'97 C. Ultra A/C tripping breaker [Archive] - Gulf Stream Owners RV Forum

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Ikcaj

08-12-2017, 07:57 AM

Hi,

We're first time RV owners and full-timers, we live in our 1997 Conquest Ultra, so this has really been a learning experience. (I am so happy to have found this forum!) Of the hundreds of questions and issues we have, the most pressing at the moment is our roof air conditioner as we live in FL.

I bought the RV in April of the year and while renovating had the power on with the A/C set at 80 24/7 to prevent mold & mildew. I didn't have any problems for three months. We moved in full time in mid-July. A week later, the main power breaker tripped. It didn't take long to realize it was the A/C causing this, but I can't figure out why.

Of course since this started we no longer run it as normal. I keep it on Fan until it gets so hot (100+) that I have no choice but to turn it on for a few minutes. This has allowed some expirmentation and here's what I've found thus far:

1. I make sure nothing else is running at the same time. No microwave, TV, coffee pot, etc. If I can unplug it, I do. If I can't, I turn it off.

2. The outside temperature appears to have something to do with it as on cloudy, rainy days it will run much longer, sometimes all night, without tripping. (Again, it gets so hot I have to try. A couple of time I fell asleep before turning it off. When I woke up I realized it had run fine all night.)

3. Though we have a 30 amp breaker with a 15am converter, we're using a 50 amp adapter to connect to the 50 amp supply at the pole. No extension cords or anything else. It's a direct connection except for the adapter..

4. When I do run it, even back when it worked fine, I don't set it too low. I slowly turn it down until it just kicks on. This way it's set at no more than 10 or 15 degrees lower than outside temp.

5. I was going to try to switch out the breaker but a guy I know who works on RVs for a living says he doesn't think that would help. He thinks something in the compressor it causing it to overheat and trip. His suggestion is to install window units which I'm not against, but I still want to know why it quit working.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks

Chuck v

08-12-2017, 10:43 AM

You say the main power breaker is tripping. I would think that the air conditioner also has its own dedicated branch breaker -- does that one never trip? A roof mounted 15,000 BTU air conditioner will not draw more than 15 amps when starting the compressor, so you should never trip the 30 amp breaker with this appliance.

Perhaps the motor starting capacitor has failed or partially failed such that it is drawing much more than nominal...but even that would not explain the 30 amp breaker tripping when the branch breaker does not. Maybe it is a ground fault of some type...are you sure the condensate in the roof unit is draining properly and not causing a rising liquid level to cause a ground fault? Is the unit icing up?

A replacement roof air unit is not all that expensive and I would certainly choose that over any cobbled up installation of a residential window unit...

Chuck

Ikcaj

08-12-2017, 11:34 AM

Thanks for responding. Yes, the main 30 amp breaker is the one tripping. There is a dedicated breaker for the AC but if never trips. As for icing, none I've seen. I know it is draining at least some but I'm not certain if it is draining properly and not building up. Ti check that, would I just take the cover off, turn it on, get on the roof and watch it until it trips? I will also start looking into replacement units. Thanks again

Chuck v

08-12-2017, 03:29 PM

There is something very wrong with the 30 amp breaker or the coach wiring if the branch breaker dedicated to the air conditioner never trips. You are talking about the 30 amp breaker in your coach and not the one that may be on the power pedestal at the park where you are hooked up, right?

Just in case there are other parasitic drains in the electrical system of your coach, try turning OFF all the branch breakers that do not go to the air conditioner and see if it behaves any differently...

If not, changing out the main 30 amp breaker makes good sense to me since it seems to be tripping at much less than its rating.

Chuck

THenne1713

08-21-2017, 11:59 PM

Ikcaj

08-26-2017, 04:54 AM

Your 30a Main breaker load is NOT just the AC unit, and if not tripping the 20a, and blowing cold, your AC is FINE. So what else is on the 30a, you say? Refrig, Coffee, MWave oven, AND Your CONVERTER/ CHARGER, and that sneaky bugger can be pumping high amps into your battery, if it is low, or if the battery is defective. TIP: iF YOU HAVE A RUN DOWN Coach battery (from use) allow it to charge for a while on shore power/ gen BEFORE turning the AC unit ON.

That's good to know about the coach battery. At this point, it has to be something b/w AC & breaker as it ONLY trips when AC is run. I make sure to literally unplug everything else and it still does it (we aren't using it at all now, we have window units plugged directly to site pole). When it's cooler here I'm going to take a serious look into it but it's just too hot to do anything right now. (It was 113 yesterday w/ heat index!)

THenne1713

08-26-2017, 10:12 PM

FYI, there is NO AC Unit of (any type) that I am aware of that is DESIGNED to operate efficiently above about 95-99-degree, and what this means is that performance starts to fall off, and temps/ pressures start to rise off the charts. The fact that your AC is cooling w/ 113-deg OSAT is remarkable that its 20-a is not tripping. As the 30a MAIN starts to exceed 25-27a, it will trip after a time, maybe 10-min, maybe 30-60-min, so if the 20a (AC) is 18a or less, you need to find the other 7-9amps, and get it below the 7... Hope this helps? Have you converted your 12v. lighting to LED?

Ikcaj

08-28-2017, 07:38 AM

Thanks, that does help a lot! My initial instinct (that's really all is was), was that the heat was causing the tripping. Long story short it worked fine for 6 weeks straight, set on auto, it ran itself 24/7 to keep RV at 80F max. We moved to a location with no shade in middle of a heat wave and it starts tripping. At first it would run at night when temps were lower. We had several weeks of 100+ temps with very little relief. I only ran the fan, which still runs fine and would attempt compressor on some nights (just to see what would happen basically- probably not the best idea).

Now we have window units (properly installed with plywood boxes) that plug in directly to site pole. I haven't turned on A/C in four weeks and only have run the fan twice on really hot days. It still works fine.

I know from reading the more a breaker trips the more damage is done so I'm pretty certain I still have to replace it just due to frequentcy of tripping it.

As for the lightening that is high on my to-do list. I'm seeing one of our (what appear to be original fixtures) starting to show discoloration from the heat of the bulb, so we're not using that one at the moment.

Being on a fixed income, I can only do so many upgrades/repairs per month but having the window units, and going into Fall is going to help greatly. My biggest concern ATM is ensuring the breaker is properly replaced so as to not cause further issues.

GStream40

08-28-2017, 02:50 PM

If it was me, I would go ahead and install a new 30 amp breaker.
They do get weak over time and could be damaged from being tripped so many times.

Ron

THenne1713

09-20-2017, 09:46 AM

(Other thoughts): 1) "Renovating"? House or RV? What shape is the filter and coil in? Dirty/ clogged?; 2) Capacitors can cause higher amps before failure; 3) Blower motor dragging/ needing oil can cause higher amps; 4) LOW VOLTAGE, under-sized wire, or loose connections 5) Since you are not tripping AC breaker, you may have SNEAKY LOADS elsewhere. Are you checking battery water weekly, since plugged in 24/7, you may have dry cells/ battery going bad, drawing higher amps on charger.