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  1. #1
    Setting Up Camp
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    AC Issue 2016 Imagine 2800 BH

    We are in Florida helping our son and daughter-in-law with their 4 young children move into a new home. It is extremely hot and humid. We are all sleeping in the our Imagine at night! The AC is working hard to keep the camper cool but most of the time it is good. However, we have had an issue. The AC will turn on but the compressor does not start. There is a hum for a couple of minutes but then it shuts off. At this point there is no AC. The only way to get the AC to work is to turn off the AC and wait roughly 30 minutes. It has always restarted and cools the camper. We are concerned to leave our dog unattended in the camper for any length of time in the event the AC stops working.

    We were given the advice to run the hot water heater and refrigerator on gas to ensure the maximum current available for the AC unit.

    Any advice?
    2016 Ford F-150 Ecoboost engine
    2016 Grand Design Image 2800BH

  2. #2
    Commercial Member huntr70's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by huegerich View Post

    We were given the advice to run the hot water heater and refrigerator on gas to ensure the maximum current available for the AC unit.
    That sounds like good advice. What kind of hook ups are you plugged into? 30 amp? 15 amp? 50 amp?

    A voltmeter would tell you how much you have.
    Steve- Inventory Manager at Tom Schaeffer's RV, Shoemakersville, PA www.tomschaeffers.com
    [email protected]
    2011 RAM 3500 SRW Outdoorsman Edition 4X4, 6.7 Cummins--TWEAKED!
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  3. #3
    Setting Up Camp
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    We are plugged into a 30 amp breaker. Output voltage has been running around 120 volts. I was using a surge protector and thought this might be causing the AC problem so the surge protector was removed. The trailer is plugged into the standard 30 amp outlet

  4. #4
    Long Hauler
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    Try to run the a/c on low fan instead of auto. The fan will run all the time , the compressor will come on when needed. With the high heat and humidity that you are experiencing the a/c can not keep up in auto mode.

    Brian

  5. #5
    Setting Up Camp
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    Thanks for the quick response. I just shifted to low in place of auto. Hopefully this works. Should I consider shifting to high during the heat of the day?

  6. #6
    Setting Up Camp
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    One thing you might want to consider is adding a hard start cap to your AC. Not sure what kind of AC unit you have but I added them to both of my AC units on my prior camper due to similar reasons, but more specifically while trying to start them while on our old generator. Noticed that it had a big impact on AC startup when on shore power as well.

    Here were the ones that I had added. Took all of about 20 min to install and most of that was removing the AC shroud.

    SUPCO SPP6 Relay/Capacitor Hard Start Kit with 500% Increase Starting Torque https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002YTLFE..._OMhwDbR2DSAJH

  7. #7
    Long Hauler
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    Quote Originally Posted by huegerich View Post
    Thanks for the quick response. I just shifted to low in place of auto. Hopefully this works. Should I consider shifting to high during the heat of the day?
    You could try high , maybe in the morning before the heat of the day. What can happen when running on high or even auto is it tries to run all the time and actually "freezes" the compressor or the coils. The a/c is actually trying to remove the humidity and drop the temperature at the same time. These are small units and can not handle these conditions very well. Adding a second a/c unit is a huge plus in the hotter climates.

    Brian

  8. #8
    Setting Up Camp
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    Couple of thoughts here. The first is to check your vents and the inside of the AC unit itself. Identify if there are any gaps that you could close off between the duct work and the vent with aluminum tape or increase the airflow by reworking some of the tape work. The thought here is that you may be losing cold air into the space between the ducts and the roof by gaps, causing your AC to run longer and maybe freeze up. Did this on our last unit and it made a world of difference.

    Second might be to install a hard start cap on the AC. If you aren't getting enough power to start the compressor, the hard start cap will help. I've used the Supco SPP6 on previous dometic AC units when I had trouble starting while on a generator. Installed them and they fired right up. While on shore power there was also a noticable difference.

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