HOW TO REMOVE AND BENCH TEST AN RV AIR CONDITIONING ROOFTOP UNIT

[@JordanWine-q2o]

Great video 🤙

[@EverydayProjects]

Glad to help

[@SDD62]

Glad you put this up. I have an ac unit that I want to ck out

[@EverydayProjects]

@@SDD62 These usually work for many decades. Good luck. I hope yours will work!!

[@michaelcarman4875]

just what i needed!!! thanks

[@EverydayProjects]

Glad it helps. I hope you get your AC working again! Please Subscribe for Free. Thanks

[@heliarche]

So if a guy wanted to, for some strange reason, could you run that compressor wire through a toggle switch and manually regulate the compressor? I have a 71 Fan camper with a Coleman AC unit on top that still ought to work. I doubt the wiring would be very similar to what you have, but the controls are shot and this video makes me think I could make it work again to a degree or maybe find some sort of generic analog controls for it and bodge them in. The camper itself is more of a storage shed/workshop for small engines but AC would be nice in the heat.

[@EverydayProjects]

From what I understand, there has to be the control board between the 12 volt DC circuit and the 115 Volt AC that runs the compressor if you want to run it from a thermostat. That said, you could wire the compressor directly to AC to try it out, bypassing the thermostat and the control board. That way you could see if the compressor works at all, and if it cools. There should be very little delay in getting cold. When the compressor starts, the suction line from the evaporator should be immediately cold if the charge is sufficient (within 20 seconds).

[@heliarche]

@@EverydayProjects Understood. I'll tear into it if I get the chance and see what's there. At least I've got a way to test it out now though.

[@larrygeorge108]

I am in a similar position as Sawbones , would like to bypass Thermo and simple off/on with fan on low or high. My unit is a Dometic and I have 6 wires red,white,blue,black,yellow ,and gréenyellow. Excluding the 2 12v wires

[@cjbiz251]

Can you help me wire up my ac the same way?

[@EverydayProjects]

You'll do fine. Just follow the instructions for wiring it up and it should go.

[@markhoffmann5941]

extension ladders can be used kind of like a ramp if set at lower angles..... slide the AC down the ladder.

[@EverydayProjects]

Good idea. I wish I had thought of that when I brought this down. As it was, it didn't damage the RV or the unit. Mine was not an approved method for sure. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@josuetrejoreal3345]

Some friend give me the same rv/ac. But just have the cables whiteout more than just that.This unit not need a run capacitor?

[@EverydayProjects]

There are two capacitors on this unit. They are under the side cover. The larger one is the capacitor for the compressor and the smaller one is for the fan motor. I tested mine and they were good. You can test them using a multimeter on the ohms setting. Good luck.

[@heliarche]

I'd figure it got left up there because it looked like work to remove it and to use it on something else would have been work as well. Main thing is four big bolts, some wires, and it's loose though isn't it? As you say, might use mine on something else, or at the least there's good parts in it. In case of cannibalizing it though I'd like to find a place to get it properly emptied. If yours has CFC refrigerant, I'm sure mine would as well. The compressor can make a decent ad hoc vacuum pump. The fan motor, those capacitors, evaporator and condenser, all neat goodies. We'll see what happens.

[@EverydayProjects]

All good things to have, yes. I've heard of people making refrigerant recovery systems from an old refrigerant system (because that's all they are , really) but that strays into that area of messing with things left best to the technicians. What this gets me thinking about are all the possible good RV a/c systems that must be out there (forgotten) but still workable. So many RVs end up parked because of leaks (They really don't put good roofs on them!!!) and the A/Cs are probably still good. Take Care

[@heliarche]

@@EverydayProjects I tore into mine and found that it's all 110V AC. After shutting off all the breakers, somehow it was still live which I found out about 5 times before just disconnecting power entirely. I have it all going through a 40 AMP switch. Turn it on, shut it off if it gets too cold. When the compressor comes on it draws a heck of a lot of current and makes a lot of noise. The noise goes away after about 30 seconds. If you shut it off and immediately turn it back on, the compressor acts like it's jammed or something. I don't know, Maybe a bad check valve somewhere or the starting capacitor but it works well enough as is.

[@EverydayProjects]

@@heliarche I think that a video of your system would be fun to watch. Sounds like the old AC still works. That's good. Compressors that make a racket could be several things, low oil, wear or starting against pressure in the high side. They usually don't like to be turned off then right back on. I'm waiting for the video haha

[@tsrwakemaster]

Can u show what colors to connect AC to and the 12V DC. Perhaps a steady pic of your diagram Thanks

[@EverydayProjects]

Sure. If you pause the video at 11:19 you can study the diagram (left click the mouse). For the AC wiring, it is very simple, just the one cable containing one black and one white wire (hot is black and neutral is white). This connects directly to the relay box wires up inside the Air Conditioning unit as seen in the diagram. The 12 volt wiring colors are shown exiting the thermostat. I hope this helps. If you are at all uncertain how to connect any of these wires, please get your local RV shop or electrician to help. Thanks for watching!

[@TomandJulieMineExploring]

It looks as though you have that all figured out. Hope you get a lot of views with this hot weather that's happening now.

[@EverydayProjects]

Thanks for taking a look. I look forward to checking out your channel videos. I see interesting stuff! Take Care!

[@larrygeorge108]

what color wires did you use for the 120v compressor?

[@EverydayProjects]

Hi Larry, I tested the entire unit by providing 12 volt DC to the thermostat wiring and 120 volt AC to the relay circuit. If you provide 120 v to the relay circuit and connect the thermostat wires (one at a time) to 12 volt DC, you can make the unit work on the bench.

[@ShaineFounten]

I need to do this but I’m still confused on how to hook the wires up to work

[@EverydayProjects]

There are lots of images of AC wiring online. Just do a Google search of "RV air conditioner wiring" and select "Images" at the top of the page. Good luck.