# Carrier Ac Unit Spiking To 33 Amps



## Bama Eye Guy (Mar 27, 2007)

Hello Everyone!

We have recently had our first "major" RV problem - guess we were lucky to make it a full year before it happened. While we were at Topsail over Spring Break our Carrier AC started tripping the breaker in the RV when the compressor would kick on. It started doing this on the 3rd day. It was not overly hot that week, in fact we ran the furnace one night. The park ranger came by and tested it and said that when the compressor kicked on we were spiking to 33 amps and that normal was around 18 amps or so.

Made it thru the week (thankfully it was a cool week weather wise!) and took it into Camping World here in Dothan on Monday. They called today to say we need a new unit and that it would be $1,000.









Questions: Is there something else we should check before replacing? My father is an electrician - is this a job that we can handle on our own? Where would we take it in this area (South Alabama) for another opinion?

HELP! If we need to do this we will, just want to make sure we are not overspending. I have found a 13,500 BTU Carrier Ducted Unit online for about $475 - that would save us over $500 by doing it ourselves. Just wondered if anyone has tackled this job on their own or faced a similar problem.

Thanks for your help -

Lee Ann Murray


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## outback loft (Sep 22, 2008)

I had a similar problem with my last trailer, except for I was not hooked up to shore power. I was running off my Kipor generator and killed both the a/c and the inverter in the generator, the a/c unit was about $800 and I installed it myself, and the inverter was another $800. I later found out from a buddy of mine that he had a similar problem as well and also killed his generator with the Carrier a/c unit. Since then I have sworn to have nothing to do with the Carrier a/c. I am finding now, that the Dometic in my new Outback cools better than my Carrier did as well.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Do it yourself and save the money but before you do you should inspect the motor to see if it needs lubrication or bugs cleaned out of it. There are also hard start kits you can get for the motor that will solve a lot of the current spike issues.


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

make sure its not just the motor...i replaced my motor on my last unit...


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## Bama Eye Guy (Mar 27, 2007)

Hubby just told me that Camping World said the compressor was out. I should have mentioned that when the ranger came the first time he looked at the box where we plug in at the site and said "I see the problem" then replaced the wiring. After he did that the unit worked great (compressor and all) with very cold air coming out for about an hour then tripped again and that was it. When they came by the next day, a different guy checked the amps and said it was our unit. I think there was a problem on their end at the hook up and then it ended up tearing up our AC. No way to prove that but I am wondering how do we keep it from happening again? We camp there ALOT. We will be there for 17 days in July.

So I am wondering could it be an electrical problem, maybe a board to be replaced? Because of what I mentioned above, I don't think it's the compressor. How do we check if it's the motor?

Also, Is this where a surge protector comes in to prevent problems in the future?

Thanks for your advice. $1000 is just a lot of money to part with right now!

Lee Ann


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The most common cause of failure is low voltage. So a volt meter is a place to start, check before you start the AC and again when it is running. It should stay above 110 but must stay above 105. Check it several times a day to see how it changes and the worst time of day is early afternoon.


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## OutbackPM (Sep 14, 2005)

CamperAndy said:


> The most common cause of failure is low voltage. So a volt meter is a place to start, check before you start the AC and again when it is running. It should stay above 110 but must stay above 105. Check it several times a day to see how it changes and the worst time of day is early afternoon.


 I agree that he may have had low voltage at some point and drawn to much current. There are several things you can do.

1) Periodically measure the voltage with a cheap meter-Problem is you won't know right away when it goes don to far.

2) But a plug in voltmeter that shows correct wiring and continuous voltage-This makes it possible to look at the voltage easily and frquently without much effort but you still have to catch it and if you are away then it won't help. This is what I have right now and so far not noticed any low voltages where Ihave been.

3) Get a surge protector with built in voltage off at 105 and 130. You can get a wired in unit or a plug in to your chord one. This is my next mod with the the buitl in remote monitor, http://www.tweetys.com/electrical-manageme...ardwire-50.aspx. This is a 50Amp but they do a 30 amp that cheaper also.

May save an A/C or other electronic item to make it worth while

Take care


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

OutbackPM said:


> The most common cause of failure is low voltage. So a volt meter is a place to start, check before you start the AC and again when it is running. It should stay above 110 but must stay above 105. Check it several times a day to see how it changes and the worst time of day is early afternoon.


 I agree that he may have had low voltage at some point and drawn to much current. There are several things you can do.

1) Periodically measure the voltage with a cheap meter-Problem is you won't know right away when it goes don to far.

2) But a plug in voltmeter that shows correct wiring and continuous voltage-This makes it possible to look at the voltage easily and frquently without much effort but you still have to catch it and if you are away then it won't help. This is what I have right now and so far not noticed any low voltages where Ihave been.

3) Get a surge protector with built in voltage off at 105 and 130. You can get a wired in unit or a plug in to your chord one. This is my next mod with the the buitl in remote monitor, http://www.tweetys.com/electrical-manageme...ardwire-50.aspx. This is a 50Amp but they do a 30 amp that cheaper also.

May save an A/C or other electronic item to make it worth while

Take care
[/quote] 
I bought my Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor on eBay for under 50 bucks. http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php...si&img=9153 .James


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## Bama Eye Guy (Mar 27, 2007)

Sounds like a surge protector and volt meter are in our immediate future! Thanks for the advice.

But, still confused about AC. How do we know for sure it's the compressor and not an electrical problem? and Has anyone replaced their unit themselves and how big of job is it? I have searched the website but I could not find anything.

Thanks for your help - keep it coming!

Lee Ann


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

If the compressor is shot then I would plan on replacing the entire roof unit. Replacing the compressor alone would require an expert and you would spend almost as much as having some replace the entire unit. You can replace the entire unit yourself in just a few hours.

Have you tried to run the AC since you got home?


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## russk42 (Sep 10, 2007)

I dont believe its easy to separate the compressor motor from the system, nor do I believe its easy to determine whether the fault is with the motor or the compressor pump, per se.

Id suggest you try it on a different power source for a day or two. Pay attention when it fails (if it fails) does the breaker trip on start-up? Are the coils getting cold where they should? Any funny noises?

Here is the link for the Carrier Service Manual:

http://www.transportaircon.carrier.com/Fil.../US-en/T298.pdf

Personally, if my unit were toast, Id replace it myself. I imagine the hard part will be maneuvering the units off/on the roof.


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## OutbackPM (Sep 14, 2005)

[/quote] 
I bought my Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor on eBay for under 50 bucks. http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php...si&img=9153 .James
[/quote]

Is that just a surge protector or does it have voltage monitoring too?


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## Bama Eye Guy (Mar 27, 2007)

Well thanks for all your input everybody! I think we have decided to replace the unit ourselves with another Carrier unit just to (hopefully) make install easier. We are also going to get a surge protector - probably the plug in type since we are wanting to trade up in another year or so.

We don't have another trip planned for a while so we have a few weeks to tackle the install. I'm sure there will be more questions when that happens!

Thanks again!

Lee Ann


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

Before I called it bad I would have it checked by someone who knows what they are doing, I would not trust Camping World. If the campsite had Low voltage than these are the symptoms you would get. Connect to a good known source like at home and make sure you have at least 110 volts like Camer Andy said 115 to 120 is even better. If it is pulling 35 amps before the compressor comes on than it will be a bad blower motor not a bad compressor and a easy fix. I just hate to see someone replace a unit if they don't have to.


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## folsom_five (Jan 10, 2008)

Bama Eye Guy said:


> Well thanks for all your input everybody! I think we have decided to replace the unit ourselves with another Carrier unit just to (hopefully) make install easier. We are also going to get a surge protector - probably the plug in type since we are wanting to trade up in another year or so.
> 
> We don't have another trip planned for a while so we have a few weeks to tackle the install. I'm sure there will be more questions when that happens!
> 
> ...


Camping World has a sale on their 30Amp SurgeGuard... best price I've seen it (plus 1/2 price shipping)
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/...rge-guard/18336


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## Bama Eye Guy (Mar 27, 2007)

We have a friend that has a RV hookup out at their property so we may see if they will let us hookup and see if it works. Am I right that we won't be able to run the AC here at the house with just a regular plug into the house?

Folsom Five, thank you for the tip about the surge protector from Camping World. We will be ordering one of those.

Lee Ann


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

I drive by this place everytime I'm in Elkhart. They deal with surplus rv parts. They always have stuff outside when the weather is nice and some of there prices cant be beat.

Click

As far as I know AC systems have industry standard mounting. That means they all mount the same, so it doesnt matter what brand you buy..

Just thought I'd toss that out there for ya.

Carey


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Bama Eye Guy said:


> We have a friend that has a RV hookup out at their property so we may see if they will let us hookup and see if it works. Am I right that we won't be able to run the AC here at the house with just a regular plug into the house?


It will work but it is not recommended for the very reason why it was possibly damaged in the first place. Voltage drop from an under rated or defective source will damage it. That said If you have a 20 amp circuit in the car port/garage you can try it as long as you can plug in without an extension cord. You will want to monitor voltage on the circuit the entire time. The AC should start with a peak under 20 amps.

To do this you will need to turn off ALL the other AC breakers to reduce the load to only the AC. If the AC starts and the voltage stays over 110 let it run and cycle normally as a hot AC unit can draw more amps on a restart.

Let us know what you find.


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