Airconditioner

Revelation · **Joined:** Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:29 pm **Posts:** 4

I have a 2005 348 vista. The air condition has been working fine until these recent hot days. Yesterday HPF (high pressure fault) began flashing on the ac control panel. I shut the unit off. Checked the manual. Can't find any information in the manual. Can anyone tell me what is causing this warning and what do I need to do to fix it?

StirCrazy · **Posted:** Sun Jul 24, 2011 8:21 am

Fault: "HPF" is displayed
Possible reason/correction: The high pressure switch is open (during cooling) due to improper seawater flow. Strainer or intake may be plugged, seacock may be closed, check seawater hose for kinks or collapses. Verify pump operation; check pump circuit breaker if applicable.

Revelation · **Joined:** Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:29 pm **Posts:** 4

Thanks for the tips. I have only owned the boat for two weeks so I'm just getting acclimated. I looked for the strainer. Can you tell me exactly where to find it. The four winns tech told me to look in the engine compartment but I still couldn't locate. Thanks for helping out a newbie!

Winedown · **Posted:** Sun Jul 24, 2011 6:08 pm

Look under the mid-berth mattress...if it's like the 298 you'll find two access covers. One is a storage compartment and the other contains the seacocks and strainers for the ac and genset. If the boat is in the water make sure you close the seacocks before opening the strainers.

StirCrazy · **Posted:** Sun Jul 24, 2011 7:08 pm

Sorry, I'm not completely sure of the location. I do believe it is different than the 298.

Bill Kearney should be along soon to give you the answer. He knows the boat better than any Four Winns salesman. On the older models, I believe it was in the engine compartment, look at the bulkhead.

Also, if you don't have an owners manual, you need to get on their website (Past Product Info) and download/print one. That's a great boat, enjoy it!

wkearney99 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 24, 2011 10:22 pm

The engine compartment only has strainers for the engines. You'd clean them the same way as I explain below.

The strainers for the generator and the AC are located down in the mid-cabin. Pull up the cushions in the center and you'll find a cover. Inside that locker you'll find the strainers, along with the seacocks.

Make sure the seacocks work smoothly, like anything else metal on the boat, they can corrode. Closing and opening them periodically helps make sure they stay working (and you learn to get a feel for when they're sticking). Some folks consider it a good idea to close the seacocks when you're going to be away from the boat for any extended period of time. This to avoid a leak getting ahead of your bilge pumps and sinking the boat. If they look corroded or take an undue amount of force to operate then BE CAREFUL. You do not want it to crack and break off in your hand. If that happens you'll need to haul ass to somewhere to get the boat pulled. Some folks keep wood bung plugs handy for this sort of emergency.

If everything looks good and works smoothly then close the seacocks and then remove the wingnuts to open the strainer lids. Pull out the strainer baskets and put them into plastic bag (to keep the gunk from getting everywhere). Then go clean them. Just plain water pressure should be enough. When you put them back be careful not to pinch the gasket inside the lid. Put the lid back on flat and tighten the wingnuts evenly. Then reopen the seacock and closely watch for leaks.

The AC may not re-prime itself automatically. You may have to take the boat out for a quick run in order to get water forced up into the AC line. I've had 50/50 success rates with it re-priming itself. I've heard of a trick using a garden hose to push water back in from the outflow through-hull but have never tried it.

It's also possible there are other clogs in the AC lines. Gunk growing in the lines can eventually become enough of a problem to restrict the flow. I've not had to deal with this so I don't have any fixes to offer.

The AC system is pretty simple. I've not had any problems with mine (beyond a wiring issue). The most important thing is water flow. When it's operating there should be a fairly strong stream of water pumping out the side. Mine dumps about a foot from the hull, in a solid stream. If it's not a solid flow, and your strainers are clear, then it's possible the impeller inside the pump needs replacing. I've not had to do mine so I can't comment on the task. Check with your local Cruisair repair dealer to get more info.

Also be mindful that the system can freeze. If that happens you have to let it thaw out. You can unscrew the panel under the stairs and look inside the cabinet to see the AC unit. If it's frozen you'll see ice crystals caked on it. I had mine freeze up once (can't recall why). I was impatient so I used a hair dryer to hasten the thawing.

I did a quick search on 'Crusair HPF error' and saw a number of links that went into some pretty good detail on the matter. STFW is your friend for stuff like this.

wkearney99 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 24, 2011 10:28 pm

Oh, and up date your profile to indicate your location. It helps determine what advice is best suited. Someone in salt water is going to have different issues than fresh, etc.

Use this link to update your Location field: ucp.php?i=164

wkearney99 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 16, 2013 2:41 pm

Now its my turn to have an ac issue.

Anyone out there with a cruisair setup have to replace their impeller or pump "wet end" due to low flow of seawater?

We recommissioning this spring the outflow on the ac stream is nowhere near as strong as it was last fall. It is working but with a fairly reduced flow.

When i left the boat last weekend the shorepower was dead, so i couldnt put it into the usual HU away mode. When i got back here today the ac control panel. Was reading PS HI. No idea how long but probably more than a few hours as the cabin wasn't cold at all. I powered it off and let it rest while i replaced the shower sump's pump. Later i powered the ac back up and its working fine, but with the same lower flow output.

So either theres a blockage, bubble or perhaps the impeller needs replacing? Anyoe replaced their wet end impeller and solved this? They're relatively cheap at around $70 for the whole wet end.

Flyer51 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 16, 2013 4:55 pm

wkearney99 wrote:

The AC may not re-prime itself automatically. You may have to take the boat out for a quick run in order to get water forced up into the AC line. I've had 50/50 success rates with it re-priming itself. I've heard of a trick using a garden hose to push water back in from the outflow through-hull but have never tried it.

The garden hose will work but I do find it easier to pull water through the system and it primes rapidly. I often use my wet vac and really just hit the outlet with a brief bit of suction and the pump primes easily. Credit to Bliss36 for coming up with a variation of this idea who I think used one of those pumps you step on to inflate or delfate an air mattresses.

wkearney99 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 16, 2013 7:12 pm

Noticed just before we left that I had a spare foot pump onboard. Did the garden hose at the outflow trick and it didn't make any difference. But before that I popped the cap on the strainer and noted that with the seacock open there wasn't "as much" flow as I remember there being. I didn't take the time to pop the cap on the generator strainer right next to it. So I'm not ruling out there being some obstruction on the intake down under the hull. With luck the diver that does the cleaning will be in the marina this week, I'll ask him to give it a look-see.

With all the other stuff that needed doing today I didn't have time left to get it out on the water! Rain kicked in just as I was wrapping all that up. Ah well.

hutch9900 · **Joined:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:14 pm **Posts:** 456

Flyer51 wrote:

wkearney99 wrote:

The AC may not re-prime itself automatically. You may have to take the boat out for a quick run in order to get water forced up into the AC line. I've had 50/50 success rates with it re-priming itself. I've heard of a trick using a garden hose to push water back in from the outflow through-hull but have never tried it.

The garden hose will work but I do find it easier to pull water through the system and it primes rapidly. I often use my wet vac and really just hit the outlet with a brief bit of suction and the pump primes easily. Credit to Bliss36 for coming up with a variation of this idea who I think used one of those pumps you step on to inflate or delfate an air mattresses.

Where is the water intake for the AC system on the hull?

firecadet613 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 17, 2013 9:05 am

hutch9900 wrote:

On your 278 it should be in the engine compartment, bottom side of the hull. You should see a seacock and shortly after it, the strainer.

Strainers and seacocks are something every boat owner should know about, and maintain them.

You need to make sure the strainers are clean. That and make sure the seacocks operate smoothly. Also note there should be a wire going to the seacock, it's there as part of the boat's bonding system. It's designed to avoid corrosion attacking the meta parts that come into contact with sea water (fresh or salt). If the wires aren't there, or become corroded then that metal part won't have the same protection as the rest of the system. This may result in corrosion eating it up instead of your anodes (zinc for salt, magnesium for fresh).

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