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Old 09-03-2017, 11:18 AM   #241
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
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Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
LOL that looks like my numbers since I got the ally 1000..

I wish I had your oil Pressure Gauge.. I like that full sweep model you have
not that it matters since I have a digital one.. but still..
-Christopher

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Old 09-03-2017, 08:05 PM   #242
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Location: Weeki Wachee, FL
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Year: 1997
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: Cummins 5.9
Rated Cap: 72
So after lots of going around in circles and wiring up meters and light bulbs and jumpers, I think most of my AC woes are coming down to the condenser fans.

The one in the back, every time I would check it it would be off, but then I'd re-seat the wire for it on the relay and it'd come on. Of course I thought I fixed the problem every time, this happened more times than I'd like to admit. Yesterday, I replaced the relay, its staying on, and the read AC is more or less functional. It still has a fitting leak, but leaving my manifold gauge coupler attached is keeping that at bay until I can address it.

The front unit, the fan doesn't seem to run as well as the one in the rear. Audibly it sounds much quieter, which I assume means it isn't moving as much air as they are identical units and identically mounted. I'm able to use the front unit in cooler temperatures, or for short periods of time in higher temps.

Obviously, the best way to learn all this was to hit the highway in 100 degree heat and full sun at 5000+ft elevation, and start climbing even higher mountains so that everything was as hot as possible, so that's what I did.

I'm considering picking up a bunch of resistors and building an arduino project using a bunch of voltage sensors I can attach to various things and be able to tell if they're being powered or not.. And alert when something changes. I can monitor up to 8 on one of my Nano boards if I'm outputting serial to a Pi, or 6 if I'm doing i2c to something.

More likely I'll determine if the front fan is actually bad, replace it, and maybe have functional dual AC...
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Old 09-03-2017, 08:27 PM   #243
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yes!!! you are getting there now!! and yeah condensor fans will ruin compressors ..so dont run the front unit at all.. even if it stays on. its still likely running way above normal pressure for what it should be.. esp if the pipe coming from the condensor up to the evaporator is hot. its only supposed to be warm at the worst..

also it may be quieter if the coild are dirty and clogged, or if its the wrong fan.... id tend to think its the right fan since the unit did cool good for a long time (or was it never used in the high heat since you had the bus)..

I use almost exclusively SPAL high performance fans.. just because a fan is the same diameter and fits the opening doesnt mean its the right fan.

fans that are going bad will run for awhile then trip the circuit breaker.. esp when you drive the bus since your RPMs, and likely battery voltage goes up a bit... reseating the wire is a good test. and may bde the only problem.. but dont rule out the fact the fan could be running at idle but kicks in and out due to the circuit breaker when moving.. (hugher voltage means higher current... breakers trip on current.. ).. the ones on the A/C self-reset..

your arduino / PI project... put temperature sensors on your air-conditioners.. knowing if the fans are running can help.. but ultimately what triggers an alarm is that the condensor gets too hot or the evaporator gets too cold.. too hot of condensors as you know will trip the high pressure switches and ultimately destroy clutches or compressors..

too cold of an evaporator..compoletely frozen. will end up allowing liquid freon to return to the compressor.. liquid is not compressable.. it will break the compressor..

measure the condensor in, condensor out, evaporator in (just PAST the TxV), and evaporator out. temperatures... I can tell almost exactly whats going on with an A/C unit by those 4 readings without ever putting a set of gauges on..

-Christopher
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Old 09-03-2017, 09:07 PM   #244
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I did spray the radiators really good with a hose the other day and it didn't look more than a bit Dusty. Maybe tomorrow I will have a look at the fans.

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Old 09-03-2017, 09:29 PM   #245
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Just cleaned the front glass but new bugs replaced the old bugs and my phone camera loves to focus on them....

Yesterday we got passed by a Wanderlodge with 2 Groms and a CT90 on the back. Up hill in the mountains doing 15 or 20 mph more than me. Bad ass bus!



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Old 09-04-2017, 10:02 AM   #246
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Oh look, more record high temperatures, lucky us!

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Old 09-04-2017, 10:49 AM   #247
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I thought you were gettng out of dodge..
-Christopher
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Old 09-04-2017, 10:54 AM   #248
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We left Dodge and are currently in Ford. Actually right now we are looking to be here for a couple days to get some Amazon supplies, abd figure out if Montana is too much on fire to visit or not...

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Old 09-04-2017, 10:59 AM   #249
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with the heat and winds I would stay away even if it doesnt look like youd be near the fires.. even being pretty far downwind of the smoke can make for a really nasty time driving..

-Christopher
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Old 09-04-2017, 11:03 AM   #250
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We have been surrounded by wild fires since we got to California. Oregon, Washington, and Idaho all have smoke. Not getting much media attention when Texas is underwater.

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Old 09-04-2017, 11:12 AM   #251
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time to head south (but not too fast as the latest models I pulled for Irma this morning dont look real promising for a harmless turn out to sea...), though the runs consistently are aiming away from texas.. either coast of florida and the keys and cuba are most surely in its sights right now... have to see as it now begins to pick up speed..

I realize you are far away at the moment.. but late week and weekend are when things can get real in florida...
-Christopher
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Old 09-04-2017, 11:14 AM   #252
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My friend in Michigan says it's 75 there and knows where the fish are. We are headed that direction once we get rolling again.

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Old 09-04-2017, 11:38 AM   #253
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Climbed under the bus, cleaned off the condensers plaques, they are identical units but I assume one of the fans has been replaced as they don't match. My multimeter (free HF unit) shows the motors are using a similar amount of power but the rear one has a nice loud whoosh and the front one sounds much less impressive. I was hoping to not have to remove them but I don't see any way to avoid that. Unfortunately the manufacturer doesn't list this model on their web site and nothing useful comes up with a google search...
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Old 09-04-2017, 11:39 AM   #254
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My unit...

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Old 09-04-2017, 11:44 AM   #255
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what condensor units do you have? its rare for a bus that age to have its original fans... they often get clobbered with rain / snow, etc over the years and the bearings go bad.. and people change them with whatever they have n the garage.. make sure they are both blowing the same direction..

some fans are designed to only be pusher or only be puller.. mosttypically bus A/C pulls the air in from the skirt and blows it to the ground at the fan.. so you should feel the air coming out of the fan if the fan is pointed at the ground. if the fan is sucking the air in from underneath the coils may be dirty behind the fans... or its possible the fan is running backwards... (someone wired it bass ackwards.. it happens more than you think)..

ive seen a little bit of everything when i was in the Commercial building HVAC business.. and then did Commercial Mobile A/C on the side.. nowadays I dont do it as much except for mine and friends projects so I dont see much of the newest stuff..
-Christopher
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Old 09-04-2017, 11:51 AM   #256
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oops i missed the pic you posted... rifled air... im familiar with them.. the RC stuff then was some of their earlier units so likely long discontinued.. however the fans are pretty standard.. we just need to get the diameter and then find the highest CFM fans we can to fit that diamater... does it use the proprietary looking recessed fans are is it using the black plastic multi-blade ones (similar to elextric fans on a car). ultimately most manufacturers later went to the automotive style fans.. they held up better than Reefer style (rifled used reefer style fans in their earlier stuff... wow that stuff was new when i was doing it lolol yeoow im old...)
-Christopher
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Old 09-04-2017, 11:59 AM   #257
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Looks like an electric fan from a car. I've already missed the widow for a 2 day amazon delivery but the next ounce of motivation I have i'll go pull the fan and shroud off.
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Old 09-04-2017, 12:36 PM   #258
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those fans can be bought a lot of different places if its a standard automotive fan.. how many BTU is your unit? do you know? is it just 1 fan on each outside condensor?
-Christopher
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Old 09-04-2017, 12:39 PM   #259
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One fan each. I don't know the capacity, if they put a tag in when they installed the units, someone else removed them... That's why I end up guessing so much!
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Old 09-04-2017, 12:47 PM   #260
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Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
take a measure and measure across one of those fans.. they are probably 12 or 14 inch fans. do you have a picture of the skirt and the underside of one of the units?
-Christopher
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