Soft Start

[jfreeham]

At last week's Alumapalooza 14 I attended the workshop presented by the Soft Start people. I had attended the same workshop at last year's Alumapalooza.

This year, though, following the presentation I approached the presenter and purchased one. The professional installer was at his side and, as I don't go in the roof on our Airstream, I thought it a good idea to hire his services. A few hours later it was installed. I'm old. I am permitted to indulge in nice things. But one thing I still haven't learned in life is to leave well enough alone, for you see, the A/C is softly starting, but it isn't blowing refrigerated air.

What should I do? Any wisdom and advice will be well received. At the very least I'll be finding the Soft Start booth at the International Rally to register my disappointment.

[Belegedhel]

When you say it is softly starting, can you tell if the compressor is actually kicking in, or is all you hear is the fan running. When I bought my soft start kit, it was provided with some clip-on connectors, which I found to be very unreliable--maybe it is something this simple.

That said, if you don't intend to climb up on the roof and troubleshoot the wiring yourself, then the only advice I can give you is to contact the company, describe the problem, and get them to provide a solution.

good luck!

[jeffmc306]

jfreeham, I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble after the install.

When you say “soft start” are you referring to the Micro-Air EasyStart? There is another brand called SoftStart.

I bought a Micro-Air EasyStart at the Fryeburg International Rally a few years ago and, like you, had a tech install it at the rally. When he was finished and asked me to start the AC, it didn’t work at first. He had to go back and change a wire connection then it worked.

My point is it’s possible the installer missed a connection and while the fan may run, the compressor may not. If you have a receipt from the installer / company you bought it from, call them and ask for help. They may be a vendor /subcontractor for the manufacturer.

By the way, this spring I purchased a second EasyStart and installed it myself. It was easier than I thought. Hutch Mountain has a really good YouTube video on how to install.

I’m betting there’s a miswired connection or worst case, a bad unit.
One last thought, try it again and turn the thermostat down 10 degrees to ensure the AC unit is seeing the call for cold.

Good luck!

[SlowPokePete]

So sorry this has happened.

Surprised that the “expert” did not do a test run to make sure everything worked.

It is frustrating to say the least when you hire a “pro” and it turns out they don’t even have the sense to give it a try.

SPP

[rodsterinfl]

I just wired a SmartStart to my new unit yesterday. There is one tricky part that made no sense to me in the directions that had to do with the Red wire from the compressor. The directions mention using the "other red wire" connected to the FAN terminal to know which terminal to use. That to me is vaugue. The HERM terminal would have no wire if you put the red wire with red wire so then it must mean to put it where the other red wire isn't? Crazy. Well, HERM is the compressor terminal or also known as high output terminal (had to research this one) and when I looked at my unit there was no OTHER RED wire. It was purple.