Cruisair Compressor Issue

[clarence watridge]

My wife & I were relaxing on our 1984 hatteras ED with the big Cruisair unit running in heat mode. The unit when off as the circuit breaker clicked off. I reset the circuit breaker & everything seemed fine. The unit functioned properly & responded to the temperature setting appropriately. When I turned the thermostat (not digital) to the off position the compressor did not go off. The fan quits blowing when thermostat is turned to off. I'm guessing a relay switch has failed and a new one is necessary. Anybody have experience or ideas? I looked back on a number of threads but did not find an answer.
Thanks,
Clarence

[Genesis]

The trigger is likely fused in the "on" position (the reed relay)

There's a small board inside the power control box - one for each zone that the compressor is linked to (each thermostat.) Replace the guilty one and the problem will likely go away.

The Triac (which the trigger controls) may be shorted, but that's less likely. The original design on those triggers stink. They usually fail open but I have seen them fail closed too.

Make sure the power is off before you open up that box - it has 240V in there and will rock your world in a VERY not-nice way!

[SKYCHENEY]

This happened on my large unit for the salon on my 1985 53ED. It was the triac, not the trigger. Every trigger that has gone bad on mine has failed open. Seeing the exact same symptoms as my identical unit, I'll bet it's the triac.

http://www.bluewatershipsstore.com/detail.aspx?ID=6219

I always keep spare triacs and triggers on board. Go to the link above and order up the parts. The directions for replacement are in the box.

[Genesis]

I never had a triac blow up on my boat, but I did have several trigger failures - until I took one of 'em and figured out why they were burning up.

Then I called Cruiseair and I and their engineering department had a "discussion". I also bought the parts to fix my trigger boards so they wouldn't blow up in the future.

[clarence watridge]

Thanks you guys. I'll take a look.
Best regards,
clarence

[krush]

I never had a triac blow up on my boat, but I did have several trigger failures - until I took one of 'em and figured out why they were burning up.

Then I called Cruiseair and I and their engineering department had a "discussion". I also bought the parts to fix my trigger boards so they wouldn't blow up in the future.

Why were they burning up?

[SKYCHENEY]

Why were they burning up?

The new ones work fine. The old style didn't last long and you don't have to worry about those anymore. If you order triggers now, you will get the new style.


Or......you can get rid of the whole PWX box and install the new digital controls. The FX1's work great and are inexpensive, but they are not heavy-duty enough to start that 36K compressor for the salon on the ED without an additional contactor.

[Angela]

As for triacs, they are typically in the newer units I think.

Triacs are on the old stuff, too. When I finally get rid of all of my Cruisair stuff, I'll have a bunch of spare parts just such as this up for grabs.

[Craig]

I have seen several of the triacs fail, when they do they almost always short. This causes the unit to continue to run. When you say triggers, is this a single component or a small pc board. Typically trigger circuits do not use relays, not to say someone didn't design one using a relay, although, I don't know why they would.

[krush]

Just go old school: