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Marine-AC Topics
Troubleshooting
New Genset ; AC fails.

New Genset ; AC fails.
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michael d

1:11 pm July 18, 2010
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Hi steve thanks in advance for any assistance

System -

Fresh water lake water temp 88 ambient low 90s
Hunter 33 sailboat Dealer install 15 yrs ago below waterline in main cabin
Self contained Dometic Cabin mate CME116K-H 16K BTU 120V
Passport Digital control ( did not look at model number yet)

Here is the story ( and probably alot of irellevant info ) -

A friend who previously had a small gasoline generator had ran his AC when on the hook.
The genset started to not supply enough power to run the AC. I did witness this and the unit would try to fire up display lit but the diplay flickered on compressor startup poped the breaker. Fans etc ran fine.

Please note that on shore power the unit is working fine at this point.

In haste he purchased another generator (these are not digital/inverter type but rather contractor direct drive types) and had a new pigtail made to plug into the shore power inlet. Hooked her up and
looked good. In an attempt to test the AC the unit again powered up display lit filckered and died along with popping the breaker. BTW tested wiring polarity A OK.

Well test over and shore power back on and no display on thermostat. Verified AC at unit OK so am thinking the display took a dive. No startup switching heard

I have access to some passport II control units which I could try but worry about compatability with what may be an older passport type display. If you have any other trouble shooting tips I would be very greatful.

Regards

Michael
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Steve Pooler

posts 1127

7:46 am July 19, 2010
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Hi Michael~

What size/brand generator, What rpm is it, What is it rated for for starting loads (surge amps) ???

Yes the generator could have been the cause of the control failure…Surges/Drops in power are not good on these controls…

I show the CME units as rotary compressor, produced from 1990-1995 with Passport control (small penguin, facing right)

I don't believe the Passport II keypad will work with a Passport board (Passport II has no Penguin) but I am thinking the problem will be the board and not the keypad/display…Either way…Neither the Passport Board or Display is available for replacement.

You will need a Passport to Passport I/O retrofit kit which comes with Board, Display (compact with bezel) Manual & Quick reference card.

Retail is $565 but call or e-mail me for discounted pricing.

Also not cheap and out for 2010 is what is called a SmartStart….But It can be the difference of having to upsize the genset or not…

http://www.dometic.com/enus/Am…..taid=89262

Steve~
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michael d

9:10 am July 19, 2010
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Steve

Thanks for the quick reply. Here is additional info

The control is labeled "ECU Display Panel" and has a small penguin facing right.
And the manual with rev date 1994 shows control board part number PCB-31-XOE.

The genset is a new Husky rated 3650W continuous 4550W Surge. I did some looking around
and based on some rudimentary assumptions I estimate 13 amps @ 120V = 1560W and startup 1.8 * 1560W = 2808W so should be OK. I googled running AC on gensets and really could not come up with any consensus..

Based on the failure of the previous genset to run the unit suddenly and the new one behaving the same leads me to think the unit was marginal and something has driven up
startup power requirements.

Unfortunately the unit is installed deep in cabinetry and I have not committed to look
in the control unit for burnt components etc.

I do not know if the owner would gamble on a board swap without further diagnosis and any recommendation on further troubleshooting would be welcome. I suspect that we would just swap unit out if we can find the same footprint, as this is an extremely tight install.

Great forum thanks again and will consider you first for parts.

Regards

Michael
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Steve Pooler

posts 1127

9:45 am July 19, 2010
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Post edited 2:51 pm – July 19, 2010 by Steve Pooler

michael d said:

Steve

Thanks for the quick reply. Here is additional info

The control is labeled "ECU Display Panel" and has a small penguin facing right.
And the manual with rev date 1994 shows control board part number PCB-31-XOE.…Small penguin facing right= no parts available…He will need the retrofit kit to make that unit work.

The genset is a new Husky rated 3650W continuous 4550W Surge. I did some looking around
and based on some rudimentary assumptions I estimate 13 amps @ 120V = 1560W and startup 1.8 * 1560W = 2808W so should be OK. I googled running AC on gensets and really could not come up with any consensus...The starting load of that 16K unit is 58 to 60 amps or around 7000 watts…I wouldn't expect that generator to reliably start that A/C unit…Maybe with a 65% reduction from using a SmartStart it would…7000 X .65 = 4550 watts 7000 – 4550 =2450 watts…Please watch the first short video in that link I gave you in my last post… 

Based on the failure of the previous genset to run the unit suddenly and the new one behaving the same leads me to think the unit was marginal and something has driven up
startup power requirements...The 58-60 amps surge I quoted is for a new 16K unit that is more efficent than what you have now…

Unfortunately the unit is installed deep in cabinetry and I have not committed to look
in the control unit for burnt components etc.

I do not know if the owner would gamble on a board swap without further diagnosis and any recommendation on further troubleshooting would be welcome. I suspect that we would just swap unit out if we can find the same footprint, as this is an extremely tight install.…The new Turbo units are Smaller, Lighter, Quieter, Move More Air, and are up to 27% more efficent than what is there now… http://www.dometic.com/enus/Am…..taid=84876 

Great forum thanks again and will consider you first for parts.

Regards

Michael
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