Cabin heat/ac won’t “power up”

[Peridot]

Greetings, this is my first post. I’m hoping to purchase a 2000 32+2 Command Bridge. The heat/ac system in the cabin “won’t power up” according to the seller. I’m having a full survey of the vessel done next week, which will hopefully shed some light. But in the meantime:

- what may be causing this?
- what common problems should we look for?
- how complicated and expensive is this system to fix?
- what routine maintenance is necessary on this system?

Thanks!

[Nancy]

I'm no mechanic, but you need a better description of what "won't power up" means. Does the control panel light up? The surveyor should be able to give you some insight. The problem could be as simple as the system not being primed to as complicated as the entire system being dead. Or about ten things in between.

[Peridot]

An update: Surveyor went over the boat for me yesterday and discovered the AC works when shore power is plugged into the middle of the three connections on the transom. The seller didn’t know this after 18 years of ownership and says he never used the AC. Anyway, the AC works and blows cold!

Second, heat still did not function. Owner said it only operates when the main engine is running. Is this correct?

[Pitou]

An update: Surveyor went over the boat for me yesterday and discovered the AC works when shore power is plugged into the middle of the three connections on the transom. The seller didn’t know this after 18 years of ownership and says he never used the AC. Anyway, the AC works and blows cold!

Second, heat still did not function. Owner said it only operates when the main engine is running. Is this correct?

I'm glad that you found the issue and it sounds familiar.

Like you, on my 31TE I have two 30 amp shore power inlets. If I plug into only one outlet and flip the parallell switch (A + B) on my AC panel both legs of the panel get AC power. If I plug into the other shore power inlet and flip the A + B only one leg of the panel gets AC power and the other is dead. Luckily the previous / original owner shared this with me as did the selling dealer when he purchased it when new.

Your second heat issue sounds odd unless it is a coolant circulated heater. Post a picture of the unit to share so that we can help you out.