Cruise Aire dead

[rahangman]

OK, here we are, still down on the Gulf Coast after the OysterFest and loving it...that is, till this evening. We took our dogs for a walk at the Abita Springs RV park this afternoon, with all 3 Cruise Airs on Med to Hi (80degrees out). Returning, the Galley AC not on, and the Bedroom AC not on. Front one working fine. Inside still comfortable. I checked cir breakers in Bedroom, nothing out of place. Shore Power connection ok. After thinking they might have iced up, let them sit for a while, started up Galley and left on Fan only for about 10mins. Then went to Run, compresser started and seems to be cooling ok. BUT, the Bedroom unit is another thing. Did the same with it as Galley and getting nothing. Again checked service panel , but the CB was not tripped, flipped it a couple times, tried the same thing, still nothing. Not even the fan. I have the Mode and Fan Speed turned way down. I might add that the dials on all 3 of my Cruise Air controllers are VERY hard to turn. Probable corrosion (?) don't know. This is first time in 4 yrs ownership with any trouble at all with them. The cool very well. Thank goodness the nights are cool. I am thinking it may be in controllers, which I can access in the wall fairly easy with a voltmeter, but, not sure. Will try to determine power to the switches. Any other ideas? Help, been a great trip and almost ready to head home.

[garyde]

Have you ever had them serviced? I would think they need servicing or replacing if they are original.

[rahangman]

That has been a thought on my part for the 4 yrs we've had the coach. With them working so well , really did not want to mess with them, although keeping them serviced is important. The rear unit in my 3rd bay Psgr side compressor has the fins facing outward and I have made a point to gently spray/clean the fins. They are in pretty good alignment. The front 2, which are both working, are turned to the sides , I guess to help keep debris from entering through the front around the bumpers. Vents underneath are in position to route air while moving around the units. These units also have been cleaned gently to remove the road crud that I could access. Thanx for the heads up, you are right, I need to find a venue that can work on them for a good servicing. The air, once the compressors are turned on, gets good and cool quite quickly, but I've always thought that the dial controls will sooner or later give me trouble. My guess is that they are simple rheostats but will probably be hard to find replacements.

[Mark3101]

Maybe a dumb question, but have you checked the shore power / inverters to make sure everything has incoming power? I had one leg trip last year that shut down half of my roof air-conditioning. Just a thought...

[rahangman]

Mark, my plan is in the morning, I will fire up Gen and check. I am still wondering if it might be an overheat situation, but wouldn't think so as it was hot but not THAT hot. I can access the controls in the Bedroom wall, and try to figure power coming into switch, and how power goes out. Here goes

[truk4u]

Roger,

Don't know how far you are from Clearwater, but Coachworx could fix you up. You might want to think about changing out the old controls to SMX digital when you get it sorted out. Wish I could help you more, but it could be a number of different things causing your shutdown.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Rodger, be sure the filters inside the coach are clean. Usually need cleaning several times a year for best operation.

Reduced air flow will shut down a Cruise Aire!

JIM

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Rodger,

Assuming your Cruise Airs are original there are several highly probable problems. The range of issues can be as simple as start or run capacitors, to a bad relay, to low R22, to a bad compressor. You can get an idea of the problem by looking and listening. Does the amp meter give any indication the compressor is starting up or trying to run? Can you hear the condenser fan run? Can you hear the compressor run?

The advice about heading to Coach Worx if you are nearby is very good advice. Here is my free advice if you intend to keep your coach.....buy a remanufactured unit and have it installed. If you can get your controls switched to SMX you will be very happy with the upgrade.

[rahangman]

Thanx to both Jon & Truck and all the others. Found that the switch (Off-Fan-Run) seems bad when checked with Voltmeter. Power coming into the switch but not going "out". The switch , when tested for operation, does not showing to work. (Sorry, I am not very good with electricity), a fellow in campground , retired Elec, helped and showed me how to check continuity. He is suggesting that there is internal damage to switch as contacts show signs of heat. I plan on replacing the switch when we get home. Dash & Galley Cruise Airs working very well. I will begin a search for a place to plan a trip to get a good going over of all 3 units. To switch over to the SMX might take some doing, if not, I would be happy with OEM if I can find them. FWIW on the inside of the switch panel, was a warning sticker to maintain high fan speed vs the compressor which may have compromised the compressor due to heat on start up. I had set the fan to about a medium speed and the compressor was nearly full. I will also try to find an operators manual (none on bus) so that this does not happen again. Thanks again to all, that is what POG is especially good for, let alone the really fine people who belong to the names.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Cruise Airs are very robust and quite reliable. However, they do wear out. In my experience the few issues I had were easy things like start or run capacitors or loss of R22. But in the end I replaced all three in my previous coach with rebuilt condensing units and was happy with having the reliability of newer ones. The deciding factor was when one of the compressors locked up.

When you decide to have someone check them out, make certain you use someone who is very familiar with Cruise Airs. They are sensitive to the correct amount of Freon. While the manufacturer can tell you the correct amount of Freon to charge the system, all of our coaches are adjusted from that standard due to the varying length of the run from the compressor to the evaporator. I think Jack is our resident expert having fine tuned his Cruise Airs for the maximum temperature differential, something that requires some skill and understanding.

[mike kerley]

For parts and tech help, AAP in Milford Va. are truly great.

Good phone help and they are Cruise Air distributers. Shop service if you are in the neighborhood.

AAP
16388 Industrial
Milford, Va. 22514
804 633-9454

[jack14r]

When you call AAP ask for Johnny-he is the guru.

[rahangman]

Gotcha on the AAP and thanks to you all , Several people that I have reached out to said to go AAP, and I will. Results will be reported, once I get home. Left Abita Springs this AM at 70degrees (after a night of heavy rain), arriving Natchez for a couple days and it is in the low 40's. Sheesh, too hot one day, almost too cold the next.