How do you remove the face of the air conditioner unit to clean it?

Chris_and_Sarah

Hey, I've got a 1014 M@x S with the wall-mounted A/C.

I can see I've got some mildew buildup on the inside of the unit so I want to take of the face to clean it.  I removed the wood square around the unit as well as the two screws on the left and right (had to use my S-shaped screwdriver for that one!), but I can't get the face of the a/c unit off.  It seems to have clips and I can't quite find where to push....I sure don't want to break them.

Any advice?

Tabaz

Here are a few photos of the A/C unit out of the cabinet.  Also, you may want to download the owner's manual and/or installation manual.
http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/2709/how-to-remove-the-air-conditioner/p1

Chris_and_Sarah

Thanks.  As is often the case, once I resigned myself to the possibility of breaking the thing, I figured it out.  The clips on the top left and right sides are just a real pain to release.

Michigan_Mike

Chris_and_Sarah said:

Hey, I've got a 1014 M@x S with the wall-mounted A/C.

I can see I've got some mildew buildup on the inside of the unit so I want to take of the face to clean it.  I removed the wood square around the unit as well as the two screws on the left and right (had to use my S-shaped screwdriver for that one!), but I can't get the face of the a/c unit off.  It seems to have clips and I can't quite find where to push....I sure don't want to break them.

Any advice?

There are 2 screws on the side edge of the face plate (of the new AC units) and once removed the plastic face plate can be moved, but this really isn't necessary.  There are two long screws under the AC unit that come up beneath it, keep it intact on the rack and can be accessed below the bottom wood frame under the AC unit.  Remove these two long screws and remove the trim molding around the unit and you will be able to easily pull the AC unit from the storage rack and set it down on the bench seat.  

What you are probably seeing is the AC filter shown in the photo below.  This does collect dust, grit and bacteria, etc. and can be easily cleaned with some mild dish soap and rinsed with water.  The issue here is that the filter opening sits next to the wall and care must be exercised when removing the filter.  It's obviously much easier to remove the screen when the AC unit is pulled out and set on the bench seat below.   I just pulled this one out today....  Good luck!  

Nomad

You can pull that siding filter out without removing the unit - you'll think you're going to break it as you curve it out but so far mine hasn't and other reports indicate no problem either. 

Michigan_Mike

PXLated said:

You can pull that siding filter out without removing the unit - you'll think you're going to break it as you curve it out but so far mine hasn't and other reports indicate no problem either. 

It was difficult getting the filter back in and this was when the unit was out of the rack.  

Tabaz

Which vents do what? Side and top exhaust or fresh air intake? Or is the back the fresh air intake?

Nomad

Ya, easier out than back in but have done it several times over the course of my road time. Feels like I'm going to break it every time though.

Chris_and_Sarah

Yeah, the slide-out filter wasn't the issue.  That is tricky, but here is a photo to show you what I mean (and to avoid confusion, I solved the problem so this is just for reference).  I could see that mildew had grown on the inside of the unit and so I wanted to remove the entire front plastic (not just the filter).  I wish I had taken a "before" photo so you could see the mildew, but I took this picture after I had cleaned it up.  Where it says "mildew" was nearly black.  It was gross.  So I wanted to try to remove the entire front of the a/c without removing the whole unit.  In order to get it off, I had to release 6 clips (the 3 on the left side are indicated in the photo).  The clips on the top and bottom were no problem, but boy was it difficult to get the one in the corner.  I nearly gave up, but eventually I got it.  Then everything got a good bath and I was back in business.  Good thing too, because we're leaving the coast tomorrow and have to pass through the Southwest (we've been on the road since January)!