air conditioner problems

[Elway777]

Our air was working just fine the last 2 weekends that we had the boat. Now that we are at our Marina, we are having problems. When we turn it on, the fan runs fine, but when the compressor kicks on, it pops the breaker. (Not the breaker on the box at the marina, but the breaker on the boat). Does it sound like we don't have enough power coming to it? All the other boats around us seem to be able to run their a/c. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: air conditioner problems

If it worked before you hooked up to shore power, I can't think of anything else it could be. Try running it off the generator power again and see if it works. If so, have the marina check out your plug-in for proper voltage and amps...

 

[Hooty]

Re: air conditioner problems

One of two things come to mind. It's either the breaker is to small or defective or the compressor has gone to ground. With the power off, check the wires from the compressor to the contactor and see if they are grounded.<br /><br />c/6<br />Hooty

 

[cp]

Re: air conditioner problems

Run the A/C off your boat's generator. If the breaker pops then, and you have no way to measure the current, just try replacing the breaker. That'll be cheaper than replacing the A/C. If the new breaker also pops, you'll have a spare breaker and know that your compressor has seized. Most compressors are sealed so there's nothing you can do in that case except deep six it and get a replacement. IMHO shore power isn't the cause of the breaker popping because the only way shore power could cause a good breaker to pop is if the voltage were too high or the frequency too low. Power companies go to great lengths to ensure their voltage and frequency is constant, and I'm sure you wouldn't have connected 220/240 volt shore power to your 110/120 volt boat. Good luck.

 

[Elway777]

Re: air conditioner problems

Unfortunately, we don't have a generator to run it off. We thought that maybe the pump had stopped working, but we were able to bypass and get it to pump out the water. we are going to try and take the boat to another location where we know the air worked and see if it works there. It might be that the marina's power isn't enough for the compressor to kick on.

 

[ob]

Re: air conditioner problems

One other item to consider is that you have a defective capacitor on the a/c unit.

 

[cp]

Re: air conditioner problems

Our air was working just fine the last 2 weekends that we had the boat. Now that we are at our Marina, we are having problems.

I guess most of us took that to mean you were running the A/C off a generator on your boat . It's now apparent (I think) that you've been running the A/C off shore power the last 2 weekends, just not at your home marina. If that's the case, and no one else is having shore power problems at your home marina, then it still looks to me like either your breaker or your A/C has died. When you return to a marina where it previously worked and it still pops the breaker, you'll have confirmed that, then you'll still have to determine whether it's the breaker or the A/C as above. Good luck, hope it's something simple like a bad breaker.

 

[Ben Konopacky]

Re: air conditioner problems

elway777, possably low voltage,solution around here in NJ (if the comp.isn't seized)go to a refrigeration supply house and get a "HARD START KIT" for your hp.rating.some kits cover fractional hp. 1/4-3/4 others 1hp to 5. hope this helps..

 

[slarson1us]

Re: air conditioner problems

Any solution on this? My boat is doing the same thing. I have an old (1993) Ocean Air 17000 BTU unit in my 32’ Bayliner Avanti. Last weekend I tried it for the first time this year. I’ve always had to prime the hose from the pump to the compressor, and this year, when I tried to use turn it on by hitting the “run” button after selecting the cooling temperature, it tripped the breaker. I reset it a couple of times, with the same result. The last time I tried, the digital display on the control went haywire, showing a couple of different numbers before settling on a “1”. It now fluctuates between different numbers, none of them close to the real temperature. The pump doesn’t seem to be pumping (I took off the line leading to the compressor) either, but I’m not sure it would until the unit came on. Any ideas?

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: air conditioner problems

First of all, please throw-out any idea that water flow or pressure has anything to do with your compressor starting...it doesn't. If you said that the compressor shut down after a minute or two, then the water might have something to do with it. The first step would be to make sure that you are getting propper voltage from the shore power connection ( if the voltage is low, the current draw will be too high to start the compressor). There are start-up capacitors and a relay that connects them to the compressor. The tests to determine if they have failed and how to replace them or if the compressor is bad is above the do-it-yourself level. Time to have a pro look at it.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: air conditioner problems

If his compressor has a starter relay, it will cause the breaker to trip. This is where a hermetic checker/tester helps determine whats up with the compressor. I'm with waterone on this, time to take it to a pro that has the right equipment to check it out. With the hermetic checker, he can run the compressor by bypassing the starter relay. It will test all the windings, and to see if it is shorted to ground.<br /><br />A quick way to tell if it is shorted to ground would be to pull the 3 wires off going into the compressor. They should be labeled C,S,R. Of course with the unit unpowered and with an OHM meter, check the continuity from each of the terminals on the compressor to ground. If you have continuity on any of the 3 to ground, it is internally shorted. It would still be best to leave this up to a pro. DIY'ers tend to get wires crossed and make up for a bigger puzzle for the tech to staighten out. I know I end up charging more for fixing someones elses mistakes when it is evident that they tried to fix it themselves.<br /><br />Just for curiosity, did you have your hot water heater on at the time when trying to run the A/C? On my boat, I cannot run both at the same time due to overloading the circuit. It will not allow my compressor to start. This was just a thought.

 

[slarson1us]

Re: air conditioner problems

Thanks for the replies, Waterone1 and Mayfloat. I was afraid that I would hear that I need to take it to someone to have it looked at. I don't think I had the water heater on at the time. The genset is an Onan 6.5, so I think I should be OK with the power going to the AC unit, as it powers up everything else fine (water heater, microwave, etc.). Who do I take it to? I live in Flagstaff, AZ and the boat is at Lake Powell in dry storage on its own trailer. Would a regular marine shop be the ones? Like the marina's mechanics? Or a specialist?<br />Thanks in advance.<br />Steve

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: air conditioner problems

Because of the distance from where you are, to where the boat is, I hate to say it, but using the marina staff is going to be part of the solution. They will most likely call in a refrigeration guy, and "pad" the bill. Hard to deal with a big boat from over a hundred miles away.