Air Conditioner Pump Reset/Breaker? 2002 380DA

[LattitudeAdjustment]

After we got to our new slip this past weekend (FL Gulf Coast) I noticed a bit of sea grass coming in towards the bulkhead of the dock area due to a strong west/north-westerly breeze.

We ran the boat Saturday and the A/C worked just fine. The boat sat overnight with the A/C set on 72 and when I came back to the boat on Sunday, it sounded like the pump was running dry. I immediately turned the A/C system off. We had guests already on board so I did not want to open the hatch and start working on clearing the strainer, so I just made the call to work on it on Monday. We really did not need the A/C anyway.

I started the generator for the refrig, blender and other AC powered accessories, but.... my wife without my knowledge decided to turn on the air conditioner! So I think the pump either died from running dry too long, or I am hoping there may be a breaker or reset that tripped.

After our guests left, I tried the A/C and nothing would come on when I switched the breakers on downstairs on the top panel. I am starting to think the pump got toasted, but hoping maybe there was an overload breaker of sorts.

Any suggestions??
TY, all help is much appreciated!

 

[LattitudeAdjustment]

Cleaned out the sea strainer on Tuesday with high pressure water and scratching around the bottom for stuck mussels/shells and replaced. Started system back up and ran for about a minute and barely a trickle come out the side of the boat where the stream would normally discharge. Both A/C temp control panels display "H S" which kind of looks like "H 5", but from what I read, it is indicating a high-speed pump issue. There is no water flow, so my guess of the pump being the problem may be getting closer to the source.

If there was sea grass on the bottom of the raw water pickup, wouldn't that have cleared away once we got up on plane and reached 23 knots or so? So that theory would have made it so the A/C would have worked when I tried it on Tuesday, but no joy. I did notice what looked like an air hose fitting on the top of the sea strainer plate and was wondering what that was for. I have a compressor and could bring one aboard if blowing compressed air through it would help without damaging something.

I still welcome any input or someone who could point me in the right direction before I make the $400+ phone call.

TY

 

[pcarp]

Just my opinion, that looks like a quick release water fitting to me. Something that would allow you to hook up a pressurized “garden type” hose.
Maybe it was installed to allow easy priming of your A/C system?

 

[dtfeld]

That’s there to allow an ac guy to come in an put barnacle buster or Muratic acid through the system. I have a similar system in mine. Can also be used to winterize the system.

Call a Marine AC guy...probably something in the lines, he’ll clean them and get you going again. Maybe around $100. It is a periodic maintenance item in salt water.

Since you mentioned sea grass, it’s also possible you gave grass in the line to the strainer. Same AC guy might be able to get that, but also may have to dive to the inlet and pull it out the bottom. Call your diver.

For a diy solution, you can try hooking a hose up and back pressure the offending materiel out. It a standard quick connect fitting from any hardware store.

 

[searay495]

Just had the same problem that was fixed with Barnacle Buster. When the water finally came out of the side discharge it was black mud. I used to leave the A/C running when I wasn't at the boat, but probably won't anymore in an attempt to avoid this from happening again.

 

[fwebster]

If you notivced sea grass in the water, then running the system for an extended perios of time cause the gras to be sucked into the strainer grate where it gets packed in place. You can almost never clear a sea grass clog from the top side. If you are boating on the Gulf Coast, keep a pair of swim fins, mask and snorkle on the boat for you (not for kids to play with) and get used to the idea of diving under the boat to clear obstructions from the intakes, fishing line off the props/rudders, etc.

Don't spend the $$ on an AC pro until you dive under the boat and check the intakes.

 

[SeadawgVB]

There is also the possibility that the water needs to be primed. On my 360, if i clean out the strainer and the open the sea cock to allow water to fill the strainer before capping it back off, there is still not enough water to allow the pump to prime. Two easy ways to fix a no prime situation (which I believe can result in the H S display). 1) Run the A/C while your boat is up on a plane. 2) Put a garden hose into the outlet of the discharge of the A/C raw water and run water thru it for about 1 minute. The A/C raw water pumps usually are the magnetic drive type impeller, which will allow water to pass thru them if the stream is pressurized. (I don't think I explained that well, but it's worth a try before calling the A/C guy.)

 

[SeadawgVB]

P.S. If you run your A/C a bunch, you may want to think about running some Phosphoric Acid thru the raw water side. I think Frank Webster (posted above) did a write up about that before. I used Klean Strip Phosporic Prep & Etch (diluted it) from my local home warehouse and a small pump from Harbor Freight. That's also when I first learned about the "prime" requirement I mentioned above,