AC's tripping out

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Star0210

Star0210

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Sea Star
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2004 Cruisers Yachts 50SS
So when docked at the marina and connected to shore power, about twice a week the AC's will trip out.

Other than some sort of power surge, any idea what would cause this?
 
Low or no raw water flow will do that. Check raw water outlet for flow when you start it up. If there is flow but it isn't a strong stream then look for fouling on: outside water pick up, inside strainer or scale and marine growth in your A/C's condenser.


If no flow then you have a pump priming problem, often caused by poor suction hose routing.


David
 
Star0210 said:
Other than some sort of power surge, any idea what would cause this?
Click to expand...

Bad breaker or wiring around same. Look at wiring first, then breaker then get out the VOM meter to insure motor is not pulling too high amps. Motor bearings for fans or pump running hot or dry if amps up at that point.

If the above not the culprit it gets expensive.
 
Last edited:
First check the voltage. Many Marinas dont provide 120/240 but something lower especially at the end of a long dock.
Low voltage causes higher current draw on motors triping breakers if it gets high enough.
 
Could be , Head Pressure.

When an AC is turned off the compressor may be holding liquid against the expansion valve.,or pin hole.

Should the unit be turned back on too soon the "LRC"( locked rotor current ) can be 3x the normal run amperage.

One unit operating , the other needing big amps , there goes the breaker.

The RV folks sell 2-3 min inline timers to stop this from happening.

Some folks find a soft start or oversized capacitor for the compressor helps.
 
Last edited:
It could be lots of things but it would help if you would be more specific about "the AC's will trip out".


More than one? On different circuits? All "trip out" at the same time? One water pump or multiple pumps? Is water flowing? Have you cleaned the strainers?
 
the AC's run fine when on the generator.
They weren't before when the generator wasn't running properly but since having the carburetor rebuilt on the generator we'be not had any issues. We spent the night out on anchor this past weekend which was the first extended test since having the generator fixed. No issues at all...everything ran great.

I don't know if this is a coincidence or not...but we moved to a different slip a few down from where we were. We didn't have this issue in the other slip.
Could it possibly be something with the meter or something?

Water flow is fine...no change there. Sea strainer is clean...we routinely clean it once every week or two.
We have two AC's..I believe they share one water pump...which is brand new.

We leave the AC's running all the time. I went there today and they were tripped again.

Hubby has been traveling a lot for work lately so hasn't been home much at all to look into this.
He was home this weekend but we wanted to go out and use the boat so that didn't get addressed.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions...I'm going to send him the link to this thread.
 
boatpoker said:
and clean out the pet hair and grunge from the heat exchanger, we use a toothbrush.
Click to expand...

With a proper filter that shouldn't be necessary.

But one of these comes in handy from time to time.

T100 - DiversiTech T100 - T-100 Fin-Tool Nylon Kit with 6 Heads

And this stuff does a great job of deep cleaning your coils. It leaves the air smelling great as well. Plus the lid doubles as a fin cleaner and straightener.

AC-Safe Air Conditioner Coil Foaming Cleaner AC-920 at The Home Depot - Mobile
 
Star0210 said:
the AC's run fine when on the generator.
They weren't before when the generator wasn't running properly but since having the carburetor rebuilt on the generator we'be not had any issues. We spent the night out on anchor this past weekend which was the first extended test since having the generator fixed. No issues at all...everything ran great.

I don't know if this is a coincidence or not...but we moved to a different slip a few down from where we were. We didn't have this issue in the other slip.
Could it possibly be something with the meter or something?

Water flow is fine...no change there. Sea strainer is clean...we routinely clean it once every week or two.
We have two AC's..I believe they share one water pump...which is brand new.

We leave the AC's running all the time. I went there today and they were tripped again.

Hubby has been traveling a lot for work lately so hasn't been home much at all to look into this.
He was home this weekend but we wanted to go out and use the boat so that didn't get addressed.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions...I'm going to send him the link to this thread.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a dock power/receptical issue. The voltage may drop to low at your new slip once you put a load on it.
 
What is tripping? Circuit breaker on dock? On board? Is the ac not running but still has power to the controls? What exactly do you reset to get it going again?
 
High Wire said:
What is tripping? Circuit breaker on dock? On board? Is the ac not running but still has power to the controls? What exactly do you reset to get it going again?
Click to expand...

The breakers on board. I have to flip both of them back on to get them going again.
Nothing else trips but the two AC's.
 
Capt.Bill11 said:
With a proper filter that shouldn't be necessary.

But one of these comes in handy from time to time.

T100 - DiversiTech T100 - T-100 Fin-Tool Nylon Kit with 6 Heads

And this stuff does a great job of deep cleaning your coils. It leaves the air smelling great as well. Plus the lid doubles as a fin cleaner and straightener.

AC-Safe Air Conditioner Coil Foaming Cleaner AC-920 at The Home Depot - Mobile
Click to expand...


Cleaning the coils is probably something we should do.
Thanks for the links.
 
Low or fluctuating voltage from the dock could cause overheat and trip.
Monitor dock voltage. Inspect both ends of shore power cord and make sure the ends are securely connected with no wiggle (technical term) :) .
 
Ahh, the rest of the story - different pedestal and new problem. :facepalm:
 
Have marina check the power tower. Line coming in to breaker panel ,and wiring within the tower. Tighten all connections ,check your power cord plugs for hot ends. My guess is it's in the tower. Marina problem.
 
Star0210 said:
...........................but we moved to a different slip a few down from where we were. We didn't have this issue in the other slip..
Click to expand...

Let's see - what can we deduce from this?

Works OK at one power pedestal but not at the other? Could there be a problem with the power at the slip where the breakers for the AC keep tripping?

Hmmm...........
 
bayview said:
First check the voltage. Many Marinas dont provide 120/240 but something lower especially at the end of a long dock.
Low voltage causes higher current draw on motors triping breakers if it gets high enough.
Click to expand...

I'll say it again since ................
 
If you have a portable volt meter, plug it in an outlet and read volts. 110-125 normal. Check with AC's running. 100-110volts is crappy marina power.
 
Star0210 said:
The breakers on board. I have to flip both of them back on to get them going again.
Nothing else trips but the two AC's.
Click to expand...

So...it is over current...probably due to under voltage like many posts have said.

Just reset and stay cool!!!
 
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