www.iFourWinns.com

Just bought a 2003 378 Vista and it's my first boat so lots of questions... but as it heats up for summer one that I'm wondering about is my air conditioning. It puts out cold air but keeps kicking off and giving an error saying LO/PS which I read indicates suction pressure below 30 PSI. Is that an issue with the water intake or do I need to re-charge the freon? Curious if this is an easy fix or a bigger problem. Appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Welcome to the forum.
A few things to check, check to make sure the blower fan is running, and also the air filter. Is clean. Chances are you have a leak and need to have someone with a set of refrigeration guages look at it. If you have access to a set of refrigeration guages than the pressure should be above 58 psi on the suction side of the compressor

_________________
2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike

Is water pumping out of the thur-hull? Is the seacock open?

After you check the above suggestions also check the filter on the seawater pump. It may be clogged.
If you don't have water coming out from the seawater pump and the seacock is open, which sometimes happens when you check the filter. It gets air bound. I push a city water hose up against the output to prime it then turn the ac back on.

_________________
--2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven**
--2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski**
--310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson

I agree with acguy that it sounds like low Freon. "suction pressure" sounds like a bad translation from another language, but below 30psi would be low enough to reach the low pressure cutoff. Low pressure side (with compressor running) should have somewhere between 55-70 psi depending on AC type and temperature conditions.

Having the Freon serviced should fix your problem. It may leak down again, but if it makes it a couple years before needing service, then the leak may be so small that it's not worth looking for.

_________________

"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

If you didn't have proper water flow then you would have high pressure trips
I have a guy I go see about every 2 seasons to add a little bit of refrigerant in his unit. This is not really acceptable practice.
By rights you should have the leak found and fixed. If it is low. Refrigerant is typically good forever as long as the system is leak free

_________________
2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike

LO/PS code is low head pressure below 30 psi.Causes are loss of gas or water too cold for heating mode.
Results= shutdown

You will not have an issue with water too cold. Up here when our boat goes in we see lake temps below 40F

_________________
2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike

Make sure the water flow out the thru hull is a nice strong stream. If it's dribbling the strainer is clogged and you have to clean it.

_________________
1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

When in your usage cycle does that message pop up?

More than likely you are a bit short on freon. That being said, you can't fire up these units on full blast right away and expect things to function in non ideal temps.


Try this.....

Turn on the unit with the fan speed at the lowest speed. Set the temp at something 'average'. Not super high, not super low. I bet the message doesn't appear.

Let the unit come up or down to temp slowly.... Spend 5-10 minutes letting it warm up or cool down.



Btw, I had both my units doing this, and the slow 'warm up' worked great.

_________________

2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

I understand that. Just relaying what the code causes are. Not cold water for sure. That leaves low freon to deal with.