back to the CCC via the phone cable. There shoudl be 2 designated wires in the connection bundle of the lower unit that are marked for 12VDC pos and neg. If it's not there....it won't work. Also, you need a Dometic style phone cable and not a standard type, as the RJ-11 plugs are not connected the same way on the cable.

Also, I would double check the polarity of your 120VAC power feed to be certain that the hot lead and neutral are properly polarized, and that the ground does indeed go into the ground bus bar at the breaker box and not into the neutral one, unless your trailer is wired like that from the start.

Keep us posted.

[1963tradewin]

Yes, I have 120v at the junction box but no power coming out of the circuit board plug which connects to the roof unit.

[1963tradewin]

Do I need to run the 12v to the air conditioner thru a power converter? Right now Its just hooked up to a deep cycle battery with 12.5v.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by 1963tradewin

Do I need to run the 12v to the air conditioner thru a power converter? Right now Its just hooked up to a deep cycle battery with 12.5v.

12.5VDC is midway between full and 50% charge (effectively dead). What is charging the battery? If your converter is connected to the battery and the A/C is also connected to the battery, then it shouod be OK, but your voltage at the battery should be reading closer to 12.8VDC (full charge) if it IS connected.

IIRC, you have a junction box which is integral with the lower control unit, and this is where you make your connections for your 120VAC power feed. thee should be a white square plug that comes out of the control box with 9? pins on it. I'll dig out my schematics and let you know where to test and what to expect.

BTW, this is not a test done with a multi-meter, as you need a load on the circuit to get a proper reading. Use a pig tail with a 40 watt light bulb for the test (available at any hardware store).....and I'll get back with you on the specifics.

[overlander63]

If this is for your '63, I have some thoughts...
1-It was not originally wired for air conditioning. Usually the air conditioner was wired through the coach 120v wiring for the ceiling light.
If that is how it still is, you have a 15 amp breaker that controls the a/c and all the high voltage stuff in the trailer.
2-I don't remember '63 having 3 wire electrical, only 2. If you have hot and neutral wired correctly, where is the ground wire going?
3-'63 didn't have a converter, '64 was the first year they came equipped with one.
Obviously, if you aren't working on your '63, or if you have modified the stuff mentioned above, please disregard this post.

[1963tradewin]

Originally Posted by lewster

12.5VDC is midway between full and 50% charge (effectively dead). What is charging the battery? If your converter is connected to the battery and the A/C is also connected to the battery, then it shouod be OK, but your voltage at the battery should be reading closer to 12.8VDC (full charge) if it IS connected.

IIRC, you have a junction box which is integral with the lower control unit, and this is where you make your connections for your 120VAC power feed. thee should be a white square plug that comes out of the control box with 9? pins on it. I'll dig out my schematics and let you know where to test and what to expect.

BTW, this is not a test done with a multi-meter, as you need a load on the circuit to get a proper reading. Use a pig tail with a 40 watt light bulb for the test (available at any hardware store).....and I'll get back with you on the specifics.

Nothing is charging the battery I have not installed the converter yet. I got the 12vdc wires sticking out of the ceiling kit. I'll try test. Thanks for your help

[1963tradewin]

Originally Posted by overlander63

If this is for your '63, I have some thoughts...
1-It was not originally wired for air conditioning. Usually the air conditioner was wired through the coach 120v wiring for the ceiling light.
If that is how it still is, you have a 15 amp breaker that controls the a/c and all the high voltage stuff in the trailer.
2-I don't remember '63 having 3 wire electrical, only 2. If you have hot and neutral wired correctly, where is the ground wire going?
3-'63 didn't have a converter, '64 was the first year they came equipped with one.
Obviously, if you aren't working on your '63, or if you have modified the stuff mentioned above, please disregard this post.

I do not know if my 63 came with a converter is it a nightmare to install one? She did come with a coleman a/c but looks like original wires. (2 wires)

[1963tradewin]

Did some tests found out I need a different cable running from the ccc thermostat to the ceiling kit. Also I needed to set the dip switch which was just for the furnace #3 switch. Now that I found that out I hope I didn't damage anything from the breaker blowing.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by 1963tradewin

Did some tests found out I need a different cable running from the ccc thermostat to the ceiling kit. Also I needed to set the dip switch which was just for the furnace #3 switch. Now that I found that out I hope I didn't damage anything from the breaker blowing.

If your furnace is also controlled by your CCC, then the proper dip switch should be activated. No others should be with a single unit installation, since you have only one 'zone' and one A/C unit and no other features like 'auto gen start' or 'power shedding'.

Also, you will have to re-set the CCC after changing the dip switch. If you don't know what the procedure is....let me know!