Lately when our air comes on, we have noticed that our lights dim (quite a bit)..our voltage meter shows no voltage drop when this happens...the lights stay dim from 5 to 10 seconds before returning to normal brightness. Any ideas??? Thanks...
If you are plugged in to shore power the the Air Conditioner is pulling down the 115 volt for just a bit. That lowers the input to the converter and in turn that lowers the 12 volts for a few seconds. The time is too short to see on a meter.
The dimming lights result from IR-induced voltage drop on your AC power supply due to the current surge when your A/C compressor and fan both come on line.
It's a normal condition, more common if your park runs long supply lines or if you are hooked up to 30amp service and the A/C consumes a major fraction of those amps at startup.
Hans, KØHB & Colleen, KØCKB Master Chief Radioman, US Navy -
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As the a/c compressor starts it draws a lot of extra current. You might try adding a Supco SPP6 superboost. This is a relay and start capacitor, this allows the compressor to start using much less power. Connecting the superboost is an easy two wire connection to the compressors run capacitor. Any air conditioning supply house or HVAC service department should have these in stock.
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If the lights are 12V, I'd say your battery is probably on it's last legs---maybe a case of poor converter, too....and a whole lot of other 12V usage at the same time.....
With a good battery, a couple seconds of 110 voltage drop shouldn't affect your 12V lights at all......I can start my 13.5 A/C off my inverter and my 12V lights don't dim......
J
If your RV has a 30 amp cord, and you are using an extension cord, that cord must also be 30 amps. A 15 or 20 amp cord will not allow high enough amperage to power the air-conditioner properly.
Mark
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