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Old 10-23-2021, 07:44 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Washington State
Posts: 31
Year: 2006
Coachwork: El Dorado Aerotech
Chassis: Ford E-450
Engine: 6.0 L Powerstroke
Coolant Lines and AC not working.

Hey folks,

I have an ongoing problem with my AC unit and coolant in my 2006 E450 shuttle (El Dorado build). I have that classic AC split unit in the back of the bus that some people take out and others swear to leave in for the hot days on the road. I have scoured over this forum for as much info on this as I can find. My decision was originally to leave mine in because at the time it seemed to be working well except for two of the fans.

It seems I have made some new problems for myself though. I removed my two floor heaters and looped the coolant lines. Seemingly no problem there, but the loss of coolant and reading online about 6.0 L diesel, prompted me to try and do a full coolant swap.

At first, no coolant appeared to be circulating to the rear AC unit and definitely couldn't get it to produce heat, but cold AC was still working. I ended up discovering I had one of those strange levers that is counterintuitive in the way it was aligned (I.e. parallel with the lines was actually closed). Thank goodness I found a post in here that helped me discover that. Now coolant reaches the AC unit but it doesn't seem to be entering the unit or at least it is not producing heat even after over an hour of running the bus.

AC in the front of the bus runs cold or hot depending on how I adjust the temp so it is working fine.

The main issue is that the AC unit compressor doesn't even seem to be running at this point. The compressor is mounted underneath the bus driver's side. None of the fans coming on or anything.

Is it possible that I wrecked the AC by trying to run it when no coolant was reaching it? Is it maybe just a fuse for the compressor (plant to check that tomorrow)?

The thing is that winter is coming up quick, and I want to finish my coolant flush ASAP. My thought is to just switch the lever back to off so that no coolant reaches the back lines, and then vacuum fill the front of the bus so at least all the mechanical stuff in the hood is good to go and the bus is driveable, then worry about the AC later. I may just end up taking out the AC unit if I can't figure it out, but any insight would be helpful.

I see people talking about the Freeon lines all the time and sometimes calling them coolant lines, but I am talking specifically about the coolant lines. Do I have it correct that these are used to pump hot coolant to the unit so that it can be used also as a heater? Is there a pump in the unit?

Thanks for your time!
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20210514_121425 (1).jpg   20210909_173442.jpg   20210514_120726.jpg   20211009_153751.jpg  

Champagne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2021, 07:51 AM   #2
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,707
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
most often the ceiling mounted A/C is for cooling only and has freon not engine coolant in it.. it may or may not be connected to your dash air.. your bus may have 2 separate systems..



the floor heaters in the back are filled with engine coolant and will blow hot when you turn the rear heat on..



under the bus is the condenser (compressors are under the hood with belts on them)..


ther knob with the 2 blue wires is the freeze out sensor.. that determines how cold the air can get our of that system..


its possible that ceiling unit is heat / cool (would have 4 pipes / hoses coming in and out of the ceiling unit) but very unlikely..



most likely unless you released the freon charge you likely just knocked a wire loose or blew a fuse messing around under the bus. (its really easy to do).
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Old 10-24-2021, 10:58 AM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Washington State
Posts: 31
Year: 2006
Coachwork: El Dorado Aerotech
Chassis: Ford E-450
Engine: 6.0 L Powerstroke
Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
most often the ceiling mounted A/C is for cooling only and has freon not engine coolant in it.. it may or may not be connected to your dash air.. your bus may have 2 separate systems..



the floor heaters in the back are filled with engine coolant and will blow hot when you turn the rear heat on..



under the bus is the condenser (compressors are under the hood with belts on them)..


ther knob with the 2 blue wires is the freeze out sensor.. that determines how cold the air can get our of that system..


its possible that ceiling unit is heat / cool (would have 4 pipes / hoses coming in and out of the ceiling unit) but very unlikely..



most likely unless you released the freon charge you likely just knocked a wire loose or blew a fuse messing around under the bus. (its really easy to do).
I thought for a moment that I made this mistake, but there are indeed 4 lines going to the unit. I have traced the freeon lines to the Condensor (not compressor, my bad) unit on the side. There are also 2 coolant lines which I have traced to the other coolant lines under the bus. They T off right after the floor heaters. I have also run water through these lines from the back where they enter the ac unit and allowed it to drain from the heater lines. It seems odd but that's the way it was set up I guess.
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Old 10-24-2021, 11:00 AM   #4
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Washington State
Posts: 31
Year: 2006
Coachwork: El Dorado Aerotech
Chassis: Ford E-450
Engine: 6.0 L Powerstroke
Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
most often the ceiling mounted A/C is for cooling only and has freon not engine coolant in it.. it may or may not be connected to your dash air.. your bus may have 2 separate systems..



the floor heaters in the back are filled with engine coolant and will blow hot when you turn the rear heat on..



under the bus is the condenser (compressors are under the hood with belts on them)..


ther knob with the 2 blue wires is the freeze out sensor.. that determines how cold the air can get our of that system..


its possible that ceiling unit is heat / cool (would have 4 pipes / hoses coming in and out of the ceiling unit) but very unlikely..



most likely unless you released the freon charge you likely just knocked a wire loose or blew a fuse messing around under the bus. (its really easy to do).
The thermostat shown with the two blue wires is what I replaced, because the old one had spotty resistance, but it didn't fix the problem.
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Old 10-26-2021, 01:31 PM   #5
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Washington State
Posts: 31
Year: 2006
Coachwork: El Dorado Aerotech
Chassis: Ford E-450
Engine: 6.0 L Powerstroke
Photo of Coolant Lines going to AC

Here's a photo of the coolant lines going into the AC. The Freeon lines are next to them, coated black.
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