Jayco Greyhawk – AC Capacitor & Fan Motor Service

Walk into any Jayco dealer service department and they’ll tell you a failed AC capacitor means you need a new fan motor—$600 to $800 installed, weeks on the waiting list. Then you hit the RV forums and half the posts say “just swap the capacitor, the motor’s probably fine.” One of those voices is steering you wrong, and it costs money to figure out which. Here’s the reality on the Greyhawk: the dealer isn’t lying about the motor being stressed, but they’re skipping the actual root cause. A bad run capacitor forces the fan to strain for weeks or months before it actually fails. Replace only the motor and you’ve installed a fresh one that’ll burn out the same way in half a year, because the capacitor—the real problem—is still dead. This walkthrough shows you how to diagnose both, fix the capacitor first, then decide whether the motor actually needs replacing. That order matters.

Why the Run Capacitor Is Your AC’s Actual Weak Point

A dead run capacitor on a Dometic rooftop unit stalls the whole operation—the fan motor can’t generate enough torque at startup without it, so you hear the compressor trying to turn over, nothing catches, and airflow dies. The capacitor bridges the gap that lets the motor overcome its own inertia; without it, the motor’s just spinning in place while drawing current.

What works

• Direct bolt-in replacement—no circuit modifications required, the dual 60/5 microfarad rating manages both start and run phases on the same motor circuit without deration.
• Superior dielectric material won’t degrade over time the way the original Greyhawk capacitor does; a full-timer gets years instead of a single season of reliable operation.
• Motor engages immediately on first startup and restores cooling capacity in minutes flat—zero parasitic draw, zero added strain on the compressor pump.

What doesn’t

• Terminal orientation is not forgiving—reverse the polarity by mistake and you have seconds before the capacitor vents or fails short, potentially tripping your breaker or cooking the motor windings.
• Some Greyhawks from earlier model years have lead spacing that doesn’t match modern crimp terminals, forcing you to hand-solder or fabricate custom leads instead of using push-on connectors.

I once swapped a capacitor on a flip Greyhawk and the motor hummed but didn’t turn—spent twenty minutes checking polarity before realizing the terminal lugs were corroded enough to block contact. Had to burnish every connection point with sandpaper before it caught. Fits for Dometic 3312195.000 Air Conditioner RV AC Motor Capacitor 60/5 MFD, Heavy Duty Air Conditioner Capacitor Replacement, Compatible with Dometic 3312195000 RV Air Conditioner Models

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