A/C Problems with heavy condensation problems Help Please!!

[Tevans]

We just returned from Houston where the humidity was very high. I have an 02 Dutch Star DP with the 2 overhead heat pump a/c units.
1st problem. While getting ready to leave for the trip the units where acting up. I would turn on the front unit and as soon as it ask for the compressor kicked in, the unit would go down. This happened with both units. I finally let the front unit run for a bit and asked for the compressor and it came on and stayed on thankfully. This was on the Gen set.
We made the trip alright and set up in a RV camp not far from the hospital MD Anderson and both units operated just fine for the first couple of days on shore power.
Day 3 woke up to water dripping from one of the return vents in the center of the bus ceiling. I switched it to just fan and ran it for a while to maybe thaw it out some. Then returned it to the a/c and when the compressor kicked in the unit dropped out. I messed with it all day trying to get it to come back on with no luck. This left us with just the rear unit for the next 2 days and for the trip home.
2nd problem. When we broke camp and was ready to leave. I moved forward a bit and stopped. When I did, a deluge of water come running out of the return vents in the ceiling. Wife grabbed towels and started drying it up. I don't understand why or how this much water could get into the vents??

So now I'm back home on shore power and still no front a/c. the fan runs but when you turn on the a/c the whole unit drops out?? Can somebody help maybe point me in the right direction or maybe a shop here in Oklahoma they would recommend?

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by Tevans

We just returned from Houston where the humidity was very high. I have an 02 Dutch Star DP with the 2 overhead heat pump a/c units.
1st problem. While getting ready to leave for the trip the units where acting up. I would turn on the front unit and as soon as it ask for the compressor kicked in, the unit would go down. This happened with both units. I finally let the front unit run for a bit and asked for the compressor and it came on and stayed on thankfully. This was on the Gen set.
We made the trip alright and set up in a RV camp not far from the hospital MD Anderson and both units operated just fine for the first couple of days.
Day 3 woke up to water dripping from one of the return vents in the center of the bus ceiling. I switched it to just fan and ran it for a while to maybe thaw it out some. Then returned it to the a/c and when the compressor kicked in the unit dropped out. I messed with it all day trying to get it to come back on with no luck. This left us with just the rear unit for the next 2 days and for the trip home.
2nd problem. When we broke camp and was ready to leave. I moved forward a bit and stopped. When I did, a deluge of water come running out of the return vents in the ceiling. Wife grabbed towels and started drying it up. I don't understand why or how this much water could get into the vent??

So now I'm back home on shore power and still no front a/c. Can somebody help maybe point me in the right direction or maybe a shop here in Oklahoma they would recommend?

Are the filters in the return air vents clean? In high humidity conditions, it's very important to keep air flow across the coils as high as possible. Also run on high fan instead of auto to keep air flow high. I'm Guessing you had a really big ice buildup on the coils which dumped down into the duct when it melted. When you changed the level on the coach it all came out.

Sounds like your compressors are starting to draw more amps when they start. Might try new start capacitors.


Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

[DJJ]

Check to make sure your A/C drains are clear. On my 03 DS they drain onto the roof. If the are clogged the condensation will back up.


Jeff
2003 Dutch Star, 3126B Cat.

[jacwjames]

I was starting to have trouble with one of mine, it would kick the breaker sporadically. I put in a hard start capacitor and that fixed it for about 1 year and then it would start kicking out when the fan would come on. Turned out to be the blower motor was starting to seize up. Replaced the blower motor and it worked great on the last 2 trips. When I took the blower motor out I could barely turn it by hand.

["007"]

Your AC's may need cleaning and the ceiling vent filters as said. Scroll down for information.

[Bill-MACV21]

Ref the airflow. A low speed fan setting allows the cooling coil to more effectively condense the moisture out of the air.

I'm traveling in the Austin/Dallas area right now and the latest weather is humid. I left one AC on constantly with a low fan setting and the RV had no humidity issues throughout the day or night.

Dirty filters and icing can further compound your problems.

It is a balancing act relative to cooling vs humidity but you may want to consider the low speed setting if the RVs interior temperature is not an issue.

[PDR John]

We're sitting outside Austin, we have 2 small dehumidifiers going all the time. With the 3 roof ACs, we can keep the inside at 40% humidity.

The 90-100% humidity really tests everything. I think you need to clean all the insides of your AC units.