Resolved Dash A/C not blowing cold air

[Neal]

I found a FL service center enroute to my first stop I'll see if they can fit me in. When getting into aircraft ownership I learned of a term, a thing - "maintenance induced failures" aka MIF's as they are called. We all know it's true and as such I'm really skeptical of making matters worse. I had a situation with my plane recently trying to get an inspection done and they obviously didn't know how to do the job and I told them, if you don't know how to do it, please say so, I don't want any problems, and they backed out of trying to do the job they couldn't which was good. So I'll go into something like this situation with the same caution, give them an opportunity to look and assess and go from there and if I don't get a good vibe I'll pay up and continue on my way. Even if it's a shot of refrigerant that may leak but at least get me through two months of this trip.

How do we know what refrigerant is used in a system such as this? I'll likely put in a call to Gaffney Monday.

 

[Rich W.]

I found a FL service center enroute to my first stop I'll see if they can fit me in. When getting into aircraft ownership I learned of a term, a thing - "maintenance induced failures" aka MIF's as they are called. We all know it's true and as such I'm really skeptical of making matters worse. I had a situation with my plane recently trying to get an inspection done and they obviously didn't know how to do the job and I told them, if you don't know how to do it, please say so, I don't want any problems, and they backed out of trying to do the job they couldn't which was good. So I'll go into something like this situation with the same caution, give them an opportunity to look and assess and go from there and if I don't get a good vibe I'll pay up and continue on my way. Even if it's a shot of refrigerant that may leak but at least get me through two months of this trip.

How do we know what refrigerant is used in a system such as this? I'll likely put in a call to Gaffney Monday.

there will be a sticker in plain view identifying the refrigerant type. This is mine (R134a):

 

[Just George]

@Neal Hope FL works out for you. I had Premier Truck (FL Oasis) check the AC when we first got our 22 but they only needed to adjusted freon level. I also had the AC system rebuilt on my 15 Ventana due to a compressor failure. I used Texas Truck AC which I would recommend if your are near Dallas. Posting this mostly to let you know there are companies the specalize in truck & commercial vehicle AC systmes. If FL dosent work out you might look for a company like Texas Truck AC near your travels.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Now that the fear mongering has slowed!
1. Low charge ( although you can have a leak, (think balloon, may just be a hose penitration, no fix, just charge)).
2. Low pressure switch ( simply replace switch, can be a DIY project)
3. Broken wire to the compressor clutch.
4. Failure of clutch.

I have had all the above, over the years. Short of a breach of the system ie. accident that invaded the integrity of the system, or a failure of the compressor, I have not had to evacuate a system. Charge kits and freon are available in auto parts stores. All the fill ports can't be interchanged, meaning you can't make a mistake, as the fill hose will not fit onto an incompatible system. The switch has a valve that keeps the freon in the system while changing it out.
Checking continuity on the clutch wires will clear the possibility of a broken wire.

All in all, a competent service technician shouldn't have 1 hour finding the problem...

 

[Joe Dutchstar]

The A/C compressor looks something like these images (see link).
The clutch. where the belt drives pump, attaches belt drive to the compressor body.
You need A/C specific tools to measure pressures, evacuate and fill these units.
These units are typically on the accessory end of the Engine, where the accessory belts drive Power Steering, Alternator, A/C, pumps.

www.acpartsguys.com - RV & Motorhome Compressors

 

[Joe Dutchstar]

Neal, does your Vantana have a side or rear radiator? Rear Radiator makes getting at the Accessory end of the engine more involved and difficult.

 

[Rich W.]

Neal, does your Vantana have a side or rear radiator? Rear Radiator makes getting at the Accessory end of the engine more involved and difficult.

Ventanas are rear radiator which makes typically simple tasks a job for a freightliner (or equivalent) shop. You can see the compressor from the chassis battery compartment (door side rear) but getting to it is another story. It‘s on the drivers side top of the motor would be accessed through the floor if one were so motivated. Hopefully in Neals case, the “fix” won’t involve the compressor.

 

[Neal]

Keep in mind @Rich W. you can raise the hinged wheel well doors and that could help with access. Been a long time since I did that for running Boogey light wires but it may be something to help. A few self tapping screws on the bottom are all that secure them.

 

[Webz]

My last compressor replacement was accomplished by a truck/car heater and AC repair place in Del City Oklahoma. Did a great job and was reasonable. A&H Auto Repair.

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

Neal, I've been dealing with this for 3 years and 3 different FTL dealers without success. They have evacuated and recharged the system and it works for a few weeks/months and then it starts blowing cool, not cold, once again. They've added the UV dye and can't find any leaks. I'm going to try a truck/auto ac place next. In the meantime, I'll use my roof air to supplement the dash air.

 

[Just George]

One of the challenges on Coach dash air can be the the long AC lines and the fact that you just can't see the entire run and some of the various connections are just not visible so the UV dye can be somewhat limited. At least in my case the Texas Truck AC folks isolated various portions of the system lines, and pulled a vacuum on the isolated portions to check for leaks. Once they found the portion that was leaking they then further isolated to find the specific leaking item. This may be standard AC leak detection troubleshooting but perhaps FL shops don't have the same approach as the AC specific shops.

 

[Neal]

Thanks all, I'll see if I can locate a truck/car A/C facility west of Charleston, WV as I head to the Huntington/Fox Fire KOA

 

[lostinfla]

I think the reason we had a compressor failure is because we didn't use it much. Mostly had the coach air running while on the road to make it easier on the units when we stopped by not having to bring the temp down all at once. We finished most of our trip without it that year.

 

[Rich W.]

Keep in mind @Rich W. you can raise the hinged wheel well doors and that could help with access. Been a long time since I did that for running Boogey light wires but it may be something to help. A few self tapping screws on the bottom are all that secure them.

Hinged wheel well doors must be a tag axle thing - I just have mud flaps to the rear of the rear wheels and exposed frame rails on the inside of them.

 

[Neal]

Kudos to Matheny Truck Group (formerly Allied) Kenova, WV

Arrived 10:30, coach picked up 12:30, service completed 2:30.

All systems check good, just needed refrigerant. Crazy cold again! Woohoo!

Lesson learned for me: If doing engine runs or drives while in storage, even if in the winter, run the A/C!