Air Conditioning raw water pump failed

[brad614]

I turned the A/C on in my boat last night because the bad storms had caused the cabin to get damp. When I went to check on it this morning (about 12 hours later) the raw water pump wasn't working. The A/C was still on and blowing cool, but not cold. Obviously, I turned it off right away. My question is - did I possibly damage something, or does the water just help it cool better?

 

[tswiczko]

Re: Air Conditioning raw water pump failed

I hope not,

I hope your unit has a manual reset for high head, look on your unit for a reset button.

what happens when there is a lack of condenser water is there will be a spike in refrigerant pressures, if the unit has a high pressure switch it is one of two kinds manual or automatic if it a manual switch it will need to be reset usually there is no damage done repair the raw water pump and you'll probably be ok, if it is a more sophisticated system with an electronic control system then the auto resetting switch opens, the circuit board reads the open limmit and shuts the unit down. it may even have a flow switch on the raw water line and shut the compressor down if there is no water flow to prevent dammage to the compressor, depends on how sofisticated the system you have is. usually removing the power for a minute then restart the system clears the fault but not always.

if you have no pressure switch the the increased pressures will cause increased heat in the compressor and trip the internal thermal overloads cool down and do it again I hope that isn't the case). increased heat can cause a breakdown of the winding insulation in the compressor motor, and excessive pressures can cause the valves to break even though there is an internal pressure relief valve tha opens at about 550 psi in an R-22 system(don't know what your system is)

 

[sasto]

Re: Air Conditioning raw water pump failed

What A/C unit is it? Most have automatic shutdown when the pump fails.

 

[brad614]

Re: Air Conditioning raw water pump failed

Nort sure what the brand is. I just bought the boat - 2000 Wellcraft Coastal 290. As soon as the weather clears a little I am gong to go back down and look at it.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Re: Air Conditioning raw water pump failed

Before trying to re-set, check the intake for proper flow. Once it's confirmed clear, do the re-set. My Mermaid has a pushbutton right on top of the unit.
OTOH if you find the pump is bad, replace it with a March brand magnetic pump. They are 10X better than the Cal pumps.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Air Conditioning raw water pump failed

Im sure you know your unit better than I, but are you sure it was still in A/C mode? Mine has a setting where the compressor stops running (the water stops flowing) but the fan still runs as it switches to 'dehumidify'. With all of the rain we FL peeps got in the last few days, it may be dehumidifying the cabin.

Shut the system off....duh, you did that...kick it back on and wait for it to cycle into the A/C mode. Check water flow. Access the pump and see if it's running. Pumps rarely fail. Hopefully, it was just cycling the system.

 

[brad614]

Re: Air Conditioning raw water pump failed

Fireman431, you hit the nail on the head. There wasn't anything wrong with it, it apparently was just in dehumidify mode. It has work flawlessly all weekend. Thanks everyone!!