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Thread: Coleman AC's

  1. #1
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    Coleman AC's

    Picked up new Solitude 344GK on July 6th. Took it to SD on the 7th. Bedroom AC didn't seem to be cooling very well, but didn't think too much till temps exceeded 90. Contacted GD who pushed us off on Airxcel. Took over a week to resolve the issue with Airxcel, but they finally agreed that the Compressor had failed. However, the replacement A/C is on backorder. Still no ETA.

    Last week the main A/C failed (no fan). Still have not gotten a response from phone/emails to Airxcel! However GD paid for a portable A/C as a good will offering. The portable unit has not been able to get the temp below 88!

    So last night I bought a 12k btu window unit and installed it thru the exit window. It seems to be helping, but the bedroom is tough to cool from the main room, and I'm sure you can imagine the difficulty in setting the portable it the right spaces in the bedroom! I hope GD will help on the cost of the window unit, too. Sure looks rough to have a window a/c hanging out the back of a brand new RV!

    I am NOT impressed by Coleman/Airxcel. I am also less than satisfied with the GD warranty. The GD warranty makes it YOUR responsibility to contact and negotiate with GD's suppliers. I was not Airxcel's customer...that was GD, but I have to act as though I bought it directly from Coleman/AirXcel. When you go through the warranty details at the dealer, those sort of things don't jump out at you.

    If GD wants to maintain it's high customer satisfaction numbers, perhaps it would be a good idea to change that policy so we only need deal with OUR supplier, not theirs!

  2. #2
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    FWIW, I was thinking about adding a 2nd AC unit in the bedroom of our 303. I have looked at a number of suppliers and none of them have AC units in stock. I looked at the AirXcel website and all of their models are on backorder. I don't think Grand Design is being unresponsive, AirXcel simply cannot meet the current demand. Personally I have resigned myself to the fact I cannot upgrade to a 2nd AC unit until next year. I seriously doubt they will go on sale anytime soon.

    Good luck
    John & Cindy
    2019 Reflection 303 RLS
    2018 Ford F250 6.7 PSD

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rtivy53 View Post
    Picked up new Solitude 344GK on July 6th. Took it to SD on the 7th. Bedroom AC didn't seem to be cooling very well, but didn't think too much till temps exceeded 90. Contacted GD who pushed us off on Airxcel. Took over a week to resolve the issue with Airxcel, but they finally agreed that the Compressor had failed. However, the replacement A/C is on backorder. Still no ETA.

    Last week the main A/C failed (no fan). Still have not gotten a response from phone/emails to Airxcel! However GD paid for a portable A/C as a good will offering. The portable unit has not been able to get the temp below 88!

    So last night I bought a 12k btu window unit and installed it thru the exit window. It seems to be helping, but the bedroom is tough to cool from the main room, and I'm sure you can imagine the difficulty in setting the portable it the right spaces in the bedroom! I hope GD will help on the cost of the window unit, too. Sure looks rough to have a window a/c hanging out the back of a brand new RV!

    I am NOT impressed by Coleman/Airxcel. I am also less than satisfied with the GD warranty. The GD warranty makes it YOUR responsibility to contact and negotiate with GD's suppliers. I was not Airxcel's customer...that was GD, but I have to act as though I bought it directly from Coleman/AirXcel. When you go through the warranty details at the dealer, those sort of things don't jump out at you.

    If GD wants to maintain it's high customer satisfaction numbers, perhaps it would be a good idea to change that policy so we only need deal with OUR supplier, not theirs!
    For better or worse it’s pretty much how the RV industry works. More like the housing industry than the auto industry. I doubt you’ll find it any different no matter what manufacturer you chose.

    The chances of 2 brand new AC’s failing almost at the same time has to be incredibly small. This is where there’s a chance that it comes back to GD. Let me tell you about what I’m dealing with right now.

    I bought 2 of the foam inserts that GD is installing from the factory now. During install I just BARELY bumped the wires running to the control box which is inside the Colemans. Well now the compressor wouldn’t turn on. After a bunch of head scratching I finally used one of the unused wires from the thermostat and replaced the compressor wire and fixed! Put everything back together and it wouldn’t work again??? Pull the cover off and bam. Works again. Looks like they put a screw from the cover through the thermostat wire. Worked for 3 years until I pulled the screw out. It’s my assumption at this point cause I’m on a trip and I’m not putting anything back together until I get back. It works now so I’m not messing with it while out. Had a very similar issue with the rear air but with the low fan. The compressor would start but no fan unless it was on high.

    During my troubleshooting on the front air at different times I was able to get the compressor to fire but no fan. It’s was crazy, I had no clue what was happening. Talked with a guy I know at an RV service department and it’s not uncommon that the Crimp connections that connect to the control unit are done poorly at install creating a bunch of weird issues. I haven’t had time to look into the rear one yet but after traveling it working fine now so I have know idea on that one yet.

    Probably not much help at this point but it wouldn’t surprise me that in the end it’s not a Coleman issue at all.
    2021 Solitude 375 RES-R
    2024 GMC Denali ultimate DRW

  4. #4
    Seasoned Camper Da Breeze's Avatar
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    If you're WAAAAAITING for a new Coleman AC, JOIN THE CLUB !!
    I've been waiting a month since early July for a unit !!

    My 3 yr old Dometic died and I wanted to switch to Coleman because I'd heard they were more reliable and the copper coils aren't made in China !!

    Glad it happened during this pandemic BUT I wanna plan for the fall.....

    WHO KNOWS when the back-orders will catch up ???
    I'll wager the RV factories aren't waiting !!

    Michael
    Previously known as mikgala

    F-250 7.3 PSD Lariat Super Cab LB wt 152K - 25 row Ford tranny cooler, A&E Air Intake system, TS-6 high performance Super Chip, Air Ride airbags, Bilstein shocks

    2017 Reflection 307 MKS 9,875 UVW / 12,995 GVWR / 1,605 Pin

    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  5. #5
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    The odds of two units going out at the same time, seem to not be as high as you think. I have a 397TH and 2 out of 3 units went out at the same time today. I can hear the clicking sound indicating that the unit is trying to kick in, but the compressor or fans are not. The temp was extreme yesterday 106 here in Texas, so I am not surprised that they would all be on most of the day. But seriously, guess 2 out of 3 is better than 3 all going out at the same time is better than nothing.

    Truth be told, I don't like to disparage any company without cause, so I will amend my earlier statement and chuck it up to lessons learned for a newbie RVer. My two units did die off, but not due to the devices fault. In reality, the first thing you should always do is check the circuit breakers. For what ever reason, and I can't figure it out at the moment, the circuits to the 2 A/C units tripped. No new items were plugged in that could have caused it to trip, so we will leave it up to a mystery till it occurs again.
    Last edited by iflores2k2; 08-30-2020 at 05:33 PM. Reason: Update

  6. #6
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    Bumped wires after AC duct upgrade and no compressor

    Quote Originally Posted by JKellerJr View Post
    I bought 2 of the foam inserts that GD is installing from the factory now. During install I just BARELY bumped the wires running to the control box which is inside the Colemans. Well now the compressor wouldn’t turn on. After a bunch of head scratching I finally used one of the unused wires from the thermostat and replaced the compressor wire and fixed!
    Me too! Just came inside for lunch and chance to search for answers.
    Please share any information on losing AC after duct install on old units (mine is 377MBS 2017).

    Compressor (cool lo / cool hi / aool auto) went out in Arizona this wi
    nter. I figure the rough travelling "bumped" the wires loose. Glad the AC unit is working, concerned I may never figure this out (ohm meter in hand though!).

    For me there is a 3 wire connector where a purple wire connects to 2 white wires with brown stripes. If I move just the purple wire the AC compressor will kick on or off. Also, I can confirm the blue wire connector looks like a child crimped it together (smashed with hairy strands poking out). I think that is the 12V supply for the thermostat, going to replace that one crimp (the rest look good to me).

    Here is a photo (or two):
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Click image for larger version. 

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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by atluft View Post
    Me too! Just came inside for lunch and chance to search for answers.
    Please share any information on losing AC after duct install on old units (mine is 377MBS 2017).

    Compressor (cool lo / cool hi / aool auto) went out in Arizona this wi
    nter. I figure the rough travelling "bumped" the wires loose. Glad the AC unit is working, concerned I may never figure this out (ohm meter in hand though!).

    For me there is a 3 wire connector where a purple wire connects to 2 white wires with brown stripes. If I move just the purple wire the AC compressor will kick on or off. Also, I can confirm the blue wire connector looks like a child crimped it together (smashed with hairy strands poking out). I think that is the 12V supply for the thermostat, going to replace that one crimp (the rest look good to me).

    Here is a photo (or two):
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	BADWIRE.jpg 
Views:	19 
Size:	74.9 KB 
ID:	33353

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	ControlBox.JPG 
Views:	19 
Size:	92.3 KB 
ID:	33354
    I can't give you much help except to say mine did the exact same thing, jiggle the wires and it would kick on and off. I changed the wire going to the thermostat and re-crimped everything and its been working ever since.
    2021 Solitude 375 RES-R
    2024 GMC Denali ultimate DRW

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