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Old 07-07-2018, 02:24 PM   #1
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A/c on and off till breaker flips

Hello all. My dad just bought a 88 American by cobra. He drove it down from Cali to my house in TX. And it is hot here. When he turns on the over head Ac, it cuts on and off till my breaker box flips. Same thing at the rv park. Any idea what's going on with the ac? Any help would be great and appreciate. We are both rv motorhomes noobs
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Old 07-07-2018, 03:43 PM   #2
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A rooftop A/C unit often requires 16 amps or more to start up, once going it might operate on 14-15 amps. When you say, "it cuts on and off" is that just the fan or the compressor cycling? (built-in control board should prevent the compressor from short cycling, pressures need time to even out before the compressor can come on again)

I'd suspect the starting capacitor is bad. There are many resources online if you Google "RV rooftop A/C capacitor" on how to visually check and test it.
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Old 07-07-2018, 05:32 PM   #3
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When it's on , does it blow cold air or does the fan just run ? Could be anything from a bad capacitor to seized compressor.
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Old 08-05-2018, 07:57 PM   #4
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Howdy Stumpyd31:

Before assuming the worst check that your condenser is clean and doesn't have bent fins. A dirty condenser will cause high pressures.

Maybe the HP switch cutting in and out until unit trips breaker from over current.

Hope this helps.
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Old 08-05-2018, 08:13 PM   #5
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You might look online for a manual and even a service manual for your make of A/C unit. An A/C can short cycle for a number of reasons. A bad thermostat can cause the problem. If the air flow is restricted, (dirty filter, closed vents) the evaporating coil can freeze up and a sensor on the coil will shut down the compressor until the ice melts. Another possibility is a bad control board.
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Old 08-05-2018, 09:38 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stumpyd31 View Post
Hello all. My dad just bought a 88 American by cobra. He drove it down from Cali to my house in TX. And it is hot here. When he turns on the over head Ac, it cuts on and off till my breaker box flips. Same thing at the rv park. Any idea what's going on with the ac? Any help would be great and appreciate. We are both rv motorhomes noobs
Do you have an on-board generator? If so, can you run the AC on that?

If no gennie, make sure you are plugging the RV into at least a 20 amp circuit at your house; a 15 amp circuit (lwhich is most common for ordinary room outlets) will be a little too wimpy for starting an AC. The circuit that your microwave plugs into will work if you don't have any others.

It sounds rather like the start capacitor is bad. These can be replaced by you without much trouble, and you can buy "hard-start" ones that help with the amperage draw.
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