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Coleman Presidential II, M/N 3115A751: A/C won't turn on

Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 9:59 am
by pet575
S/N: 017771369 (January 1977 model, I believe)

HVAC setup in which furnace has a Heat/Standby/Cool switch so that you choose between heat and cool on the unit itself rather than the thermostat. Problem is that heat works like a champ in Heat mode, but when you switch it over to Cool the blower runs (without heating the air) but the outside A/C never starts up (neither the compressor nor the fan blades).

This is a lake cottage 100+ miles away from my home. A/C worked perfectly fine last summer when last used. Within the past 3 years, system has been leak checked and coolant levels checked out OK.

Any direction on where to look for diagnosis of this problem would be greatly appreciated. This board has been a great help to me in the past and I purchased my repair parts from you back then. You guys are great and I'm all for purchasing replacement parts from you again if possible.

Thanks!

Re: Coleman Presidential II, M/N 3115A751: A/C won't turn on

Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 10:42 pm
by Bill
Hi,
First thing to do is find out if you have power to the a/c unit. You can start by checking the fuse or breaker at the electrical panel and make sure that the breaker is not tripped or the fuse not blown. If you know that you have power to the a/c unit then it might be the capacitor. Another place to check is make sure the low voltage wire (its a very small wire that goes to the a/c unit) is not cut or cracked outside. I hope this helps to in starting to find the problem.
Bill

Re: Coleman Presidential II, M/N 3115A751: A/C won't turn on

Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 1:10 pm
by pet575
So, I had a tech come out today. The breaker appeared to be functioning correctly when I was there. He says there is power to the unit but he says that the compressor is "locked up tighter than a drum" due to it being completely void of coolant. He said that there is a leak in the system that caused his 100 PSI of test nitrogen to leak out at a rate of 1 lb./minute. Says that, at a minimum, compressor needs to be replaced and leak needs to be fixed.

He advised that the previous tech who serviced the system a few years ago erroneously injected liquid dye into the system to attempt to find a leak, and that the dye kills the compressor eventually. To use his words, he said that "whoever did that didn't know what they were doing and shouldn't have done that." I told him that it was someone from his company. He completely ignored that statement.

He quoted me a price of $1,200-1,500 for just the compressor replacement and to refill the system but recommended against this option due to the age of the system. Said replacing the compressor was pretty much going to be a short-term fix until the same problems recurred due to the leak. This price did not include leak repair.

Instead, he recommended an entirely new HVAC for $4,200-5,000 due to the age of the system to ensure no future problems. New copper tubing, new units, new everything.

I don't have a good feeling about this, given that this guy is at least partially blaming his own company when it comes to the dye issue. I'm feeling like I'm getting taken on this deal with either option.

It cost me $75 to have him come take a look. Should I get a second opinion or is this legit? This is a rural home and it can be a little difficult to make arrangements to have it looked at since I live 100+ miles away from the place (this is lake property). I'm willing to spend another $75 to get another opinion.

Also, I'm a pretty competent DIY'er. Is replacing the copper lines/attempting to fix the leak myself and/or replacing the compressor myself and then having someone come test and charge the system even an option here? Or is this something I shouldn't even touch?

Thoughts?

Re: Coleman Presidential II, M/N 3115A751: A/C won't turn on

Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 9:23 pm
by Bill
Hi,
I would recommend getting more than one quote, Most company's will give you a free quote. A couple of suggestions, Ask the first company that you had come out if the repair bill that you already paid will be taken off the price of the replacement cost. A lot of company's will do this just to get your business. Yes if you system is over 20 years old it is best to replace it. It is costly, but you will not pay as much to use the new equipment because it is more efficient than the older system. As far a doing the copper tubing yourself, no not a good idea. The cooper needs to be a refrigerant cooper and if anything get's in side the cooper you will damage the new equipment. Something as small as a grain of sand will destroy a new system. I would pay to have someone else do it (that way if something does go wrong they have to fix it at their cost)
Hope this helps.
Bill