My A/C quit cooling/drawing half amps

[rowiebowie]

My 3 yr. old Coleman Mach 3 Plus ultra low profile ac suddenly quit cooling. And yes, I checked all breakers, including my power source, which are all good.

The inside and outside fans are working, but seems too quiet for the compressor to be running. My initial thought was bad capacitor, yet - it still draws 6-7 amps rather than the usual 11-12 amps.

When the compressor is not running, the fan-only mode is still the typical 1 amp draw. If the compressor is somehow locked, it should be pulling really high amps. If it lost freon, would that cause the compressor to run more easily and result in reduced amp draw?

The lower than normal draw is baffling. What should this be telling me?

[rowiebowie]

I had my wife start the ac from the inside while I stood on the outside. I confirmed the compressor was starting, but I also heard a noise I hadn't heard before. Kind of a low, quick clack-clack-clack-clack-clack just for a second or two as the compressor spooled up.

I also got a call back from my home ac guy who confirmed that low refrigerant could lower the compressor work load and draw less amps than usual.

That's what I'm afraid of. And the system has no service ports for adding refrigerant (just the crimped/soldered lines I saw during install). Should have sprung for the extra 3 yr. warranty, but didn't think it was worth the extra $89 at the time. But now in hindsight . . .

PPLmotorhomes had a very few Coleman Mach 8 Plus low profile units in stock when practically everyone else's sites showed "out of stock".

I bit the bullet and ordered their last 13.5K for $950. Ouch for the second time in 3 years. It's a good thing the Chevy Express has been bullet-proof since the repairs and upgrades to the coach portion now exceed $7K over the first 3-1/2 years of ownership. Plus the roof now needs paint and estimates for that are coming in at around $3K.