TCL TPC-KA portable AC: timer, Sleep, Eco and filter reset

Reset the Filter light, and what else is different on KA units

On a TCL TPC-…/KA portable, the Filter light comes on after 250 hours of running as a reminder to clean the filter. Clean it, then hold the FAN / FILTER RESET button on the unit’s control panel for 5 seconds; the Filter light goes off.

The rest of this series works differently from TCL’s TPW and TPC-HA portables:

• Eco is the mode the unit runs in the first time you use it. In Eco the fan keeps running for a while after the compressor stops, then switches on briefly every 10 minutes.
• The timer counts in half hours up to 10 hours, then in whole hours up to 24 hours. The panel and the remote set it in different ways.
• Sleep (remote only, in Cool or Eco) raises the set temperature by 2 °F over two hours, holds it for 6 hours, then goes back to your original temperature. The unit keeps running; it doesn’t switch itself off.

If your model number ends in /HA or starts with TPW, use the TPW and TPC-HA remote guide instead.

Before you start

• Check the model. The KA series is TPC-08C/KA, TPC-10C/KA, TPC-12C/KA, TPC-14C/KA, TPC-12E/KA, TPC-14E/KA, TPC-12E/KAB and TPC-14E/KAB. On the control panel you’ll see an Eco light and a Filter light, and a button labelled FAN / FILTER RESET.
• Power: when you plug the unit in, the display shows two dashes (– –): it’s in standby. Press POWER to turn it on, and again to turn it off. TCL says not to switch the unit off by pulling the plug: press POWER, then wait a few minutes before you unplug it.
• Remote: it takes two AAA 1.5 V batteries under the cover on the back. Don’t mix old and new batteries, or alkaline, carbon-zinc and rechargeable ones. Point it at the control panel from no more than 16 ft (5 m) away, with nothing in between.

Which controls are where

Control	Control panel	Remote
Power, Mode, temperature ▲ ▼, Fan speed	Yes	Yes
Timer	Yes (see the panel steps below)	Yes (different steps, see below)
Filter reset	Hold FAN / FILTER RESET for 5 seconds	Not described
Sleep, Swing, °F/°C	No	Yes

On the panel, the temperature buttons are ▽ and △ (marked − and +); the manual calls them the down and up arrows.

Choose a mode

Press MODE until the mode you want is selected. On the panel its indicator light comes on; on the remote’s screen an arrow points to the mode’s symbol.

Mode	What you can set	Notes
Cool	Temperature; fan Hi, Med, Low or Auto	The exhaust hose must lead the hot air outside through a window.
Eco	Temperature; fan Hi, Med, Low or Auto	The unit’s mode on first use. A few seconds after you set the temperature, the panel display switches to the room temperature.
Dry	Nothing: the fan is fixed at Low	The display shows the room temperature.
Fan	Fan Hi, Med, Low or Auto	The exhaust hose doesn’t need to be connected.
Heat (Heat & Cool models only)	Temperature; the fan is fixed at Low	The fan may not start for the first 2 minutes, so it doesn’t blow cool air.

The manual doesn’t give a temperature range for this series.

What Eco does

In Eco, when the room reaches your set temperature, the compressor stops but the fan carries on for 3 minutes. After that the fan runs for 90 seconds every 10 minutes. When the room warms above the set temperature, the compressor starts again. So a fan that runs for short bursts while the unit isn’t cooling is normal in Eco. The manual describes this cycling only for Eco; it doesn’t say what the fan does in Cool once the room reaches the set temperature.

Set the timer from the control panel

The timer can start the unit later or switch it off later.

Start the unit later

1. Set the unit up the way you want it to start (mode, fan speed, temperature), then turn it off with POWER. The manual says it will start in the mode as previously set.
2. With the unit in standby, press TIMER. The Timer light and a number of hours flash on the display.
3. Tap or hold △ or ▽ to change the delay. It moves in 0.5-hour steps up to 10 hours, then in 1-hour steps up to 24 hours.
4. Stop pressing. After 5 seconds the light and the number stop flashing, and the display counts down the time left until the unit starts.

Switch the unit off later

1. With the unit running, press TIMER. The Timer light and a number of hours flash.
2. Tap or hold △ or ▽ to set the delay (0.5-hour steps up to 10 hours, then 1-hour steps up to 24 hours).
3. After 5 seconds the flashing stops, and the display shows the time left until the unit shuts down.

To cancel either timer, press TIMER again. The Timer light goes off.

Set the timer from the remote

The remote’s timer has extra confirmation presses, and you choose the start-up settings as part of the procedure.

Start the unit later

1. Plug the unit in and put it in standby (off).
2. Press TIMER. An arrow flashes above the ON timer symbol on the remote’s screen.
3. Choose the mode, fan speed and temperature the unit should start with.
4. Press TIMER to confirm them. The time appears and the h symbol flashes.
5. Press ▲ or ▼ to set how long until the unit starts, from 30 minutes to 24 hours: half-hour steps for the first 10 hours, then whole hours. (The manual’s wording at this step says “switch off”, but the procedure sets the start time.)
6. Press TIMER again to confirm. The remote beeps and its screen counts down the time left. When it runs out, the unit starts with the settings you chose.

To cancel, press TIMER again. The remote beeps and its screen goes back to standby.

Switch the unit off later

1. With the unit on, in any mode, press TIMER. An arrow appears above the OFF timer symbol and h flashes.
2. Press ▲ or ▼ to set the number of hours until the unit turns off.
3. Press TIMER again to confirm. The remote beeps and its screen counts down the time left.

To cancel, press TIMER again. The timer indicator goes off.

Use Sleep

1. Put the unit in Cool or Eco.
2. Press SLEEP on the remote. The fan drops to Low, and you can’t change it while Sleep is on.
3. To stop Sleep early, press SLEEP, MODE or FAN SPEED.

What happens next:

• Cool or Eco: an hour after you press Sleep, the set temperature rises by 1 °F. An hour later it rises by another 1 °F. That temperature holds for 6 hours, then the setting goes back to the temperature you chose, Sleep ends and the unit keeps running as before.
• Heat (Heat & Cool models): the set temperature drops by 1 °F an hour for 3 hours, stays there for 5 hours, then Sleep ends.

Sleep can’t be set in Fan or Dry mode.

This is the main difference from TCL’s TPW and TPC-HA portables, where Sleep ends by turning the unit off. A KA unit is still on in the morning. If you want it off by a certain time, set a delayed switch-off with the timer as well. The manual doesn’t say how the timer and Sleep interact, so check the display after you set both.

Use swing and °F/°C

• Swing: press SWING on the remote. The louver on the top panel swings up and down, and an arrow appears next to the swing symbol on the remote’s screen. Press SWING again to stop it.
• °F/°C: press °F/°C on the remote to switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius.

Reset the Filter light

1. Turn the unit off with POWER, wait a few minutes, then unplug it.
2. Take the filter off the back of the unit: grasp the tab on the upper back panel and lift the filter out from behind the grille. Avoid touching the metal parts inside, which can cut.
3. Vacuum the filter, or wash it in warm water with a little liquid dishwashing detergent, rinse it well and shake off the excess water.
4. Let it dry completely, then put it back. Don’t run the unit without the filter.
5. Plug the unit in. On the control panel, hold FAN / FILTER RESET for 5 seconds. The Filter light goes off.

A short press of the same button only changes the fan speed, so keep holding it for the full 5 seconds. The manual doesn’t say whether the unit has to be running for the reset. If nothing happens in standby, turn the unit on with POWER and hold the button again.

TCL gives two cleaning intervals for KA units: the care section says every week of use, while the safety pages say every two weeks or more often if needed, and the troubleshooting table says at least every two weeks. Cleaning weekly meets both. The light only appears after 250 hours of running, so don’t wait for it.

If a control doesn’t do what you expect

• The remote does nothing: check the batteries are in the right way round or replace them, and stand within 16 ft (5 m) with a clear line to the control panel. If the panel buttons work, the remote or its batteries are the likely cause.
• Sleep won’t start: the unit is in Fan or Dry mode. Switch to Cool or Eco first.
• Fan speed won’t change: that’s expected in Dry and Heat, where the fan is fixed at Low, and while Sleep is on.
• The unit stops cooling but the fan runs on and off: if Eco is lit, that’s Eco’s normal cycling after the room reaches the set temperature.
• The display shows AS, ES, P1 or Ft: these are fault and tank messages, not settings. See TCL portable AC error codes; P1 and Ft mean the tank needs draining.

Common questions

Why is my KA unit in Eco mode when I didn’t choose it?

The manual says the unit runs in Eco the first time it’s used. To use another mode, press MODE until its indicator lights. The unit then remembers the mode: when you turn it on with POWER, it starts in the mode it was in when it was turned off.

Does a timer setting of “2.5” mean two and a half hours?

Yes. For the first 10 hours the timer moves in half-hour steps, so 2.5 is two and a half hours. Above 10 hours it moves in whole hours, up to 24.