fridge

[rachel]

Hi all (Ant really), am i correct in thinking that when we drive off to glasto in the morning, i can start the engine, push the fridge button on the dash and the fridge will start working. once i get therel, turn off the dash button and the engine and the fridge will be chilled, then I can change over to gas. is it that simple. thanks. rachel

[romingtim]

Hi Rachel,

Yes you are right it is that simple.

The only problem is the cooling capacity of the fridge on 12 volt.

As Ant has mentioned before, to get the fridge down to normal temperature of 4 degrees it would take about 200 miles of driving, purely because the 12 volt system is very slow at getting rid of the heat - it will maintain a low fridge temperature fine though.

You might decide this isn't a problem, but if you want the fridge cold when you leave home then run on either gas or 240volt overnight before you leave, then when you travel the 12 volt, from the dash switch, will keep the temperature down where it should be.

Don't forget that the switch on the fridge needs to be on too (mine is a red switch for 12 volt and green switch for 240 volt - they both have bulbs in them to show when they are on)

Tim

[wendy]

Unless your fridge is very different from ours, you also have to push the 12v button on the front of the fridge. Sorry if I am stating the obvious!

We usually plug the EHU cable in the night before we go to chill the fridge really well before we start.

Have a good time at Glastonbury and hope that you don't get too wet and muddy!

Tim just beat me to the reply!

[ant]

You're all right for your own vans, but the C15 fridge has no fridge buttons that relate to 12volts unless the fridge was fitted after production. So get the fridge cold first , fill it with cold food and then push the the dash board switch in after the engine is running.
Just a general tip; Don't stuff the fridge with no air gaps as you'll find only half the fridge gets cold and you'll think its gone wrong when it hasn't! ( we call it pilot error!)
Ant

[jayjay]

Here's a handy and practical tip from my sis, who has a 3-way fridge in her caravan. The battery 12v uses a lot of power, so much so that it can drain your main battery and then your van won't start. (Hasten to add, not the case with sisters' caravan as the leisure battery is charged differently).

She uses 4 of those ice packs you use for cool bags and boxes to cool down the fridge and transport the food to where'er she is going, simply using the fridge as though it were a cool box. Then she either switches to gas or hook up depending on what's available when she gets there and is set up.

She swears by this method to cool down the fridge before you switch it on, rather than spend hours waiting for the 12v to do the job.

[ant]

Jayjay.
Your Fridge should not work on 12volts unless the engine is running so it should not be able to drain the battery. ( All these "shoulds" are if the fridge was fitted correctly )
Ant

[Dabs]

The fridge in my Bongo is a three way fridge,It has never been connected up for gas use though.
What I do is plug the van into the house for a couple of hours pre loading up to get the fridge really cold then put whatever you are taking in the fridge and flick the swith to 12v for travelling.Mine also has split charge relay that automatically charges the leisure battery as you are driving so having the fridge on doesnt drain whilst on the move.Once at site plug back into the 240v and flick the switch to suit on the fridge it works fine.
If staying longer than 2 days non hook up I just start up for 10 minutes a day to keep the charge up on the battery.The vehicle battery is on a different circuit so no need to worry about draining that at all.
Dabs

[barry5933]

Resurrecting the "Fridge" thread ...

We have just returned from a chilly (for "chilly" read very, very cold with the zips on the awning frozen solid by morning) weekend away in the HyLo, 2001 Berlingo model.

Leaving the site, we noticed that the red 12 volt switch on the fridge was not illuminated. Engine was running, switch panel changed over to "vehicle" as opposed to "caravan" battery, yellow dash switch pushed in and illuminated, but no light in the red switch.

We are sure that there used to be a red glow when checked on previous trips, but we cannot be 100% certain.

As it was so cold, and we had been running the fridge off mains hook up anyway, it was impossible to tell from temperature of the contents whether the fridge was working on 12 volt or not.

So all you experts, where do I look first?

I know there is a fuse in the engine bay somewhere, if that has blown, would the dash switch still illuminate?

I also know there is a relay somewhere controlled by this circuit. Where is it and how do I check if it is still working?

Could it be just the pilot bulb in the switch? If so, how do I get it out to test?

I there a simple way to test if the fridge is working off the 12 volt system?

Any other ideas?

Over to you.

[ant]

Hi Barry.
A 2001 Hylo will have its fuses under the bonnet in front of the battery. The fridge fuse is the 20amp one with the yellow wire coming from it. If you want to test the fridge opperation remove this fuse and put an amp metre across the fuse holder, with the engine running and fridge turned on on the dash you should get a reading of about 8 to 12 amps. If you do then the switch bulb has gone which I would live with until the fridge has to come out for any other reason.
The fridge relay is also under the bonnet below the fuses in front of the battery, there are two relays, one battery charging one fridge. the fridge relay has a heavy yellow wire coming from it. The dash switch switches the relay, so you can get someone to put a finger on it while you switch it on and off- you will feel the relay clicking. The relays do suffer where they're situated so may well need replacing.
Hope this helps
Ant

[barry5933]

Thanks for that, I will investigate come the weekend and report back>

[barry5933]

OK - so there we were, my son with his multimeter and I with a print out of Ant's words of wisdom.

First we checked the fuse - not blown. ;D

Then we checked the relay was clicking on and off - fine. ;D

Then my son put his head in the back and said "are you talking about this brightly illuminated red switch on the fridge".

I swear it was not working last weekend and now, there it was glowing like a searchlight!

I am just beginning to think that I need a bed in a Dementia Home rather than a Roma Home when he brushed the tip of his finger against the switch - and THE LIGHT WENT OUT.

Further touching, wiggling, pressing sideways etc followed with the light going on and off at will.

So it seems that it is the switch, either with a dodgy contact inside or a suspect connection to the 12 v wiring.

Am I right in thinking that the fridge has to come out to get to the switch for attention? How easy is it to remove, is the gas hard piped or is there sufficient flexible tubing to enable removal while still connected? Are replacement switches easily obtainable? Has anyone else experienced this problem? What is the meaning of life?

So many questions ...

Any answers

[ant]

Barry.
relax! some of those fidges didn't have a light in the switch so if it goes out don't panic. If your arms aren't too thick you can get to the back of the switch by removing the vent outside, if the wires are loose you'll be able to shove them back on. With two of you you could push the switch out a little way, but the wires are very shot and live so you'll probably push them off and blow the 5 amp fuse in the Romahome fuse box under the bonnet. Removing the fridge may be the final answer and without seeing it I can't tell you if the gas pipe will come with it or not, ( any way if the pipe is still a lunken flexy it needs changing to a solid copper).
Romahome ownership is not suppused to be stressful, so if the fridge works look on it as part of the vans personality!!

[barry5933]

Thanks Ant for the tips.

My only concern was, not with the pilot bulb, but more with the contacts in the switch itself. Although it may be working on the final check before moving off, if the switch is that delicate will the first bump in the road possibly cause the switch to break contact and turn the fridge off.

Obviously it is not a real problem at this time of year since we use mains hook up on site and it is not exactly tropical temperatures outside.

We will, as you suggest, live with it for the time being and monitor what happens. If there is a serious problem it can be sorted in the Spring when servicing time comes around.