We awoke to overcast skies and a relatively cool breeze. We were somewhat relieved as the heat since leaving Sydney was unnatural for this time of the year and whilst we like summer, it is supposed to start in December, not early November.
Immediately following breakfast, “He” decided to have a play with the rear viewing camera but decided to take the easy approach and start looking for a fault at the camera end and not at the dash. We normally carry all the documentation for appliances and other items installed in Blue Snoopy and reference to the Waeco documentation revealed the presence of a connector close to the camera. The connector was eventually located buried in the bathroom wall and it quickly became apparent that this connection was the source of the problem. “He” rejoined and taped the connector and the problem was solved.
Later that morning a demonstration was performed on changing a rear tyre on an Esperance on an Iveco chassis. It became apparent very quickly that there is a technique required to remove the spare and not all participants with Iveco chassis would be able to complete the process. Winnebago needs to look at and provide a solution for this issue. It also became apparent from the demonstration that a large number of owners do not fully understand the workings of their motor homes.
In the company of another couple, we had a nice lunch at a local café before returning to Blue Snoopy for what we hoped would be a quiet afternoon. Upon opening the door to Blue Snoopy, the heat hit us. The air conditioning (AC) had been left running on low but the temperature inside Blue Snoopy was hovering around the 37 degree mark. We set the AC to maximum cool but soon noticed that the flow of cool air was very weak and diminishing. As the day had developed, the cool breeze had ceased and the temperature was the highest it had been since leaving Sydney.
Our initial thoughts went towards a problem with the AC that may have been caused by several “blackouts” in the park over the recent days. “He” tried various settings but to no avail. As a last resort the filter was removed and it was noticed that there was a significant amount of dust in the filter. We had cleaned the filter immediately following the dust storm that Sydney experienced earlier this year but it was clogged again. “He” washed and dried the filter but there was no improvement after it was reinstalled. We were both at a low with the heat and whilst it appeared that the problem with the rear facing camera had been resolved, we were now looking at a serious problem with the AC and we still had several days to navigate through before returning home with no likelihood of reduced temperatures.
We attended happy hour and then participated in a BYO BBQ. Immediately following the BBQ, we returned to Blue Snoopy to clean up and wash the dishes from the evening meal. Once again we started the AC but the air flow was still poor and certainly far from being cold. A couple of minutes later, we heard a growling noise coming from the AC unit and that was followed immediately with ice being spat from the vents. Straight after the ice, “COLD” air once again flowed freely.
We now believe that the blocked filter had resulted in the AC coil becoming frozen. Turning the AC off for several hours provided sufficient time for the ice to melt and the ice that was spat from the AC was the residual ice. We now have to make certain that special attention is given to the AC filter.
We attended a trivia night and unfortunately, were a long way behind the winners. Once again, with the AC now working correctly (the temperature inside Blue Snoopy had dropped by 10 degrees in just over an hour), we had another comfortable night’s sleep.