Oldgriz

No worries markwilliams1 I've gotton a lot of great info from this site and was just trying to give back to it. I have 35 + years in the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and refrigeration trades and also teach it ware I work. I'm old and slow the younger technicians do a third more calls then me ,but have a much higher call back rate then I do if you to go back and do it twice your not making money. Something about being old and experienced (wisdom ). I like the work you have done to your camper and I am thinking of trying the zep wax on mine.

Well just replacing parts till you find the problem is a way to do it, but it's the expensive way to do it. What I described above is what I would do if you called me out for a service call and would take about half an hour to do. How do you know a shorted compressor didn't take out your cap? If your condenser is clogged with crud and you have no air flow you won't pump heat. Are we in such a rush to do it that we can't take the time to do it right? We might find more then one thing wrong but end up with a better running system. But to each his own good luck with it.

I would start with the simple stuff first. Check all air flows and air filters first. Are the blowers working? Do you have a multimeter and do you know how to use it? If air flow is good ( coils clean and no air flow obstruction) then we can move on to looking at the compressor. I would start by pulling an amp draw on the compressor, is it running? If not I would remove power and pull the plastic cover on the compressor there you will see three wires. the common (usually black ) it goes to a little round plastic over load and then to the compressor. It could be bad or weak you can check it for continuity if it's bad that might be the problem or part of it. Next check for shorts and grounds on the windings of the compressor. Take your multimeter and set it on ohms you will have three pins sticking out of the compressor ( you have to remove the wire's first, take a pic with your phone) common , start and run. Take a reading, put one probe on the common and touch run and start with the other you should get a reading (the resistance of the motor windings) no reading? Bad compressor. Now with one probe on common touch the other probe to bare copper lines coming out of the compressor you might have to scratch the probe on the copper to get a good connection if you get a reading your compressor is shorted to ground and the compressor is bad. If it passes these tests it could still be bad, it could be stuck this would show high amp draw and the compressor will be very hot. Now if you don't find any of these problems. Then you will need to look at the start and run components and don't forget about the t-stat ( I unusually jump it out at the unit if it then works you might have found your problem). Now for the disclaimer: you do this at your own risk, if you aren't handy don't do it. Some of the tests require power to the unit, having an understanding of wiring diagrams will be helpful. I know that the people on this forum are handy but electricity is a different animal that can bite you and hurt the whole time it's killing you. Again I am willing to give advice but I will not take responsibility if you hurt yourself you have to use your judgment as to your abilities.

I can help you diagnose your compressor problem if you would like before you spend a lot of money on a replacement. I have over 30 years experience as a HVAC / refrigeration technician. You did the correct thing by always checking air flow first. Most compressor's have a snap disc overload under the plastic cover on the compressor body and they can get week over time. What is the running amp draw according to the name plate on the unit? And is it running within that spec ?When the compressor shuts down how hot is the top of the compressor?if the compressor is very hot you might be low on refrigerant as it also cools the motor and keeps it from overheating. Check for leaks look for dirty oily spot on fittings and lines. They do make a hard start relay and capacitor that can be installed on the compressor that will give it an extra kick. or it could just be that the compressor is worn and not pumping efficiently that might show low amp draw just some things to look at to help determine if its worth replacement.

Also before pulling a vacuum it is a good idea to put a charge of nitrogen in the system . 200 psi should be enough if you have a leak you might be able to hear it ,but soap bubbles will bubble good. The nitrogen also helps remove any non consumables from the system before vacuuming it out. Pulling a vacuum and watching the gage might tell you that you have a leak finding it however can be hard hence the nitrogen, but if you don't have nitrogen and only a vacuum pump how do you find the leak? An old refrigeration trick is to take a small brush ( flux brush works well ) brush some shellac on the connections it gets pulled into the leak and dry's instantly sealing the leak. Do not leave it like this, now that you know ware it is fix it. They make leak stop that you can use but ware I come from real refrigeration technician's find and fix the leaks we don't put or rely on foreign substances that can course problems down the road. And this includes that glow in the dark crap.

In my experience expansion valves will fail because the power head ( the round part on top that has a small line coming out the center of it ) quits working usually because it has lost it's refrigerant charge. For those that don't know there is a sensing bulb that is attached to the output line of the evaporator that is connected to the top of the expansion valve (TXV) as the evaporator gets hot or cold the refrigerant in the bulb expands or contracts acting on a bellows that opens or closes the valve regulating the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator. If you have clogs or crud in the system then you will need to flush the system with a solvent usually R-11 witch can be done with a recovery machine. If you don't already have a gage manifold you can pick up a decent set at horrible fright or auto zone.

First Find the leak, look for refrigeration oil on fittings and connections or spray formula 409 on all, it will bubble up hopefully it will be a mechanical connection that you can tighten up. Then recharge with R12. The thing to know about converting an R12 system to 134A is that the system was designed for R12 when converted to R134A it will not work as efficiently.

Yes I have five stud front and six stud dually rear.

Hi everyone I'm hoping for some help concerning the brake on my Odyssey camper. looking for info on front rotor sizes as auto zone lists two sizes of rotor 248 and 257 MM . I did call toyota parts dept and gave them the vin # but he could / would not give the rotor size only that he could get the parts. So for ten front lug nuts, ten front stud's two front rotors and pads toyotawants $ 483.21 and thats not in the budget when I can get the part for half that. Now please don't think I'm lazy. I would pull the tires off and look but I had discount tire install new load rated tires on The camper about three months ago and they maybe over tightened the lug nuts as they do not want to come off, found this out over the weekend when my son and I went to replace the front shocks and snapped one stud off on both wheels. ( yes we turned them the right way and a few did come off ) I know the front brakes need to be done and since I have to take it all apart to press all the studs out might as well get done. I know I will probably snap more studs off. Would also like info on the rear dually brakes there also are more then a few different drums that you can get. My rear drums say max dia 256 mm , depth 3 inches inside dia 10 inches. I have six hand hold dually rims that I am also looking for as I have no spare and also want to upgrade front to six lug rims. Also looking for rear spring replacement if anyone has any info Sorry for the long post Thanks for the help ,oldgriz