Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

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Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

May 04, 2018, 10:00:50 pm

My dash ac is not working.... again. It was cool when we bought the coach in September and MOT charged it and said it was good. By thanksgiving it was blowing warm again, I had a trip to MOT planned for alternator warranty change so they checked it again. This time they found the electric fan on the condenser has shorted and was not working. They said that sometimes when this happens the Freon just "disappeares" so they changed the fan and charged it up and it blew cold. By late February it was blowing hot again. Can anyone recommend an ac shop in the Houston area that will look at a rv? I checked the thermo king near me because I have read here where some have used them with good results.. my thermo king only works on thermo king stuff... so I need to find a shop to look at it... any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Keith

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #1 – May 04, 2018, 10:32:42 pm

Cutting Edge RV Service
12535 I-10 East
Baytown TX 77523
281.383.1438

Diesel Mechanic on staff

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #2 – May 04, 2018, 11:29:07 pm

Sounds like you have a leak in the system. With some soapy solution check the air conditioner low side pressure port. The shrader valve could be leaking. That is where they usually connect to fill the system. Remove the cap and see if it's leaking.
John

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #3 – May 05, 2018, 08:43:02 am

You are pretty close to the mother ship. I'm sure there is an AC expert in NAC or they can probably direct you to a local option.

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #4 – May 05, 2018, 08:48:11 am

I would take back to motorhome of Texas I have not had any good luck getting anything fixed in Houston right

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #5 – May 05, 2018, 08:48:26 am

My A/C has had Bern'd, MOT, FT, and Byers' Truck all work on it. And it is still not working. I am going to try adding leak detector and see what I find. I believe there is a serious flaw in the design. I cannot believe after spending $3000 it still not working. The compressor, condenser, schrader valves, have all been replaced.
I use the coach's A/C with generator while driving. But it really bugs.

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #6 – May 05, 2018, 09:17:50 am

A shop that says the freon disappears and then puts freon in a system without checking for leaks has something to be desired,I
would find a mechanic willing to work on it that has expierience with R134 systems,the systems in our coaches are basically the
same as a car but longer lines.

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #7 – May 05, 2018, 10:16:16 am

Quote from: John/Pat – May 05, 2018, 08:48:26 am

My A/C has had Bern'd, MOT, FT, and Byers' Truck all work on it. And it is still not working. I am going to try adding leak detector and see what I find. I believe there is a serious flaw in the design. I cannot believe after spending $3000 it still not working. The compressor, condenser, schrader valves, have all been replaced.
I use the coach's A/C with generator while driving. But it really bugs.

Dye's are fine if the leak is in an accessible area and you have the UV flashlight and the yellow glasses that go with it.. To avoid tearing the dash apart find an automotive A/C repair that has the refrigerant gas detector. I had to use mine to find the leak on my Monaco as it was near the evap. coil. So far I have 40 deg. dash air at the register with the fans on high, on the Foretravel. I needed to replace the compressor, the drier and the expansion valve, to get mine working properly.

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #8 – May 05, 2018, 10:58:02 am

A common story: lots of money spent and eventually it blows warm again.
Slow leaks are hard to find, and when 'delegated' to others to fix them, they often 'find' stuff, but not the slow leak. I think the best way is to learn to charge system with some Walmart refrigerant with dye for leak detection. Get a black light and at night look for the dye at joints. Meanwhile you have cold air for a while. This can take time, aAnd eventually the last leak will be found. Finding someone with a portable hydraulic crimper to make a repair is also a good idea.

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #9 – May 05, 2018, 11:01:47 am

Quote from: craneman – May 05, 2018, 10:16:16 am

So far I have 40 deg. dash air at the register with the fans on high, on the Foretravel. I needed to replace the compressor, the drier and the expansion valve, to get mine working properly.

40 degrees F air with fan on high sounds OK to me.

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #10 – May 05, 2018, 11:07:01 am

If you know for sure or can somehow find out if the 2 lines going from the engine to the front of the coach are one piece or spliced
that's a plus,if one piece less likely for a leak.

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #11 – May 05, 2018, 11:26:12 am

We put a small 'wired' outdoor thermometer on the dash, with the end of the wire down in the dash evaporator box where the sensor can measure the very coldest air coming off the coil.
On a hot day when the air from the vent does not feel cold enough, I look at the thermometer and when I see how cold it is 'down' there, I know stuff is working ok.
We have an electrical connection to the engine compressor magnetic coil wired to an LED on dash that turns on when compressor is rotating. When not sure if dash vent is cold enough, seeing the LED off tells me that the compressor in not even turning. The LED helps understand the system and is a good diagnostic tool, and easy to connect.

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #12 – May 05, 2018, 02:46:24 pm

Where are you located ? I can tell you that refrigerant does not just go somewhere if there is not a leak. Unlike electrical compressors they have no windings to melt and contaminate the refrigerant. I am in Conroe and I can leak check it I am a hvac/r tech .if your fan goes out it should have high pressure switch to cut the clutch off.

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #13 – May 05, 2018, 03:06:38 pm

Hope you find that leak!

Electronic Freon and Halogen Leak Detector

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #14 – May 05, 2018, 05:21:05 pm

During our almost 10.5 years full timing in our coach the dash ac has not worked just about all of that time. I also had it worked on, repaired, then charged back up, then when I wanted to use it again, warm air. Karen says there is plenty of hot air there with me in the cockpit.

My solution has been to exercise my generator and use my roof air conditioners going down the road when it is hot. It also saves me more frustration and $$$$.

As our buddy Dave M. always said, " do what makes you happy"

Best of luck

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #15 – May 05, 2018, 06:38:34 pm

I eventually gave up on getting someone to fix mine. I finally bought a set of good gauges and gritted my teeth and gave it a try myself after reading up on the R134 system. Like others, i had spent a lot of coach bucks trying to get it fixed before.
I found what others had not, a bad o ring on the high pressure fitting at the evaporator ---- it was a very slow leak. If you have a leak somewhere, you will probably see evidence of refrigeration oil at that point. If you find an oily joint, its leaking. Once i replaced the o ring and dryer, vacuumed the system and recharged it i have had no further problems for the last two years.

One note however---- if you are driving in Texas or other hot places in the summer, the dash air cant cool the volume of the coach. It simply cant keep up if the outside temp is over about 90 but you will have cold knee caps!

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #16 – May 05, 2018, 09:03:23 pm

I too will Embark on that very Endeavor, also! Nobody seems to want to Tackle the Issues in my Neck of the woods, so I bought the same Gear, along with a 3 Gallon tank of R-134, and changeover kit! Eventually I will fix it, also! I am considering a Fabric Border/Partition that slides across behind the Front Seats, that won't look too Gaudy, but saves the Diesel, while traveling down the Highway! Running the Generator and AC's to me is pure waste!

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #17 – May 05, 2018, 09:57:11 pm

The trade for comfort features vs diesel? Comfort wins every time !! To hit in my neck of the woods.. or should I say desert lol

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #18 – May 05, 2018, 10:43:50 pm

On my 96 U320, I replaced the evaporator, compressor, expansion valve, dryer, and all the hoses in order to get rid of the leaks and get maximum cooling. Finally had everything working great and wife decided to buy a 2005 U320.

Re: Dash ac not working. Repair shop suggestions in Houston area.

Reply #19 – May 05, 2018, 11:57:23 pm

Well, MOT fixed mine 3 years ago (leak) , charged and working up to its meager capacity ever sense - sunny and 85 calls for more than the dash air, below that just fine.

As for diesel use generator vs dash air, hmmmm that would be a good one to investigate. Surely the generator uses diesel, but there is HP consumed by the engine mounted compressor as well. there is no free lunch!

A few years back I had my front vents extended on the riff air to just behind the front seats (as many have done ) - also a nice upgrade for driving down the road with one roof air on to cool bus on a hot day

Tim Fiedler

Sure Start Soft Start - home of SureStart soft starters TCER Direct - home of Generac Approved Aluminum and Copper TCER Composite cable generator-gas-prod - home of X-Riser Gas Risers for PE installation Call me at 630 240-9139
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