Lesson Learnt on recent trip

Submitted: Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 07:03

ThreadID: 48313 Views:3041 Replies:4 FollowUps:6

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Member - Brian H (QLD)

Had issues with my fridge while in my travels while at rest it was on gas and in vehicle on battery.

I found the problem when unpacking at home the fuse from the battery to the fridge was melted, a bit of concern at 20 amps and where it was (under the battery cover). Not sure when it melted although very pleased it never caught fire PHEWWWWW.

Anyway I am now considering apart from getting the wires checked, but have a gauge or light mounted in the cabin so I can see if the fridge is charging and I will also look at one of the temp gauges so I can see what temp is inside the fridge without openning.

Will also be getting a new fridge. I happy with this one and works fantastic on gas but basiclly sick of taking it in and out to put on gas when stopped overnight. Of course I could say as I age gracefully i'm getting smarter, mind you there is an arguement it could also be my back speaking as its aging. I would like to think its the former LOL.

Brian

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Reply By: DIO - Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 10:03

Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 10:03

Hello Brian, as a matter of interestt, what make and model was your fridge?

AnswerID: 255434

Follow Up By: Member - Brian H (QLD) - Friday, Aug 03, 2007 at 00:16

Friday, Aug 03, 2007 at 00:16

Chestcold an old one ........... has and still is a great fridge much better on Gas as we all know.

Brian

FollowupID: 516712

Reply By: Mainey (WA) - Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 12:17

Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 12:17

Brian, you say-> "....found the problem when unpacking AT HOME, the fuse from the battery to the fridge was MELTED, .... Not sure when it MELTED....."

When the fuse 'blows' it disintegrates causing a gap in the electrical circuit which causes there to be no current going any further along the cable.
This causes the fridge to stop running and all the food inside to warm up.

I think you would notice this when travelling... unless... it happened when you arrived home or when you removed the fridge from the vehicle at home.

If as you say the fuse just "melted" with-out disintergrating, that would be a problem as the current may have still been able to go to the fridge, including the current that 'blew' the fuse.
If the fuse was 'melted' but still INTACT, allowing the fridge to remain working, it's a dangerous situation as the 'fuse' was not working as intended and I would be changing the fuse holder and fuse system.
Was it a wire fuse (with-in a glass vial) or a blade fuse ??

AnswerID: 255455

Follow Up By: Member - Brian H (QLD) - Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 18:36

Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 18:36

Mainey,

Its a blade fuse. The food inside was still cold and I mean the beer was cold enough to drink mind you it was cold enough to drink from the carton from the back of the ute at 5 or minus 5 degrees most of the time it was hard to tell. As I only travelled at best 300 k a day and put the fridge on gas or power where ever i arrived at it really did not have time to get warm.

So to be really honest i'm not sure when it went so to speak. The issue is it failed and I'm wanting to fix what i feel could be a big issue some time down the track.

Brian

FollowupID: 516662

Reply By: Frank_Troopy - Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 13:00

Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 13:00

Sounds to me like the fuse holder melted, rather than the fuse itself blowing. The holder has to be capable of handling the amperage that the fridge will draw. Also bear in mind that the temperature under the battery cover could be significantly higher than elsewhere, adding to the likelihood of melting plastic.

Seems like you should shoulder the expense of having an auto-electrician do the job properly with components that are rated for the maximum current it will have to cope with. As batteries can give off hydrogen gas, the last thing you need is a source of ignition.

Cheers Frank.

AnswerID: 255461

Follow Up By: Member - Brian H (QLD) - Friday, Aug 03, 2007 at 00:09

Friday, Aug 03, 2007 at 00:09

Thanks for that vote of confidance in my ability to wire up my vehicle .......... which I know I don't have so THAT is why I get an auto electrician to do all my stuff on my vehicle ....... as this was done.............. GO FIGURE. Worked well on my Cape Trip 2 years ago and a couple of shorter one's just this trip was the issue.

I'm just saying I need to have something in the cabin which will give me early warning of NIL power to the fridge and I may prevent a situation. I still want to find out WHY this happened.

Also the fuse holder did not melt the fuse itself melted in the holder. The fridge _Affordable_Storage_Drawers.aspx 12 amps the fuse was 20 amps so figured it was covered.

Brian

FollowupID: 516709

Follow Up By: Frank_Troopy - Friday, Aug 03, 2007 at 08:40

Friday, Aug 03, 2007 at 08:40

Hi Brian,
Sorry if I offended you; of course I didn't know anythiing about your electrical competance. I just figured that the possible consequences were too serious to deal with in a half arsed fashion.

The fuse holder on my spotights melted a while back after working just fine for five years. I figured that there was an increased resistance at the contacts because of a buildup of dirt and it's been fine since I replaced it, but the point is that a holder can melt with the normal amperage that should should be handled just fine.

Now that you've said you get work done professionaly; it's not hard to get an alarm or light fitted on your dash that will show the loss of power.

Cheers Frank.

FollowupID: 516735

Follow Up By: Member - Brian H (QLD) - Friday, Aug 03, 2007 at 15:47

Friday, Aug 03, 2007 at 15:47

Sorry Frank ....... bad hair day lol ........ No offence taken. The reason I get my stuff done is I feel lost in even attenpting to mess with wiring and besides it would get done MUCH quicker if they just do it.

My other reason is if it did catch fire and insurance investigates and find you did your own wiring you may find you have a fight on your hands to get paid out. If thiers an out they will find it.

Brian

FollowupID: 516795

Reply By: Member -Dodger - Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 17:26

Thursday, Aug 02, 2007 at 17:26

If the fuse melted then there could have been a loose connection in the fuse holder causing a small arc and thus the heat generated would melt the fuse or holder. This is a common occurrence in the cheap blade fuse holders. Also it sometimes happens when one buys cheap fuses. My suggestion would be to replace both fuse holder and fuse making sure that the fuse is firm in the holder. And yes it has happened to me and I just renewed the lot with Superior gear.