Dometic Penguin II - Error Code E7

[Steve-Gwenne]

We have the Micro Air EasyStart on our Dometic heat pump.

 

We turn on the unit & will run for a few minutes,

then air compressor kicks on,

in 30 seconds the circuit breaker trips.

Circuit breaker resets itself &

then repeats the above steps.

When the circuit breaker trips, a Code E7 appears on the thermostat.

 

 

 

Any ideas on why this is happening & how to fix. :))

 

Needless to say, we are leaving on a month trip soon.

 

Thank you.

[Overland]

The error code just means that the unit lost power. What circuit breaker are you talking about that resets itself?

[Steve-Gwenne]

We have the Blue Sea Systems circuit breaker panel and a Progressive Dynamics PD4000 power control center.

 

We have checked the 3 outlets for gcfi trip; only one outlet, under the dinette, has a gcfi button. We, really Steve, pressed it; it went red & then blank. I cannot remember if it stays green.

 

Steve is somewhat familiar with electricity. I am the administrative person & so do all correspondence. I just asked him if knew what each of the above components does & he said 'no'. So, that's a problem. :)

 

As info, we are home & the trailer is plugged into our regular house outlet. We have done this ever since we got our trailer & have not had a problem. Actually, we think we may have had 'this problem' and did not really realize it as we did not need the AC often.

 

Thoughts??

 

Thank you.

[Overland]

Do you have the Progressive Industries surge protector? That's the only thing I can think of that would reset itself.

 

What sort of circuit are you plugged into at your house? Is it a 30 amp circuit or a standard 20 amp one (regular plug)? If I had to guess, your AC is pulling more power than your house circuit can handle, and the surge protector is seeing a voltage drop and shutting off.

[GraniteStaters]

I would also like to know the gauge and length of the extension cord too. Has anything changed with it?

[mossemi]

I keep this meter plugged into the AC outlet under the street side bed for informational purposes. I think of it as a gas gauge for the trailer AC electrical system. I can do a quick visual check on the AC power in the trailer without have to get a multimeter out of my tool kit.

 

The outlet I plug into at the house is a 15 amp circuit and it has several outlets in the garage as well lights. If I try to run too much on that circuit, the house breaker may trip or the trailer air conditioner may stop if it is running or the refrigerator will switch to gas when it is set on auto mode. These are all indications that my house circuit is overloaded and if I reduce the load on that circuit, the trailer is happy and everything runs as expected.

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

[mossemi]

I keep this meter plugged into the AC outlet under the street side bed for informational purposes. I think of it as a gas gauge for the trailer AC electrical system. I can do a quick visual check on the AC power in the trailer without have to get a multimeter out of my tool kit.

 

The outlet I plug into at the house is a 15 amp circuit and it has several outlets in the garage as well lights. If I try to run too much on that circuit, the house breaker may trip or the trailer air conditioner may stop if it is running or the refrigerator will switch to gas when it is set on auto mode. These are all indications that my house circuit is overloaded and if I reduce the load on that circuit, the trailer is happy and everything runs as expected.

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

[1Lessworker]

Yes I agree, sounds like a power problem (Low Voltage to camper) with the easy start able to get the a/c started but the cord to the camper may be to small (lots of extension cords are only 18 to 16ga wire) to maintain the amp draw, so the voltage goes down. The a/c can have a draw of 12 to 14 amps at 120 volts so a short extension cord (less than 25ft.) and of at least 14ga. wire is required for 15 amps (the longer the extension cord the more the voltage will drop).

[geO]

I think the problem is the regular house outlet. You need 30 amp to run heat pump. If you have a generator I would see if it works. My Honda 2000i runs the systems fine.

[Steve-Gwenne]

I do not know the gauge of the cord that Steve has been using but it was the outlet. Steve had been using the front porch outlet, when he changed to the kitchen outlet it worked. The peculiar thing is that he has used the front porch outlet more than once in the past. He uses it to get the refrigerator going & for me to have ac when I clean before a trip.

 

For now, all is well.

 

Thank you to everyone who responded. I showed Steve all the responses as he understands them; I'm only the messenger/admn asst. :)