Air conditioners tripping

[Txaggies]

We have a 2018 Ventana. Our air conditioners have recently started tripping the inside breakers. NIRVC had it for 5 weeks told us it was fixed, brought it home and it is now tripping again. It is not the plug we checked that. We were wondering could it be the breakers ? Has anyone else had this issue ? Did you change the breakers out ? We have put many breakers in our barn but I was not sure what kind of breaker is used in a motorhome. We are leaving soon and it is not a trip I can cancel. Any help would be appreciated.

[Ndrorder]

Could be bad input power. For best operation, there should be more than 110V on each leg at the power pole.


Could also be dirty or loose wires/contacts within the transfer switch. Requires disconnecting each wire and cleaning bolt the wire and the contact. Retighten to specification. Dirty or loose connections would create increased resistance and subsequently more amperage usage.

[Solo_RV_Guy]

You're talking about the circuit breakers in your Ventana and not the breaker(s) for your shore power source?

While it's very unlikely the breakers (plural) are defective or have worn out in 3 years, it's possible. Find the breaker box and locate the a/c breakers. Take pic and head to the electrical retailer of your choice. They're non-returnable items, usually, so decide if you want to buy just 1 to see if it solves the problem or if you're willing to have 2 spares...

If you can duplicate the problem (it is on start up, after 30/60/120 min of run time, particular prevailing temps?), do you have a 'clamp-around' ammeter? If breakers are tripping it usually means there is an over-current condition that can be diagnosed. The reason it could have been overlooked at NIRVC is that someone has to sit and watch the meter, at an hourly rate.

What observations and diagnostics were made by the technicians, what work or adjustments, if any, did they do?

Edit ps: Ditto for what Ndrorder said. I'd be surprised if the techs checked the ATS or various wire terminations based on your symptoms. While not as likely at 3 years old, corrosion and loose connections do happen...

[Dutch Star Don]

Try running them on your generator....if they trip, you have an RV issue. If they don't you need to check your barn power.

[Txaggies]

I'm getting 121-123 volts across each leg. With virtually nothing else on in the coach, I think the fridge is the only thing, it's showing I'm drawing 22-23 amps on each leg. We aren't in the coach right now, it's in our storage building, but one or both breakers trip an hour or so after startup. External temp today is around 95. When we took the coach in to NIRVC, they found bad batteries with fairly significant corrosion. They cleaned everything and replaced the batteries. Afterward, I believe all they did was turn the units on and let them run. They said they never tripped, but when we got there, the front unit was tripped. We got there on Sunday evening, so naturally no one was available to look at it. We reset the breaker and it ran all night without fail.

I'm wondering if the corroded batteries was causing it to trip initially and now the breakers are weakened to the point that they have derated.

[twinboat]

I would hose out the condensor coils. Accumulated dirt or nesting material will cause the ACs to draw high amps.
Have you looked at them ?

A bad connection will not raise the amp draw of the compressor.
Its true that as volts go down, amps go up, but not when you add a resistance ( bad connection ) into the circuit.

If you wire 2 bulbs in series does the second one burn brighter, no. They both share the power.

[Txaggies]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Try running them on your generator....if they trip, you have an RV issue. If they don't you need to check your barn power.

I don't think it's in my barn. The first time it tripped, we were camping in a state park. We made an appointment to take it in, and the day prior to leaving, we turned them on in our barn and tripped both AC breakers. It tripped twice the night we got to NIRVC, once when they were working on it, and again the day we picked it up. The 3 times at NIRVC, it was on a different plug each time. And now it's tripping again I n my barn. That's at least 5 different power sources, so I have to believe it's somewhere in the coach. We've run it on the generator while driving without it tripping, but it was getting help from the dash unit. I haven't tried it as a standalone power source in the heat of the day, but may have to resort to that on our upcoming trip if it continues.

[twinboat]

If they don't trip while driving, thats another clue of blocked airflow.

[Txaggies]

Originally Posted by twinboat

I would hose out the condensor coils. Accumulated dirt or nesting material will cause the ACs to draw high amps.
Have you looked at them ?

A bad connection will not raise the amp draw of the compressor.
Its true that as volts go down, amps go up, but not when you add a resistance ( bad connection ) into the circuit.

If you wire 2 bulbs in series does the second one burn brighter, no. They both share the power.

I haven't been on top of the coach to look inside the units. We talked to the tech and I think his boss when we picked the coach up and the boss asked him if they serviced the units. Just sort of raised his eyebrows when the answer was no.

I have appt to take it back in when we get back from our trip. Hopefully we can keep one of the two units functional while we're gone. So far, we've not had an issue at night, so we can just limit the time we're inside during the day.

[TXiceman]

Have you checked the voltage at the units?

Ken

[ptw]

If you are getting 22-23 amps to each air conditioner that is too much. Check the amperage on your panel before, during and after you run each air conditioner. Even with everything off the battery charger could be using power. If the current is actually 22-23 amps there is something wrong with the air conditioners. Follow Twinboat's suggestion. Also, here is something from Comfort Master. Were you around cottonwood trees this year?

• Clogged air filter: This happens too often, and it’s easy to prevent. When the air filter protecting the interior of the AC is clogged up with dust and lint, it will force the blower fan to work harder, eventually causing it to overheat. We recommend you check on the filter once a month. It will need to be replaced every 1 to 3 months.
• Loss of motor lubrication: A motor with too much friction on its parts will eventually overheat. If an AC has its annual maintenance neglected for too long, the motors will lose their lubricant and lead to this problem. (Yet another friendly reminder to schedule professional AC maintenance each year.)
• Loss of refrigerant: An AC uses a set charge of refrigerant, but it can lose this vital chemical to leaks. When that happens, the pressure changes throughout the air conditioner will cause numerous problems—and a tripped circuit breaker is one of them.
• Other electrical faults: This is a catch-all category for electrical shorts, corroded wiring, lose connections, and other electrical mishaps within an AC. The majority of air conditioning malfunctions are electrical in nature, and a tripped circuit breaker is an early warning of an electrical problem somewhere in the cooling system.

I really doubt that both of your breakers would have gone bad in a 2018 coach. If I were to check anything on the electrical system, the first place I would go would be the transfer switch. Check that the relay is holding and the wires connections are tight.

[tommar]

Neither your house or chassis batteries have anything to do with your air conditioners. From what's been described, it sounds like your ACs are drawing too much amps.

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by Txaggies

I'm getting 121-123 volts across each leg. With virtually nothing else on in the coach, I think the fridge is the only thing, it's showing I'm drawing 22-23 amps on each leg. We aren't in the coach right now, it's in our storage building, but one or both breakers trip an hour or so after startup. External temp today is around 95. When we took the coach in to NIRVC, they found bad batteries with fairly significant corrosion. They cleaned everything and replaced the batteries. Afterward, I believe all they did was turn the units on and let them run. They said they never tripped, but when we got there, the front unit was tripped. We got there on Sunday evening, so naturally no one was available to look at it. We reset the breaker and it ran all night without fail.

I'm wondering if the corroded batteries was causing it to trip initially and now the breakers are weakened to the point that they have derated.

A couple of things: when you say there is 22-23 amps on each line with just the reefer on, is the inverter/charger running? On 120VAC power the reefer should pull <6 amps (and it would on only 1 Line). The symmetrical nature of the load puzzles me as there are only a couple of genuine 240VAC loads in motor homes: *some* clothes dryers and *some* induction cooktops and I'm guessing your coach does not have these loads (or they weren't in use).

For your charger/inverter to pull 20+ amps while charging would not be surprising, but it would be only 1 Line of your service.

And finally, you never responded with which breakers are tripping: your garage shore power, the individual coach breakers for each air conditioner, or the breakers on your generator.

You have more than one problem and I think your 12VDC issue is likely resolved.

[cavie]

If you are tripping the individual A/C breakers the problem is within the A/C's'

OR you have a low voltage issue.