Just bumped into your video thank you good information for the novice, who won flag that came up was that you had them service why someone it didn't know what they were doing actually he may have overcharged unit A lot of these mechanics will show call mechanics they don't even read the label of the machine that tells you how many ounces or pounds of refrigerant it takes these small self-contained units the refrigerant needs to be weighed in exactly like the manufacturer and a true mechanic would know that thanks again great sailing
True, that was a hard learned lesson. When that guy came out, I had them check the units on our other boat too. Sadly he said one of those needed to be charged but it didn't have the recharge ports, so he "installed some" and they leaked all the freon out within a week of him leaving. Now we can't get it working at all. But I also learned never buy a cheap AC unit that doesn't have recharge ports.
@@Svdreamchaser Sorry to sat it but you got ripped off. Every marine ac has service ports. Some of the earlier Marine Air one only had a suction side port, but it was there for charging. Most techs, at some point, sweated in a port on the high side. How did he "install some" if he said there were no ports? Sadly marine HVAC is not without is't share of charlatans.
@@robertlandry4244 this unit “Webasto” on our other sailboat didn’t have fill ports on the high or low pressure side. There are units you can buy that clamp onto the Freon line and allow you to fill from it but our experience was not good with these. Here is the style I am referencing. amzn.to/3vH7ZaG
I was in Marina Beau Chene right in that neighborhood marina. It changed owners a few years ago and changed a bit but was a good inexpensive place to keep the boat while refitting her. We left there a few years ago, sold the Gulfstar and moved the Formosa to where we moved in Florida. Sadly Hurricane Ian got her last year. That area your in it really nice. The River with all the tres and deep water was nice. Anchoring out at Brady Island or tying up on the wall in Madisonville was a treat.
Correct, when I replaced the switch, I removed the jumper and reconnected the switch. Truth be told, I left that jumper in there way longer than I should have :)
Thank you so much for this video!!! I was able to bypass the HP switch as you suggested and get the A/C on the schooner I maintain up and running - good thing because it's already 90 degrees F down below and the captain wasn't sleeping well. Couldn't figure out why the HPF error was being displayed, despite a new(er) pump, clean lines, clean strainer and fantastic water flow. Yep, it was a bad switch. Now, I'm going to try some "percussive maintenance" (i.e. whack it with a hammer) to see if I can unstick it and avoid replacing the switch and gas. Will keep you posted. If you ever come down to Key West, I owe you many beers. :-) Best regards, Blackheart Charlie, Key West.
Wow. So glad that it helped. We are huge fans of Key west. The funny thing is we were going to go down there this weekend for a little trip with friends but family was going to come in town next month so we mixed the trip.
Orlando Paço Good feedback. It was the HPF switch. After putting the pump back on it worked great. I do still need to have the HPF switch replaced but it is cooling great with the switch jumpers so the unit bypasses the HPF switch.
I understood that part, that's why you could "jump-it" on the board or with the leading wires, same thing. But thanks for your reply, mighty friendly of you.
Orlando Paço - OK, sorry i wasn't sure if you were saying I hadn't provided the results and after watching, I realized I could have been more clear on that :) If you like the channel, please do subscribe. Safe Sailing.
Thanks to your vid I've narrowed down my issue to my HPF switch. The new switch is in. I'm now stuck as I have no idea how to get the old switch off. Any insight?
Chase Clark - I didn't end up replacing mine, I left it jumpered (not a good plan by the way). I do have the new switch and from what I can tell looking at it, it threads into the copper tubing. I suspect however that it will require servicing to do this because I don't know if doing so will leak out freon. I suspect it will which is why I haven't done it yet (and the fact that it is still limping along jumpered). Sorry I don't have more insight for you on that last part.
Yeah by the way to looks it threads but mine also looks like it may have a jacket over it. Some sort of black insulator. Didnt know if that just screws off or peels off.... but I did use the jump trick to check it and my system worked so just now have to address switch.... worlds worst location too
@@chaseclark6886 Yes it is a some of a gun to get to. As for that jacket, I didn't remove mine but it looked to me like it was some kind of a heat shrink and I suspect you can just cut it with a small exacto kind of knife and sort of peel it around the and off the switch. That is based just on observation though so if you do please proceed carefully. Please do come back and put what you found as I am sure others will benefit from it as well. Thanks Chase Clark
That was a lot of work for something that takes 15 minutes to troubleshoot. Measuring voltage at the circuit board will eliminate a bad pump without having to remove anything. No voltage at the pump terminals on a Marine Air board indicates a bad board. Bypassing the HP switch will eliminate that. A bad switch will immediately throw a HPF when the unit is turned on.. If it is low water flow, the unit will run several minutes before throwing a code. Low water flow could be a plugged strainer or debris/zebra mussels in the water line. You can blow that out with dock pressure water. A connector to do that is easily made with Home Depot parts It helps to have one in your tool box. HP switch is replaceable. It screws on Put a couple of drops of Loctite 945 on the threads It's best to screw it on while sniffing for a leak. If you don't you are subject to losing the charge. R22 is expensive and hard to come by. This is from a Dometic dealer.
mikie likeit It did and I believe that to be an indication of a bad HPF switch. I will have a certified marine air repair person come out and put on the sensor and also check all my Freon levels and pressure
We just bypassed the HP Switch and we are running with water flow is it safe to run it this way until we get the switch fixed? Been to hit to not run AC on the Chesapeake
+susan zappone I am not an expert but I have done that and felt fairly safe doing it. That said I kind of figured if mine crapped the bed, I would buy a new one but was hoping tog st a bit more life out of it.
He's high pressure switch was fine it is doing exactly what it's supposed to do if you look at the video around 8 minutes you can see his condenser coils are super dirty when your coils or dirty like that it will send off a high pressure warning if you have a high pressure switch if you don't have a high pressure switch you will be in danger of running out your compressor because you're pressure will go higher with a dirty coil
Xzavier Holmes Thanks for the comment. I have always heard that the HPF error is likely water flow issues when the air is running and air flow when the heat is running. When you reference the coils being dirty are you talking about the copper tubes the water flows through or the air vents behind the screen visible in the video. I agree the screen is still in need of cleaning but want to know if you have some good suggestions on how best to do that as it is something I always struggle with.
@@Svdreamchaser yes the coil is behind that screen pretty much that is the coil with a filter screen on it the screen is just a filter so that the coil won't get clogged up with dirt so he have not clean the screen which will make high head pressure the same principle goes for a house unit if the outside unit is dirty you will have high head pressure and the high pressure switch will shut the unit off by looking at it his video and seeing that coil dirty like that I know that was his problem
@@Svdreamchaser you can just remove the filter vent and clean it it's removable and washable if your coil is dirty you could pick up some coil cleaner from Home Depot or something and spray it
In this case the issue was the pump, once I serviced it and it circulated water the issue went away. Unlike a house unit these units don’t cool down or transfer the heat out through the coils. (No excuse on my part I do need to keep them clean) but the heat dissipation on a marine unit is via circulated sea water as opposed to the exterior coils on a home unit. Thank you again for watching and commenting. I am curious if you know of a great way to clean the coils on the inside like you saw around the 8 min mark. They are hard to get to with the water circulating coils in front of them. I have used a flaming spray for cleaning these but it doesn’t get the heavy stuff out.
@@Svdreamchaser okay I already told you how to clean the coils but house refrigerators Marine units all applications are pretty much the same when it comes to having a condenser coil in that case what you saying it would be no sense to even have a coil that's why they have a filter screen on there, I've been a AC technician for over 20 years I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talkin about
@@Svdreamchaser sorry mate, hated to point out the obvious. When the "high-side" or condenser coil gets dirty it can't get rid of accumulated heat, the temperature of the refrigerant increases which in turn causes the pressure in the system to increase which in turn trips the HPF switch. My guess is the dirty condenser was the cause of the fault.
Pretty good as far as informational goes. HPF is not High Pressure Freon - Freon is a registered trademark of DuPont. HPF is High Pressure Fault As a professional tech of some 30 years, I am bound by environmental laws that apply in most countries, so dealing with refrigerant (not freon) and the applicable laws that apply to the ways we handle it is an ever changing, costly process (administrative requirements as well as the equipment and recordkeeping), so, the cost of compliance is built in to the labor rates and while taking refrigerant out and then "putting it back in" might seem trivial to the novice, there's a cost involved because that equipment and the filtering process isn't free. As a novice, unlicensed individual with no understanding of the EPA requirements, legislation, fines etc, you are not bound by the same rules that apply to professional service providers. Of course, ignorance is no defence should you be observed to be violating any EPA or environmental laws and subsequently cited for said violations. Fines are in the order of six figures and in serious cases, jail time can also apply.... Modern HVACR equipment operates at high pressure and there's significant risk involved, especially to the untrained, or, someone with enough knowledge to be a danger but not enough to hold a professional qualification in this industry. Saving a buck is admirable, finding a qualified, competent & licensed professional to handle stuff like this is safe and smart.
Thanks for the clarification on High-Pressure Fault versus Freon. As for the dangers of high pressure and the requirements of the refridgerant collection, they are all valid points and certainly ones that anyone undertaking this kind of effort should consider. I don't do my own freon work and do hire professionals when it comes to my Marine Air system when it goes beyond simple air flow or water flow issues.
I think I don’t know what a PLM 250 is but I will take your word for it. Thanks for watching, I hope it helped in some way. Living in the south, with an older boat, I feel like we deal with the darn HPF errors a lot.
SVDreamChaser PLM is pump liquid cooled motor. Things to look for in that particular motor: I’ve experienced situations where the small tubes that cool the motor windings get clogged and overheat the motor. The tubes can rupture and short the winding. I have seen the intake get clogged up with barnacles. I have seen techs try to pull the outlet hose off and break the tube off the housing. I always keep spare housings on my truck for that particular occasion. PLM pumps are completely submersible. Be careful when screwing in the fitting in on the intake side of the pump, you can screw in the male fitting in too much and split the female fitting. I don’t recommend using bronze fittings for the pump. Also the pump is made by March and re-branded by dometic. The best place to order from is DEPCO pump, you need an account with them first.
Ahh. Thank you. Yes it is a March pump and I have an old one that stopped working in my truck, I will have to validate if there are any clogs in the liquid cooling lines. Thanks for the details and great info.
Oh my... She is Adorable.. made me smile she was interested and willing to help... so nice
She is a cutie for sure.
Thank you sir❤
Most welcome
Thank you. I have same symptoms and will be working on my AC this coming week.
I hope you find this helpful and it helps in some way with your repairs.
Just bumped into your video thank you good information for the novice, who won flag that came up was that you had them service why someone it didn't know what they were doing actually he may have overcharged unit A lot of these mechanics will show call mechanics they don't even read the label of the machine that tells you how many ounces or pounds of refrigerant it takes these small self-contained units the refrigerant needs to be weighed in exactly like the manufacturer and a true mechanic would know that thanks again great sailing
True, that was a hard learned lesson. When that guy came out, I had them check the units on our other boat too. Sadly he said one of those needed to be charged but it didn't have the recharge ports, so he "installed some" and they leaked all the freon out within a week of him leaving. Now we can't get it working at all. But I also learned never buy a cheap AC unit that doesn't have recharge ports.
@@Svdreamchaser Sorry to sat it but you got ripped off. Every marine ac has service ports. Some of the earlier Marine Air one only had a suction side port, but it was there for charging. Most techs, at some point, sweated in a port on the high side.
How did he "install some" if he said there were no ports? Sadly marine HVAC is not without is't share of charlatans.
@@robertlandry4244 this unit “Webasto” on our other sailboat didn’t have fill ports on the high or low pressure side. There are units you can buy that clamp onto the Freon line and allow you to fill from it but our experience was not good with these. Here is the style I am referencing. amzn.to/3vH7ZaG
I live on the Tchefuncte river as well. Are you in in the Covington Madisonville area?
I was in Marina Beau Chene right in that neighborhood marina. It changed owners a few years ago and changed a bit but was a good inexpensive place to keep the boat while refitting her. We left there a few years ago, sold the Gulfstar and moved the Formosa to where we moved in Florida. Sadly Hurricane Ian got her last year. That area your in it really nice. The River with all the tres and deep water was nice. Anchoring out at Brady Island or tying up on the wall in Madisonville was a treat.
Great video
Thanks so much. Glad you found it useful!
Do u need to drain freon to replace switch?
No it has been a few years now but don’t believe i did.
Very good video and information. I haven´t seen the HP switch replacement... How was it? I supose you didn't leave the jumper instead...
Correct, when I replaced the switch, I removed the jumper and reconnected the switch. Truth be told, I left that jumper in there way longer than I should have :)
Thank you so much for this video!!! I was able to bypass the HP switch as you suggested and get the A/C on the schooner I maintain up and running - good thing because it's already 90 degrees F down below and the captain wasn't sleeping well. Couldn't figure out why the HPF error was being displayed, despite a new(er) pump, clean lines, clean strainer and fantastic water flow. Yep, it was a bad switch. Now, I'm going to try some "percussive maintenance" (i.e. whack it with a hammer) to see if I can unstick it and avoid replacing the switch and gas. Will keep you posted. If you ever come down to Key West, I owe you many beers. :-) Best regards, Blackheart Charlie, Key West.
Wow. So glad that it helped. We are huge fans of Key west. The funny thing is we were going to go down there this weekend for a little trip with friends but family was going to come in town next month so we mixed the trip.
Wow! I didn't even put a like because I was waiting for the result!!!...
Orlando Paço Good feedback. It was the HPF switch. After putting the pump back on it worked great. I do still need to have the HPF switch replaced but it is cooling great with the switch jumpers so the unit bypasses the HPF switch.
I understood that part, that's why you could "jump-it" on the board or with the leading wires, same thing. But thanks for your reply, mighty friendly of you.
Orlando Paço - OK, sorry i wasn't sure if you were saying I hadn't provided the results and after watching, I realized I could have been more clear on that :) If you like the channel, please do subscribe. Safe Sailing.
Good video. Big help!
Thanks Richard. I am glad you like them.
Thanks to your vid I've narrowed down my issue to my HPF switch. The new switch is in. I'm now stuck as I have no idea how to get the old switch off. Any insight?
Chase Clark - I didn't end up replacing mine, I left it jumpered (not a good plan by the way). I do have the new switch and from what I can tell looking at it, it threads into the copper tubing. I suspect however that it will require servicing to do this because I don't know if doing so will leak out freon. I suspect it will which is why I haven't done it yet (and the fact that it is still limping along jumpered). Sorry I don't have more insight for you on that last part.
Yeah by the way to looks it threads but mine also looks like it may have a jacket over it. Some sort of black insulator. Didnt know if that just screws off or peels off.... but I did use the jump trick to check it and my system worked so just now have to address switch.... worlds worst location too
@@chaseclark6886 Yes it is a some of a gun to get to. As for that jacket, I didn't remove mine but it looked to me like it was some kind of a heat shrink and I suspect you can just cut it with a small exacto kind of knife and sort of peel it around the and off the switch. That is based just on observation though so if you do please proceed carefully. Please do come back and put what you found as I am sure others will benefit from it as well. Thanks Chase Clark
Very informative.
Glad you found it helpful.
That was a lot of work for something that takes 15 minutes to troubleshoot. Measuring voltage at the circuit board will eliminate a bad pump without having to remove anything. No voltage at the pump terminals on a Marine Air board indicates a bad board. Bypassing the HP switch will eliminate that. A bad switch will immediately throw a HPF when the unit is turned on.. If it is low water flow, the unit will run several minutes before throwing a code. Low water flow could be a plugged strainer or debris/zebra mussels in the water line. You can blow that out with dock pressure water. A connector to do that is easily made with Home Depot parts It helps to have one in your tool box.
HP switch is replaceable. It screws on Put a couple of drops of Loctite 945 on the threads It's best to screw it on while sniffing for a leak. If you don't you are subject to losing the charge. R22 is expensive and hard to come by.
This is from a Dometic dealer.
This is GREAT points. Thank you so much. I hope others see this too as this could have saved me sone time for sure.
Thank you for your comment, you allowed me to diagnose my HP error issue.
So when you jump the high pressure switch did it work
mikie likeit It did and I believe that to be an indication of a bad HPF switch. I will have a certified marine air repair person come out and put on the sensor and also check all my Freon levels and pressure
We just bypassed the HP Switch and we are running with water flow is it safe to run it this way until we get the switch fixed? Been to hit to not run AC on the Chesapeake
+susan zappone I am not an expert but I have done that and felt fairly safe doing it. That said I kind of figured if mine crapped the bed, I would buy a new one but was hoping tog st a bit more life out of it.
The mesh filter in front of your condenser coil looks filthy too
Yep. With cars on board it is always a bit dirty. But that is all that we would get on there. We cleaned it every few weeks.
Late to the video but you should put some insulation between the aluminum and the bilge board
Thanks for the suggestion.
2 hose clamps on the in and out of the pumps S/W lines is recommended.
Dan D good point. I should make sure they are. It is above the water line o the air conditioner but not at the strainer and pump.
The installation manual states double clamps must be used below the waterline.
Wow I was watching ur video bc I have the same issue but I would have to agree with the funk being from covington/madisonville
+Eric Crouch yeah it is pretty funky and stains the discharge ports of the boat too
I have a problem with the air conditioner. Please respond as soon as possible. I will send you a picture of the malfunction
I can try to see if I can help. I may or may not be able to. Send it to me a gil at svdreamchaser dot com.
Sent you a reply via messenger too
He's high pressure switch was fine it is doing exactly what it's supposed to do if you look at the video around 8 minutes you can see his condenser coils are super dirty when your coils or dirty like that it will send off a high pressure warning if you have a high pressure switch if you don't have a high pressure switch you will be in danger of running out your compressor because you're pressure will go higher with a dirty coil
Xzavier Holmes Thanks for the comment. I have always heard that the HPF error is likely water flow issues when the air is running and air flow when the heat is running. When you reference the coils being dirty are you talking about the copper tubes the water flows through or the air vents behind the screen visible in the video. I agree the screen is still in need of cleaning but want to know if you have some good suggestions on how best to do that as it is something I always struggle with.
@@Svdreamchaser yes the coil is behind that screen pretty much that is the coil with a filter screen on it the screen is just a filter so that the coil won't get clogged up with dirt so he have not clean the screen which will make high head pressure the same principle goes for a house unit if the outside unit is dirty you will have high head pressure and the high pressure switch will shut the unit off by looking at it his video and seeing that coil dirty like that I know that was his problem
@@Svdreamchaser you can just remove the filter vent and clean it it's removable and washable if your coil is dirty you could pick up some coil cleaner from Home Depot or something and spray it
In this case the issue was the pump, once I serviced it and it circulated water the issue went away. Unlike a house unit these units don’t cool down or transfer the heat out through the coils. (No excuse on my part I do need to keep them clean) but the heat dissipation on a marine unit is via circulated sea water as opposed to the exterior coils on a home unit.
Thank you again for watching and commenting. I am curious if you know of a great way to clean the coils on the inside like you saw around the 8 min mark. They are hard to get to with the water circulating coils in front of them. I have used a flaming spray for cleaning these but it doesn’t get the heavy stuff out.
@@Svdreamchaser okay I already told you how to clean the coils but house refrigerators Marine units all applications are pretty much the same when it comes to having a condenser coil in that case what you saying it would be no sense to even have a coil that's why they have a filter screen on there, I've been a AC technician for over 20 years I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talkin about
thanks that may get me in ball park
Arthur Webber I hope it helped.
god bless her ,she is so cute
That she is. Thank you for watching
this is the HPF switch right here (condenser coil right behind is filthy)...
Vilhjalmur The Viking agreed. That also needed a really good cleaning.
@@Svdreamchaser sorry mate, hated to point out the obvious. When the "high-side" or condenser coil gets dirty it can't get rid of accumulated heat, the temperature of the refrigerant increases which in turn causes the pressure in the system to increase which in turn trips the HPF switch. My guess is the dirty condenser was the cause of the fault.
Pretty good as far as informational goes. HPF is not High Pressure Freon - Freon is a registered trademark of DuPont.
HPF is High Pressure Fault
As a professional tech of some 30 years, I am bound by environmental laws that apply in most countries, so dealing with refrigerant (not freon) and the applicable laws that apply to the ways we handle it is an ever changing, costly process (administrative requirements as well as the equipment and recordkeeping), so, the cost of compliance is built in to the labor rates and while taking refrigerant out and then "putting it back in" might seem trivial to the novice, there's a cost involved because that equipment and the filtering process isn't free.
As a novice, unlicensed individual with no understanding of the EPA requirements, legislation, fines etc, you are not bound by the same rules that apply to professional service providers. Of course, ignorance is no defence should you be observed to be violating any EPA or environmental laws and subsequently cited for said violations. Fines are in the order of six figures and in serious cases, jail time can also apply....
Modern HVACR equipment operates at high pressure and there's significant risk involved, especially to the untrained, or, someone with enough knowledge to be a danger but not enough to hold a professional qualification in this industry.
Saving a buck is admirable, finding a qualified, competent & licensed professional to handle stuff like this is safe and smart.
Thanks for the clarification on High-Pressure Fault versus Freon. As for the dangers of high pressure and the requirements of the refridgerant collection, they are all valid points and certainly ones that anyone undertaking this kind of effort should consider. I don't do my own freon work and do hire professionals when it comes to my Marine Air system when it goes beyond simple air flow or water flow issues.
Looks like a PLM 250
I think I don’t know what a PLM 250 is but I will take your word for it. Thanks for watching, I hope it helped in some way. Living in the south, with an older boat, I feel like we deal with the darn HPF errors a lot.
SVDreamChaser
PLM is pump liquid cooled motor.
Things to look for in that particular motor: I’ve experienced situations where the small tubes that cool the motor windings get clogged and overheat the motor. The tubes can rupture and short the winding. I have seen the intake get clogged up with barnacles. I have seen techs try to pull the outlet hose off and break the tube off the housing.
I always keep spare housings on my truck for that particular occasion.
PLM pumps are completely submersible.
Be careful when screwing in the fitting in on the intake side of the pump, you can screw in the male fitting in too much and split the female fitting.
I don’t recommend using bronze fittings for the pump.
Also the pump is made by March and re-branded by dometic.
The best place to order from is DEPCO pump, you need an account with them first.
Ahh. Thank you. Yes it is a March pump and I have an old one that stopped working in my truck, I will have to validate if there are any clogs in the liquid cooling lines. Thanks for the details and great info.