1991 Country Coach A/C electrical relay location?

[Will Garner]

Ok guys (and gals) out there, I need some direction. During my 7K mile June trip I lost the Bedroom, then the Galley, and finally the Dash A/C units. I did check the compressors and the clutch on one compressor would not engage. The Dash went last about 9:00 PM within 30 miles of home so I just kept driving. The next morning I looked into the engine bay to check fan belts and found it had tossed the compressor belt for the dash A/C. I got out a belt and, with help from my seven year old grandson, replaced it. The dash unit came back to life. Yeah for me on that one.

The other two units were checked out by Guaranty RV in Junction City. Bottom line was they could not get CC to furnish (return call) to get technical information - wiring diagram. I went to CC personally and was able to get the drawing. When I got back to Guaranty the coach was out front in the "finished" line. They had done nothing but create new problems. Anyway, their diagnosis was the blower switches were burned out and therefore the compressor was not getting any power = no A/C. Of course the blower switches were not in stock at CC - seven day delivery - so I ordered them through CC and had them drop shipped to my house. They were on the front porch waiting for me when I got home.

Now since my time is limited, I still work and we take care of grands on Fridays and Saturdays while daughter works, I took the coach back to Carrier Transicold (CT) in Garner NC. They had previously been recommended to me by Southern Coach of Durham as the company that fixes their tour coach A/C units. They also were familiar with the coach having done A/C work on it before. Well today I get a call from CT and the switches have been installed, including a bad low pressure cut off switch that had been bypassed in the past, but the compressors are still not getting any power. Yes the Dash A/C failed about two weeks after I put on the new belt. They asked where the A/C electrical relays were located as they could not find them. I told them they may be in one of three places as far as I knew. One is in the electrical bay under the driver's window, a previous post indicated they may be on the ceiling of an underbay on the driver's side, and lastly the electrical box on the back wall of the engine bay. I'm sending an e-mail message to CC requesting the same information but I don't know if that approach will be successful or not.

So now for the $64,000 question, can anyone tell me other places on a 1990 chassis and 1991 CC conversion that we may find the electrical relays for the A/C compressors? I provided CT with an 800 number for tech support at CC in Junction City and the name of the tech rep I got the wiring diagram from in June. I have not heard anything further from CT today. Looks like it will be at least Monday before I can get the coach back.

Thanks in advance for any guidance you may provide.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Will I just made a call for you and was told to look in the last bay drivers side mounted to the ceiling.

[Will Garner]

Joe, that was one of the locations I suggested to them. Maybe they found it but could not finish the repair before 5:00 PM.

Thanks for the info.

BTW, I did the clean up around the power steering pump. I refilled the reservoir. Ran the big engine for over two hours and could not find any leakage. The reservoir was still full. I however looked like the guy sitting in front of the Bose speaker system in that ad campaign from a couple of years ago.

I backed the coach out of the garage, it has a concrete floor, and there was a tiny shiny drop of tranny fluid on the floor. Went back the following Sunday, the reservoir remained full. Ran the big motor again for a couple hours - no drippings. I did not fill up with diesel on the home run leg of our June trip so now I was getting to where I needed fuel. I again checked the reservoir and it remained full. I went to the closest diesel truck fill area to the garage, about 60 miles round trip, then put it back into the garage. Checked the reservoir when I was filling up and again back at the garage. It remained full. Backed the bus out on Monday morning this week and took it 75miles to Garner NC. Checked the reservoir before departing and again at Garner. It remained full. The steering felt "normal" while driving.

I have also checked the tranny dip stick and it remains full. So why I had that large pool of tranny fluid on the garage floor the weekend after getting back home remains a mystery. I have never heard of a self healing O-ring before, that is where I expected to find the problem. Needless to say I am keeping a close watch for any more "puddles."

Hope all is well with you and yours.

Will

[flyu2there]

Do you have the motherboard/daughterboards in the most forward bay? I am not certain what year CC began installing them but, if you have them installed, all control runs through that device.

[truk4u]

Will,

Not knowing your configuration (John asked if you had the ECC) this may or may not help.

My switches for the galley and bedroom A/C are not connected to start the compressor. I can run those fans at anytime, whether the compressor is running or not. I have a dedicated button for the over the road air and that turns on the compressor. My system also failed due to a leak and the low pressure switch shut down the compressor. The leak was a line at the condenser located underneath the bus in front of the drive axle. The condenser has two large 12v fans that cool the unit.

Bill Miller has your vintage, you may give him a call..