Webasto Air Conditioner in 2022 C24 Not Cooling or Heating

[JBfishon]

New to me 2022 C24. Couldn't get Webasto FCFP 10000 A/C working (E1 error). Research points to priming issue. At the dock, in the water, I primed pump in cockpit locker with dock hose, and immediately had water flowing from the port-side A/C discharge. Now primed, reconnected pump hose to thruhull strainer. Turned on A/C (pump running, raw water discharge flowing), set COOL mode with temp set at 62 degrees, and ran the unit for a good 15 minutes. The output tube from the reverse valve going to the evaporator tubes was slightly cooler to the touch than ambient air temp of 74 degrees, as was the air flow from vents. Turned to HEAT mode set at 85 degrees, ran for 15 minutes, and reverse valve tube to evaporator was hot the the touch, but air flow from vents was only slightly warmer than ambient temp.

My question is, did I run the A/C long enough (15 minutes) to get expected results. In COOL mode, I would expect the evaporator tubes to be cold and icing up within that 15 minute cycle. Is this an indication that the A/C unit may have a refrigerant leak and needs to be recharged? Original owner purchased boat new and was used in Maine were A/C might not have even been used. I have no history whether this A/C unit was ever working.

 

[KKRCRACE]

My C24 takes quite a while until you can feel a difference in temperature.
Ken

 

[KKRCRACE]

My C24 takes quite a while until you can feel a difference in temperature.
Ken

 

[KKRCRACE]

The only time my AC ever pulled any code was when it had a burned up capacitor. The unit doesn’t have a charging port so you will have to install your own. I installed one on mine thinking it was low on Freon but it wasn’t low then I discovered the bad capacitor.

 

[Robert]

Per the Wabasto manual E1 is high head pressure (water flow) which you have addressed. The manual also recommends an acid flush on the condenser annually or so. This could cause reduced performance.

 

[JBfishon]

Thanks, I'll give the acid flush (Acid Magic) a shot.
John...

 

[JBfishon]

Follow-up on my Webasto issue... boat is home on trailer and winterized. I did an acid flush, then started up the unit with garden hose pouring water into the A/C raw water pump. Water flushing through system and out the port discharge OK and no error codes. With ambient temp around 70 degrees, I set the temp to 61 degrees, and after several minutes, didn't detect any cool air coming out.

To Ken's comment that it takes "quite a while" before I should feel a temperature difference, just what is "quite a while"... 5 minutes, 30 minutes, couple of hours? Never having an air conditioner on a boat, can't imagine running something like this, with a pump running constantly for just a few degrees of relief. I see boats at my marina running their A/C constantly, but with the noise of a running pump, I just do see any value here. At this point, I'm just trying to determine if this Webasto unit is working.

 

[Rauguthj]

Our aft Webasto AC stopped cooling right after the 1 year factory warranty was done. Webasto warranty required us to ship the entire unit to them, and they would determine if the failure was covered under their warranty (parts and labor only) - shipping was not covered. After some thought we just replaced with a Dometic Turbo unit. Cool MUCH better, and a bonus was adding a vent directly into the salon area.

 

[KKRCRACE]

Our AC takes probably 15 minutes to start cooling so that you can feel it. The unit is going on 7 years old and still cools and heats great. Through the years I have had to replace one condenser and at the end of our cruise on our boat from the Gulf of America to the Chesapeake Bay the water pump stopped working this past April. It runs for 4-5 months every summer while in Md.
Ken Keir
Sunny Daze