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jcwall · 06-12-2016, 02:55 PM

We have one of the Pendleton Limited Edition trailers. I have a problem with the rear A/C unit. (But maybe the problem is with the refrigerator) The sensor for the rear A/C is mounted in the wall next to the TV. It is about an inch from the wall and next to the window. I obtained a chart for for the resistance for the sensor at 10 degree increments. I found the connection for the sensor in the cold air return and tested it with two different ohm meters and it appeared to be spot on. So I don’t think there is a problem with the sensor. I believe the problem is that the refrigerator heats up the wall and thus the sensor.

Right now we are having a bit of a heat wave. It is 93 degrees outside. Inside the camper the wall is about 92 degrees at the sensor and it gets hotter as you go up the wall. (I am measuring the temperature with one of those IR temperature guns.). The cabinet above the refrigerator measures 110 degrees. That is ridiculous.

The problem is that the A/C never shuts off. The air temperature in the rear living area might be 70 degrees because the sensor thinks it is 90 degrees. As a result the rear A/C unit never shuts off. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS PROBLEM?

OTRA15 · 06-12-2016, 04:08 PM

Welcome to the forum! What an unusual problem, of being too cold in a sense.

Can you manually change the fan speed to low or medium to fine tune the interior temperature, for now? Seems like the remote sensor should be moved under warranty IMO.

Good luck,

Peter

jayseejay · 06-12-2016, 07:10 PM

Hi jcwall. You describe a fairly common design problem with newer 27' units with 2 ACs, where the placement of the zone 2 thermostat sensor is on (inside) the hot fridge wall. In our case (2015 Eddie Bauer 27'), we removed the plastic cover of the sensor and pulled the sensor wire itself out a few inches, so it was no longer trapped within the hot wall, and could pick up more of the ambient air temperature. This improved the situation in our case, and we have not taken further action. Best of luck. Joe

txmoto · 06-13-2016, 07:53 AM

Our Pendleton is having what looks to be the exact same issue. When I called the dealer I purchased it from, they informed me that they have seen this on all the Pendleton's they have sold. According to them someone during manufacture may have neglected to place insulation in the cavity that the Refrigerator occupies. We notice that the storage closet gets real hot as well. According to them, once they pull the fridge and put insulation back there, the wall doesn't heat up and everything works better. In my opinion, they should have been able to find a better location for that sensor than behind a TV and next to a refrigerator. Two real nice sources of heat. In any case there is always a solution for an issue like this.

GinaNBob · 06-13-2016, 08:53 AM

Aha! I think we may have had the same problem. I couldn't understand why the AC didn't turn off when it was obviously cold in the unit. Another airstream owner had told me about the high heat on the back wall of the storage cabinet above the refrigerator but if the AC sensor is in this area too it could explain the excess running of the AC. Will have my husband check this tonite.
So are you saying that the only way to correct this problem os to take it in for warranty work and have them pull the refrigerator, reinsulate area, and relocate AC sensor? Best to do this at Jackson Center? Not really happy with the dealership where we purchased it.
Gina

paiceman · 06-13-2016, 09:29 AM

Our 30' FC had the same issue. I moved the thermostat. Not a big deal and partially solved the problem. But, we also raise the temp on the thermostat to compensate for heat build up near the thermostat. In essence fooling the entire system.

Bud

jcwall · 06-14-2016, 05:03 AM

We have the fan on auto. I don't know that changing hte speed would address the problem of an overheated sensor. I think jayseejay has a good idea. Just remove the little round white cover and pull the sensor out a little. At least until I can make it to Jackson Center. I was at Alumapalooza and showed the problem to one of the techs and was told that Dometic has requirements for the height of the sensor. If it was mounted any higher the problem would be worse because the temperature rises as you go up the wall with the map on it. Any fix involving moving the sensor would involve removing the refrigerator. The thermostat is located in the bedroom and Zone 1 (bedroom) seems to display the correct temperature and seems to be working OK. paiceman has a good idea. I also thought of raising the temperature for Zone 2 (the living area) to 88-90 and see what happens. We're going camping for the next few days and I will give that a try and report the results.

OTRA15 · 06-14-2016, 07:42 PM

Putting the fan manually on low will let the interior get warmer than 70, and will be quieter than the auto fan, which in essence is high all the time.

It is a bandaid fix only, for a bit of comfort, until the sensor can be moved.

If the trailer gets too warm you can manually go to a medium fan etc..

Good luck,

Petet

RVDreamer · 06-14-2016, 08:02 PM

Our 2015 27FB Serenity does the exact same thing. Two A/C units on ours as well.

We just live with it and adjust the thermostat accordingly.

djarrett · 06-14-2016, 08:16 PM

I have a similar situation, but different. We have a 2015 Eddie Bauer with two AC's. Both are controlled by a dual zone domestic thermostat but instead of mounting it in the hallway between the two units (even though ducted), they mounted it in the rear bedroom by the TV. Because of this, the front unit wants to run way more than the rear unit. I believe the best fix for this will be removing the dual zone at some point and installing two thermostats, or researching a remote secondary sensor. Similar but not the exact same situation.

jayseejay · 06-15-2016, 07:15 AM

Hi djarrett. If yours is like other EBs with 2 ACs of that year, you should have the main thermostat in the front bedroom behind the bedroom TV, which has the temperature sensor for zone 1 (bedroom), and in the rear living area behind the tv, you should have a remote sensor for zone 2 (rear living area). It looks like a little plastic cage, about the size of a coin, usually white. Do you not have that remote sensor? Best, Joe

BicycleStream · 06-15-2016, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayseejay

Hi djarrett. If yours is like other EBs with 2 ACs of that year, you should have the main thermostat in the front bedroom behind the bedroom TV, which has the temperature sensor for zone 1 (bedroom), and in the rear living area behind the tv, you should have a remote sensor for zone 2 (rear living area). It looks like a little plastic cage, about the size of a coin, usually white. Do you not have that remote sensor? Best, Joe

Ha, never noticed the "little plastic cage" and never would have figured out what it was. We haven't used our AC yet and never did on our old 27' but thank you so much for the enlightenment. Next time we're camping with 50a service (which isn't often) I'll check out the entire AC system before our warranty ends.

xrvr · 06-15-2016, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcwall

We have one of the Pendleton Limited Edition trailers. I have a problem with the rear A/C unit. (But maybe the problem is with the refrigerator) The sensor for the rear A/C is mounted in the wall next to the TV. It is about an inch from the wall and next to the window. I obtained a chart for for the resistance for the sensor at 10 degree increments. I found the connection for the sensor in the cold air return and tested it with two different ohm meters and it appeared to be spot on. So I don’t think there is a problem with the sensor. I believe the problem is that the refrigerator heats up the wall and thus the sensor.

Right now we are having a bit of a heat wave. It is 93 degrees outside. Inside the camper the wall is about 92 degrees at the sensor and it gets hotter as you go up the wall. (I am measuring the temperature with one of those IR temperature guns.). The cabinet above the refrigerator measures 110 degrees. That is ridiculous.

The problem is that the A/C never shuts off. The air temperature in the rear living area might be 70 degrees because the sensor thinks it is 90 degrees. As a result the rear A/C unit never shuts off. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS PROBLEM?

Adjust the thermostat. Don't go by numbers, go by feel.

djarrett · 06-15-2016, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayseejay

Hi djarrett. If yours is like other EBs with 2 ACs of that year, you should have the main thermostat in the front bedroom behind the bedroom TV, which has the temperature sensor for zone 1 (bedroom), and in the rear living area behind the tv, you should have a remote sensor for zone 2 (rear living area). It looks like a little plastic cage, about the size of a coin, usually white. Do you not have that remote sensor? Best, Joe

I'll check that out tomorrow!

And if so ... only took a year to learn this little tid bit.

D

jcwall · 06-16-2016, 07:30 AM

Yes. The remote sensor for the rear A/C is located under a small round plastic cage to the left of the TV. I removed the cage and discovered that the tip of the sensor is held against the wall with a small plastic clip. I unscrewed that clip and pulled the tip of the sensor out about two inches. Take care not to let the wire and sensor fall back into the cabinet. Now the rear sensor measures the air temp and NOT the wall temp. I think I will drill a small hole in the cage and pull the tip of the sensor through the hole until it is touching only air. Then hold it in place with a little dab of silicone chalking. It is working perfectly with the wire pulled out two inches and hanging in the air.

hhendrix · 06-16-2016, 08:15 AM

Does anyone have a picture of the location. I have a 27' Flying Cloud with dual air and I can't tell if it's the same as described here. Thanks in advance.

paiceman · 06-16-2016, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paiceman

Our 30' FC had the same issue. I moved the thermostat. Not a big deal and partially solved the problem. But, we also raise the temp on the thermostat to compensate for heat build up near the thermostat. In essence fooling the entire system.

Bud

NEED TO CLARIFY. I moved the sensor not the thermostat. On the 30' FC our sensor was up above the TV and on the wall of the refrigerator. Moved it to well below the television and on the same wall, but when I moved the senor put some insulation between the sensor and the refrigerator compartment.

Bud