<span class="highlight">Engel</span> fridge cable wiring

Submitted: Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 15:21
ThreadID: 90056 Views:14636 Replies:4 FollowUps:6
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Hello people,

Can anyone provide wiring diagrams or pin descriptions for old-style Engel 12V and 240V cables? The reason I ask is that I found an old 15l 12V/240V unit that was being thrown out at a university. It's old and dirty but otherwise looks sound enough. I'll be happy to pay the price for new cables once I establish how well, if at all, it works. So I just want to try to bodgy up some cables first, just to try it out. Pulling it apart and reverse engineering is one option, but maybe someone out there can spare me the work and risk of damage?

Many thanks,
Jonathan
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Reply By: Brett H - Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 15:57

Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 15:57
Hi Jonathan,

I happen to have a 40l on ebay for auction at the moment, so I can tell you what the 12v wiring is while I still have it.
On the 12v cable I have the 2 connectors that are parallel to each other are the +ve while the single pin is the earth.
As far as the 240v cable goes on mine, its the same as any 'kettle' plug ie. typical pc power cord etc.

Hope this helps.

Brett
AnswerID: 469842

Follow Up By: Jonathan S - Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 16:07

Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 16:07
Hey many thanks for the reply Brett. But it sounds like yours is a different model from mine.

On mine the 12V has four pins arranged as two side by side, then further to the side, two next to each other vertically. Hmmm in text graphics something like ". . :" except imagine the full stops are raised a little to they are half way between the dots of the colon.

The 240V connector is three pins almost in a horizontal line, but with the middle one slightly longer and slightly lower than the other two. I guess that means the middle one is the earth - can probably test that with a multitester to be sure.

Cheers Jonathan
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Reply By: sweetwill - Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 17:24

Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 17:24
hello jonathan s.
where are you? maybe someone nearby could help you out,im in Wollongong.
AnswerID: 469846

Follow Up By: Jonathan S - Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 17:27

Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 17:27
Thanks for the offer sweetwill, but I'm in Melbourne.

Cheers, Jonathan
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Reply By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 20:53

Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 20:53
Hi Jonathan

Regardless of age, you can still buy brand new Engel power leads to suit your fridge from your nearest Engel parts stockist.


Cheers


Stephen
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AnswerID: 469859

Reply By: Dion - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 13:04

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 13:04
Jonathan,
I just measured mine, it's a series B, the same as you have.

DC cable;
The two pins that would make the top (horizontal) of the 'Tee', they provide a loop circuit, so that even if you were to provide pos and neg correctly to the other two pins, you will still need to loop the outer two pins.

The other two pins that make the leg (vertical) of the 'Tee' are pos and neg. Pos is the pin in the middle (or closest to the top of the 'Tee') and neg is the bottom pin.

. . Loop

. Pos

. Neg.

AC cable;
the active is on the right as you hold the plug in front of you, note that it shares the Neg(DC) pin from the DC cable.
The neutral is on the left.
The earth is in the middle.

With A and B series Engel's, you physically cannot get both AC and DC cables in at the same time, even if you removed the slide, as both AC and DC cables share a common pin.

. . Loop (DC)

. Pos (DC)

. Neg (DC) Active (AC)

. Earth (AC)

. Neutral (AC).

fingers crossed when submitted, all will line up as I intended it to be.

Of course C series on Engel's, both AC and DC cables no longer share a common pin and can be plugged in simultaneously.

Cheers,
Dion.

AnswerID: 469911

Follow Up By: Dion - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 13:06

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 13:06
Ok the dots representing the pins didn't quite line up the formatting has ignored the leading spaces. But hopefully you get the picture.

Cheers,
Dion.
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FollowupID: 744350

Follow Up By: Jonathan S - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 14:13

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 14:13
Thanks Dion, that's exactly what I needed to know and did the trick! A couple of comments:

1. My fridge started on 12V without the loop being connected. I'm wondering whether mine is a different model (it's marked V76 - 182 model MRFT - 515A-A4) or whether the loop interacts with the thermostat in more complicated ways. Presumably it's designed to provide a way to turn off the fridge if the battery is low, or alternatively to override the thermostat and turn it on when there is surplus power (?) Anyway, no problems, it's working.

2. I made it work on 240V AC before your reply, having established that the earth was the centre pin I thought I'd just not worry about active and neutral (having an RCD and wearing rubber soled shoes just in case!) I still find it surprising that it shares the active rather than the neutral line with the DC circuit, just wanted to query how certain you were that this was correct.

Cheers,
Jonathan
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Follow Up By: Dion - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 19:22

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 19:22
Jonathan, glad you've had some success.
With the AC cable direct into a GPO, with one probe of the multimeter in the right side pin (as you look at it), I was measuring ~240VAC against the left and the centre pin (courtesy of the MEN link). With both probes in the left and centre pins, nil voltage (as the MEN link would provide no potential).
My AC cable hasn't been altered in any way.
I wonder what purpose the loop then serves?

Mine is the 29/30L Engel, but still a B series, which shares same cables as A and B series of all sizes.

Cheers,
Dion.
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FollowupID: 744382

Follow Up By: Jonathan S - Monday, Nov 14, 2011 at 13:49

Monday, Nov 14, 2011 at 13:49
OK that sounds pretty convincing. I guess one reason to share the active AC with the DC circuit might be that it can run that lead straight through the thermostat.

Who knows about the loop? If I do take it all apart one day maybe I'll reverse engineer it. But for now it works, and that was my primary objective.

Many thanks once again.

Cheers Jonathan
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