Basement air tech needed

boatdesigner · 08-14-2016, 07:58 PM

Any one know a good tech in the Mass,NH, or Maine area that will work on my basement air? Went to 2 Winny dealers, one in Maine and the other in NH. And they were clueless. Just said they never experienced any problems. Tried an AC tech that works on trucks but they didn't drop the unit and seemed confused. Very little AC. With only only 2 deg drop in temp. Blower starts and shows 14 amp draw then goes to 24 amps for a second or two then drops back to 14 amps. Not much air going to front of mh. Much work to drop this unit? Can't find any pics. 2007 Voyage 33'

AFChap · 08-15-2016, 09:41 AM

Got to the service locator area of the RVP Coleman website at Coleman Mach - Where to Buy Our Products | Airxcel . ALWAYS call to verify that they work on them before going to one even if the website tells you they service basement units because I have found the website to be inaccurate about that. They list a place 5 miles from my house that I have never been able to reach by the listed phone, and I find only a locked compound when I drive by.

Many folks have had success in getting a home ac guy to look at it if they open it up for them. It is a dual compressor rooftop package unit in their language. The compartment door is normally secured with screws on the bottom and front side, and the electronics is then accessible under a cover secured with one screw. The problem is often a start or run capacitor that they can easily diagnose and change.

bsamole · 08-15-2016, 10:07 AM

Suggest you call the manufacturer. They have great technical support and knowledge of repair centers. Their phone number is 316-832-4357

tderonne · 08-15-2016, 10:09 AM

Two things you can check that could affect airflow:

The filters. They are under the bed. Some folks don't realize they are there.

The ductwork in the rear cap. Real common to split open. Quite a few threads here about repairing the problem.

Google image search here on the problem

Cooperhawk · 08-15-2016, 10:17 AM

We had ours repaired by ABC Bus. They dropped it out of the unit, found a pressure line cracked, repaired that and serviced the unit. The cost was reasonable. They usually work on high end buses

What We Offer | ABC Companies

codgerbill · 08-15-2016, 10:45 AM

I had my basement air replaced.

About 3 years ago we were at the GNR (Winnebago Grand National Rally) and as the temp outside was close to 100 and the AC could not cool the coach, we had Winnebago factory service it. The outside temp after the GNR fell to the 70's and so we did not need AC until September of that year. The AC was not cooling the coach. We ended up taking it to a Workhorse dealer in Michigan. Winnebago rebated the labor cost and sent a new compressor to the Workhorse dealer. The AC was not needed until May of the next year and it still did not work. It was out of the 90 day warranty too. We happened to be going to Shipshiwana Indiana for a June rally and so I called a place in Shipshewana (National RV) and the Amish fellow worked exclusively on RV refrigerator and RV AC units. He removed the Basement Air unit and tested id while I was there. The wrong size capacitor had been installed and the system was not properly purged and as a result the compressor was trash. He could have fixed the unit but when he indicated Coleman/Mach still manufactured the unit we decided to replace it.

It has been over two years and it works great even with the outside temp getting close to 100 degrees F.

Falcon190 · 08-15-2016, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tderonne

Two things you can check that could affect airflow:

The filters. They are under the bed. Some folks don't realize they are there.

The ductwork in the rear cap. Real common to split open. Quite a few threads here about repairing the problem.

X's2 - I have a Winnebago with a basement heat pump that stopped working about three months ago so I ended up having the bad starting capacitors replaced, along with the air filter. The ductwork had collapsed and was opened up. The AC now blows much more air and can cool the coach even on very hot days.

throbbin367 · 08-15-2016, 01:34 PM

When I turned my ac on it spiked the gen and actually killed it. After doing a lot of research and a neighbor that is an hvac guy, he checked all my capacitors in a few minutes and they were all good. I dropped the unit out and opened it up to find #1 compressor locked up. I was able to find a replacement compressor for a reasonable price had the neighbor install it and found the leak that let all the refrigerant out and burned up the compressor. Charger it tested it and put it back in and works great. So it's all possible

Sent from my iPhone using iRV2 - RV Forum

FIRE UP · 08-15-2016, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boatdesigner

Any one know a good tech in the Mass,NH, or Maine area that will work on my basement air? Went to 2 Winny dealers, one in Maine and the other in NH. And they were clueless. Just said they never experienced any problems. Tried an AC tech that works on trucks but they didn't drop the unit and seemed confused. Very little AC. With only only 2 deg drop in temp. Blower starts and shows 14 amp draw then goes to 24 amps for a second or two then drops back to 14 amps. Not much air going to front of mh. Much work to drop this unit? Can't find any pics. 2007 Voyage 33'

boatdesigner,
May I ask, what make/model/year/chassis/ of coach you have? Most coaches that have basement air, have similar designs in basement air compartment layout but, it's nice to know what coach we're dealing with.

If it's a standard layout/hookup/wiring/etc., then dropping the basement A/C is, in reality, not very hard. Some have done it at campsites, to repair smaller issues. I did it at home and, it's actually fairly simple. The unit, for the most part, sits on a rectangular, angle iron cradle. That cradle is held in place by four, 1/2"x13x3" bolts. There is an approximate 7"x12" air duct that is attached to it, directly from the rear.

The outside body panel (louvers) on most coaches, is usually hinged across the top and screwed into framing around the edges. Once the screws are removed, the panel will hinge, usually almost 180 degrees, all the way up. Then it's taped to the side of the coach or, secured in any manor that will work so that work can be done uninhibited, on that A/C unit.

Then, this is the pain in the a$$ part. To get at those little screws that secure the A/C duct to the side of the unit, you sometimes have to get real creative due to the limited clearance to work. You'll have to figure that one out for your particular coach. Once the duct is removed, you can simply swing it away from the main unit and tape it back or, again, secure it so that you can move on with lowering and removing that unit.

Now, those bolts, the 1/2"x13x3" ones, can be a bit rusty so, sometimes some penetrating spray of your choice a day or so ahead of time, is in order. But, all you do is, loosen each one of those bolts, a little at a time. You will begin to see that unit start to drop. You keep going around and turning those bolts a little at each one, to keep dropping the unit.

When you see the top of the unit will clear the louvered hinge of the panel, you can now basically slide that A/C unit out of it's cradle and on to what ever you've got to receive it, that's setting there waiting for it. You'll have to determine just what you'll need for appropriate height so that the A/C unit will slide from its cradle, the waiting platform. There will be more than enough wiring coiled up for you to completely remove that A/C unit and set it on saw horses, buckets and plywood etc.

Once out and exposed, you can begin working on it doing whatever you need.

You can even run it in that status. It's just like you're running it when it's lodged in its home. When getting ready to put it back, everything here is reversed. Good luck.
Scott.

boatdesigner · 08-16-2016, 10:10 AM

Thanks everyone. Now I have some solid info to continue my search to solve this problem. From phone numbers to pics this is a huge help. Hope I can return the favor.

Duner · 08-16-2016, 02:12 PM

Check out this procedure I wrote to help folks pull and repair their own unit. Since yours is a gasser like mine, the details will be nearly identical. Thru the years many folks have gotten back to me with success stories.

Good luck,
Bill
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...zBiZTYxYzU5ZWQ

FIRE UP · 08-16-2016, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duner

Check out this procedure I wrote to help folks pull and repair their own unit. Since yours is a gasser like mine, the details will be nearly identical. Thru the years many folks have gotten back to me with success stories.

Good luck,
Bill
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...zBiZTYxYzU5ZWQ

INCLUDING ME!!!
Scott

1ciderdog · 08-16-2016, 07:50 PM

I also pulled mine after reading posts by Scott & Duner. Not a major problem. Mentioned in a post above is to look for the air filter under the bed. That may be true on many or most models but mine is at the base of a closet at the rear of the RV.