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5:47 pm
December 19, 2009
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penbroke
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Flipped on the heat late in the season and the unit ran for 20 minutes or so but never made any real heat. It was mid around 50* in the cabin so we would have noticed any warmth. After the compressor cycled a few times it just sort of slowed to a halt and tripped the breaker. Now the compressor motor just hums and throws the breaker after a few seconds. The boat is new to us so I don't have any history. It had been working fine in cool mode but I doubt it was ever used much for heat. It is a Cruisair SH16 with the 3 knob controls in a '94 Silverton 31c.
The boat is in winter storage now and the AC unit is in my cellar. Both the start and run capacitors check out OK with my capacitance meter but my meter is intended more for smaller caps used in electronics so I'm not sure the readings are valid with such high voltage caps.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Frank
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8:06 am
December 20, 2009
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Steve Pooler
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Post edited 11:10 am – December 20, 2009 by Steve Pooler
Hi Frank~
Will the unit run on the bench ?
What was the seawater temp when it was running ?
Did it have good water flow when you tried heat & did it heat at all ? (even a little)
Was the water coil…cold or warm when it was running ?
Did you try running the fan on low speed ?
Steve~
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9:57 pm
December 20, 2009
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penbroke
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Hi Steve,
Thanks for the responce. I have looked around a bit and not found a whole lot of info on these units.
I don't know if it will run on the bench yet. The controls are still in the boat so I have to figure out the connector to get things going. That is the next project…
It was October on the Hudson River so I'm gonna guess the water was in the 50s. Water flow was good and I don't think there was any heat from it.
I don't know about the water coil temp. at the time. I didn't think to check it at the time.
Yes, I tried all combinations of settings on all three knobs with the same results.
Thanks,
Frank
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7:07 am
December 21, 2009
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Steve Pooler
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Post edited 7:09 am – December 21, 2009 by Steve Pooler
Hi Frank~
The "SH" units did not sell much…They were the model that was compatible with the manual 3 knob control…By that time of production…Most folks were wanting the "SX" units that were ready for the SMXII digital controls for many reasons, one of which is an extra year of warranty for not much more money…SX units here outsold the SH units 3 or 4 to one at least…
To troubleshoot on the bench…Open the electrical box…Purple wire is compressor & Orange is the blower…White is neutral or line 2.
Twist orange & Purple together along with Line…Then twist blower white & compressor white together with your neutral or line 2 wire & plug it in…Using an old cord with plug from some appliance that no longer works (cut it off of that appliance) or just get some wire & install a plug on one end…
I'm assuming that the unit is 115volt since you didn't say it was a SH-16C…
Oh…and don't run it long unless you have water from a garden hose connected to the condenser…
Steve~
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7:23 am
December 21, 2009
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Steve Pooler
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Post edited 7:25 am – December 21, 2009 by Steve Pooler
If you do connect a garden hose…To get the unit to heat…Apply power to the blue wire (and also connect the other side of the reversing valve to neutral)…This connection I would either make so that I could just touch it to power or use any kind of switch in-line with the blue wire…
Touching (or switching) power to the blue will activate the reversing valve and put the unit into heat mode…The condenser (water coil) should change from warm to cool if the reversing valve is working, and you should start to get warm air out of the blower at that point.
Those valves did tend to stick with the manual control units (because the valve didn't get used as often it would with SMXII)…This is why I say to use a switch or touch method…Sometimes many uses, or switches will free up that valve.
Steve~
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9:46 am
December 23, 2009
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penbroke
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Thanks Steve! That's just the info I need to keep going. It won't be able to get back to it 'till the weekend though.
Have a great Christmas!
Frank
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9:20 pm
December 27, 2009
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penbroke
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Post edited 9:21 pm – December 27, 2009 by penbroke
OK, so hooking up the comperssor only (VIO & WHT) to 120 VAC with my handy dandy test cord gave me the same results as on the boat. The motor hums but does not turn, the cord gets hot and the house lights dim. I didn't leave it hooked up long enough to trip the breaker but that's where it was headed. The motor just won't turn. I remember the time it last stopped (on the boat) that it kinda slowed to a stop rather than shutting off and thinking "that doesn't sound good". The next time it tried to start it tripped the breaker and has not worked since.
Is there any chance that it has compressed the refrigerant but has not allowed it to expand and the compressor is trying to start against a high pressure?
Hope you had a great Christmas and thanks for all the help.
Frank
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7:53 am
December 28, 2009
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Steve Pooler
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Hi Frank…Hope you had a Great Christmas as well…
A compressor slowing to a stop could be an indication of a failed run capacitor…It will be the silver one in the electrical box.
Take a look to see if it looks expanded…Like kinda pooched out on the top where the electrical connections plug into it…
If that's not the case it is gonna be hard to take you much further here on line…
To answer your question about pressure…Not likely, but a set of gauges could tell us if pressures did not equalize…Powering the reversing valve (Blue) will instantly equalize them for you…But I still don't think that is the problem.
Your description of how it stopped, and how it is trying to start but not tripping the overload on the compressor does point to a capacitor problem…But if that's not the case…I'm afraid it's the compressor itself…
Steve~
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10:43 pm
January 8, 2010
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penbroke
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Both caps (run and start) look fine and test good with my capacitance meter. I'm not convinced that the meter results are valid with high voltage caps and have ordered replacements for both. I'll post up the results when they come in.
Thanks again for all the help!
Frank
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1:45 pm
January 9, 2010
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Steve Pooler
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Best of luck on the capacitors Frank…I hope that takes care of it for you but let me know if not…
Not that I could suggest any more magic tricks, but I do still have that used Marine Air 16 with digital control available, and could also give you a good price on a new replacement if wanted.
Steve~
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