Catalina 387 Air conditioner problems

May 30, 2025
2
Catalina 387 Port Charlotte
I have a Catalina 387 with two factory installed air conditioners. One is located in the forward cabin under the V birth, the other in the starboard locker in the aft cabin. Both of these air containers now show a high pressure error. I believe this is due to the lack of flow of cooling water in both instances. In the forward cabin the compressor and the water pump are difficult to access. The aft cabin Compressor is easy to access but I can’t even find the water pump. Has anyone had this issue and been able to solve these problems?
 

KCofKC

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Sep 6, 2010
75
Catalina 28TR MKI 317 Smithville
How old are the units and have they been working or new installs? What brand are they and how many BTU? Lack of cooling water would cause the issue you mention. Do you clean the cooling water filters? I would start there. I would try running the pumps with out the compressors and see what the flow is. It seems some what odd that they started doing it as the same time.
 
May 30, 2025
2
Catalina 387 Port Charlotte
Both units are 6000 btu Dometic. The main cabin error was the first to show up. The aft unit error started a few months after. I am unaware of how to run the circulating pumps without running the compressors. The aft unit is the most puzzling, as the circulating pump is hidden! The power cables dive into an inaccessible compartment!
 

KCofKC

.
Sep 6, 2010
75
Catalina 28TR MKI 317 Smithville
Van, sorry so long to reply, a lot going on right now. It is difficult to visualize as each installation is unique to the installer and the boat and not being able to know all that I need to about the boat.. While you say it was installed at the factory it could have also been installed at the dealer. What year is the boat? If it was indeed installed at the factory they have the advantage of access in many ways. A high pressure fault is tripped due to high pressure in the high side of the unit but that has it's cause. It can only be caused from an overfill if refrigerant which is most likely not the case as it had run for how ever long. It can be caused by a return air restriction, dirty condenser, lack of supply air, low water flow through the condenser due to a clogged intake or filter, or accumulation in the tubing. I seem to lean towards this and here is why. How long have you owned the boat? Have you every serviced the water inlet filters? I have the impression that they have never been cleaned as you seem unfamiliar with the needs of this type of service. How much have you used them and have you done the due and proper maintenance? Has there been a time when it was working properly since you owned the boat? Knowing how long you have owned it and what the history is would answer a lot of questions. Based on what little history I have I would first make sure that the air filter is clean and the coils in the evaporator as well, then I would find and locate all of the water line from the water supply thru-hull to the filter, clean the filter, make sure the pump is working and that there are no flow restrictions all the way to the outlet. Is there in fact water coming out of the exit thru-hulls which should be above the waterline and visible? If not this would confirm the problem and narrow it down, so I would start there, if water is low or non-existential then it has to be a filter or supply issue or a bad pump. Do one unit at a time. Do you have the installation date of the units and the manuals? They do at times have PC boards that are problematic and there is a test sequence to test them in the manual, you can also view it on line as well. You might even consider calling them but they will pretty much tell you what I just did. Depending on how it was installed on the one's I install you just unplug the pump from the CPU and plug them into a 110 outlet and they pump as you are bypassing the CPU control. Hope this get you in the right direction. Let me know how you come out and if you need further help let me know the answers above. Good Luck, K