Front radiator and A/C question

[Bsgolfer66]

Underneath the front part of my coach (2011 Fleetwood Expedition 38B) in the middle, there is a radiator with an electric fan. Whenever I turn on the dash A/C the fan turns on and then after a while it cycle on and off, pretty frequently. Anyone know what this radiator is for and the correlation to the A/C?

[Skip426]

Your coach is on a Freightliner chassis and it's the A/C condenser and the electric fan cycles every time the compressor clutch is engaged .
All normal by the sounds of things .

[Jzack]

I have the same system and always wondered whether the fan was tied to the A/C clutch or thermostat driven. Nice to know it runs when the clutch is engaged.

I also noticed my system works better when parked or moving slowly than at freeway speeds. A noticeable 5-10 degree difference at the vents. My theory is there could be a negative pressure issue with the condenser tucked up behind the front cap and the fan struggles to find air to push through the unit. Like sitting in the bed of a moving pick-up and finding it hard to catch your breath if that makes sense.

I may just try and make an air scoop of some sort to test this theory sometime. Unless someone has a better explanation for this weird phenomena?

[Xmcdog]

Originally Posted by Jzack

I have the same system and always wondered whether the fan was tied to the A/C clutch or thermostat driven. Nice to know it runs when the clutch is engaged.

I also noticed my system works better when parked or moving slowly than at freeway speeds. A noticeable 5-10 degree difference at the vents. My theory is there could be a negative pressure issue with the condenser tucked up behind the front cap and the fan struggles to find air to push through the unit. Like sitting in the bed of a moving pick-up and finding it hard to catch your breath if that makes sense.

I may just try and make an air scoop of some sort to test this theory sometime. Unless someone has a better explanation for this weird phenomena?

You could be right. If the condenser is not getting enough air to remove heat from the refrigerant then the unit will stop working or at a reduced capacity.

[lllkrob]

Originally Posted by Jzack

I have the same system and always wondered whether the fan was tied to the A/C clutch or thermostat driven. Nice to know it runs when the clutch is engaged.

I also noticed my system works better when parked or moving slowly than at freeway speeds. A noticeable 5-10 degree difference at the vents. My theory is there could be a negative pressure issue with the condenser tucked up behind the front cap and the fan struggles to find air to push through the unit. Like sitting in the bed of a moving pick-up and finding it hard to catch your breath if that makes sense.

I may just try and make an air scoop of some sort to test this theory sometime. Unless someone has a better explanation for this weird phenomena?

I would be more inclined to think you have a bad heater control valve or blend door .

[Jzack]

Originally Posted by lllkrob

I would be more inclined to think you have a bad heater control valve or blend door .

Maybe, and i have thought of that, but I don't feel additional heat above ambient temp when using the 'vent' setting on cold.

[Argosy]

Originally Posted by Jzack

I also noticed my system works better when parked or moving slowly than at freeway speeds.

I may just try and make an air scoop of some sort to test this theory sometime. Unless someone has a better explanation for this weird phenomena?

I did that on one years ago and it helped a lot. Also check how well the radiator is sealed around the core support. The same one had a 3" gap down both sides, I used rubber strips to close them. Anything to redirect air flow generally helps.

[Bsgolfer66]

Thanks, very helpful replies, A/C works very well so I think all is good, just a bit noisy.