General Info: Cruiseair AC Not Blowing

[pstadt]

We have a Cruiseair heat pump (STQ16-410A, 115V/60HZ) in our 2011 FP Orana...three of them actually, but only having problems with one (so far).

Last night the fan, which normally blows loudly through the vents when we have the AC cranked up, dropped speed, got quiet and has now ceased to blow at all.

I separated the fan from the rest of the unit and used the controller to turn on the fan without running the compressor....it hummed but did not turn. I started it spinning with my hand and used the controller again to send it power and this time it began running in accordance with whatever speed selection I set with the controller. Without me hand spinning it to start it rotating however, it will not start rotating.

I haven't changed any wiring to this or anything else; no fuses blown anywhere and no fault codes appear on the Q3 Controller screen. The fan blades have some dust on them, but there is hardly any resistance/friction when I rotate it by hand.

New fan is about $360 and I'd hate to add a couple of hours of expensive labor troubleshooting it just to determine I need to replace it.

Any guesses what is causing this problem and what the solution is?

Thanks,

Pat

[a64pilot]

I believe these fans are brushless outrunners.
Meaning that they are electronically commutated, I think.
Meaning I suspect the electronics and not the fan motor itself.
First, is the fan real heavy? The part that rotates, I’m assuming it contains the magnets and is therefore heavy, it’s not just a tiny shaft with a squirrel cage blower like in the old days?

Trying to figure out what kind of fan, cause the old type doesn’t have any electronics and I want to think it could be a capacitor on the old type motor.

You have three, I’d suggest swapping components to try to fault isolate

[pstadt]

The fan is approximately 15 pounds (guessing) and I'm pretty sure the rotor contains the magnets as it has a bit of inertia when starting rotating by hand. Pics attached....

[Kenomac]

Try switching two of the controllers to see if the controller has gone bad.

[a64pilot]

I’d say try swapping components after you give Dometic a call.
This may be a common problem, however if that motor is what I’m pretty sure it is, it should last a long, long time. So I’m doubting motor, but I can’t say for sure.

[Dave22q]

Start with calling Dometic. For what its worth, I've had the same issue an 3 different coolers. Both times the fan motors went totally bad a short time after needing an assisted start.

[pstadt]

Thanks all! I'll call the local rep and post the solution as soon as I get one.

Pat

[tdoster]

Originally Posted by pstadt

We have a Cruiseair heat pump (STQ16-410A, 115V/60HZ) in our 2011 FP Orana...three of them actually, but only having problems with one (so far).

Last night the fan, which normally blows loudly through the vents when we have the AC cranked up, dropped speed, got quiet and has now ceased to blow at all.

I separated the fan from the rest of the unit and used the controller to turn on the fan without running the compressor....it hummed but did not turn. I started it spinning with my hand and used the controller again to send it power and this time it began running in accordance with whatever speed selection I set with the controller. Without me hand spinning it to start it rotating however, it will not start rotating.

I haven't changed any wiring to this or anything else; no fuses blown anywhere and no fault codes appear on the Q3 Controller screen. The fan blades have some dust on them, but there is hardly any resistance/friction when I rotate it by hand.

New fan is about $360 and I'd hate to add a couple of hours of expensive labor troubleshooting it just to determine I need to replace it.

Any guesses what is causing this problem and what the solution is?

Thanks,

Pat

Call Dometic. They will give you the procedure to test. The motors do go bad. Before ours went completely out, you could start it by hand and it would continue spinning until it finally gave up for good.