Pacs 1500 inop in 1988 FC 35

[dellvostro]

My inverter is not putting out voltage but has 12.8V+ going in and fuse is fine so I'm assuming it has bit the dust (after only 21 years). Does anyone have suggestions for a reasonably priced replacement or fix?. Apparently Pacs is out of business which makes rebuilding problematic.
Has anyone had any luck getting parts from Bluebird?
Thanks for any tips,

John Barry

[Randy Dupree]

Bite the bullet and buy a new one.
Pacs has been gone for many years and Blue Bird is closed also.
Someone here will be able to tell you what to buy.

[racin41bb]

John,

Sometimes our PACS acts-up--try unpluging the contol harness and reinserting. The contacts in the plug or socket work loose or get dirty. This has always got ours back on line--hope it's that simple for you.

[Bill Pape]

The Pac 1500 is a heavy boat anchor, try plugging something into the kitchen counter socket and try it again, it may need a load to start.
There is a fuse and a resetable circuit on the front. If this fails it is probably dead. This then opens up a debate of more $$ for a pure sine wave, or a modified sine wave inverter at less dollars, depends on your needs and useage. There are many on ebay, I use a Cobra 2500 watt modified sine wave inverter and it works great for my needs. TV's , coffee maker, charging computer, cellphone, GPS etc batteries.
Find one with a remote to be able to turn it on from inside the Bird.

http://www.whistleworks.com/


Are you the Whistler???? Good to hear from you and the 88FC

[dellvostro]

Thanks Randy, Bill and Bill, as suggested, switching on the ice maker before the inverter gets the Pacs working, though it never needed a load before. The only thing different I can think of is I installed a TV converter box recently. Go figure. The compartment the inverter is in was a bit damp after a run through TX/MO during recent rainstorms and, as I understand it, inverters don't like humidity so perhaps that is a factor. (It even rained here last night; a very big deal since until then we have accumulated a measly two tenths of an inch all year.)
I haven't been able to easily pull that plug out that Roanoke Bill wrote about but I've wiggled it a bunch.
Thanks much for the helpful responses.

Now, if I may, I have another issue for you knowledgeable BBirders: Our Dometic refrigerator freezer freezes, and the fridge makes the beer nice and cold on LP but not on 110 shore power or genset 110. The RV Servicenter here in Carlsbad cleaned up switches and vents and tested voltage, etc., but could find nothing obviously wrong. It has had a new cooling unit installed sometime since '88 and has worked fine until recently.
Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

Best regards,

John

ps: I am shocked to hear about Ft Valley (and the Bird's Nest?) being closed. What is the world coming to?

[birds_first]

With a 21+ yo refrigerator it is about time for a change, but one of the things I did to delay the change was purchase a refrigerator fan from camping world (1 D cell battery) in set in inside. It helps to circulates the cool air inside. To further help try putting a small 4" fan inside the outside vent door pointing upward. This will help circulate hot air up & out and help the refrigerator cool down even more. Both are a cheap fix & cheaper then a replacement. It worked for me.

[Bill Pape]

Hi John,

First check the AC power panel frig. circuit breaker, turn it off and on, they sometimes are tripped and not noticeable.

There should be two heating elements in the tin flue pipe above the propane burner, they are buried in the insulation, One is for AC volts and one for DC volts, Trace the wires and find the AC heating element, check with an Ohm meter for resistance, any reading is a good sign , no reading means it is open and defective. AC 110 volt power can also be wired direct with a separate power cord, Be sure to select the correct heating element AC or DC , if the AC heating element is good it will cool and work as it should. Careful here AC current can knock your socks off.