Dometic Air Conditioner burning smell

[tuffty]

I've got a roof-mounted Dometic air conditioning unit (Freshjet 2200) which came with my van. I've never used it in the year I've owned it as unfortunately the weather hasn't been hot enough to require it! We went away this weekend though and as it was cold in the evenings the day before we left I turned it on whilst the caravan was on the driveway to figure out how to use it in heating mode (it both heats and chills the air).

It had been on for around 1 minute when I started to notice a burning smell. I thought this might just be dust burning inside the unit (which I get with my gas Truma if it hasn't been used for a while) so kept a close eye on it but 15 seconds later the main breaker switch on the house electricity board flipped.

Switched off the air con at the main switch in the van, reset the breaker and everything else in both house and van is working fine. Anyone have any ideas of things to check? Having not used the unit in the year I've owned the van if it's something I can safely fix myself I'll have a go, but if it requires any outside work I'll probably leave it as a heavy non-functioning roof ornament for the time being at least!

 

[Damian]

I have dealt with one of these units a little while ago.
Main point is DO NOT USE IT !!!!!!
There is nothing inside that you can do , it sounds like it has suffered a fatal error and inside will probably be badly burnt.
One of the problems is that the drain holes get blocked and then short out the electronics.

I don't know how old your van is, but guessing it is out of warranty?? over 3 years old???

If over 3 years then unfortunately it would cost you a new unit, something to bear in mind if thinking of selling the van.

 

[tuffty]

That's worse news than I was hoping to hear! Yes thanks I had realised not to use it. The van is 5 years old, annoyingly the unit is only 1.5 years as the guy I bought it from had it fitted shortly before he sold it but I don't have a receipt etc. I may try Dometic based on the serial number and see if they're wlling to help.

Failing that - at least I have the original skylight it replaced - I could get that refitted and give myself another 30kg of payload!

 

[Raywood]

From what you say this seems to be a caravan purchased from the previous owner and if so your rights are far more limited. If you cannot produce the receipt for the unit and the guarantee has not been registered then you will have a problem pursuing anyone else for the repair if the unit was faulty although the serial number might show it is within any guarantee period.

 

[ProfJohnL]

From what you say this seems to be a caravan purchased from the previous owner and if so your rights are far more limited. If you cannot produce the receipt for the unit and the guarantee has not been registered then you will have a problem pursuing anyone else for the repair if the unit was faulty although the serial number might show it is within any guarantee period.

Hello Ray
Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act are not limited if you make a private purchase, the rights remain the same. The difficulty is applying some of those rights and getting a resolution. In some cases its not worth the effort.

Also Manufacturers guarantees are often limited to the first purchaser, unless the manufacturer has agreed otherwise.

 

[tuffty]

Yes, private purchase - I'm aware anything from Dometic would be on a goodwill basis really. No harm trying!

 

[DonCallis]

It seems that plenty of people have dealt with this unit and had a negative experience. In my case, it started to produce a burning smell after few hours of work. Not good, but after a deep analysis I still couldn't identify the cause of this problem. My wife says it's defective and I should get rid of it, but maybe this thing is repairable. So, now I think to contact the local aircon company at https://www.socool.sg/ that deals with repairing AC and all this stuff. I hope they will find the cause and will repair this AC for a reasonable price.