Dometic fridge question.

Thanks Navara , I'll try trace the fridge cabling back.. its a bit hard in the hawk as it seems to go behind the front boot .. Anyway will check it out

Hi SS
If the element is open circuited [broken somewhere ] It will not affect the voltage
loosing voltage would normally mean a short circuit possibly in the element.
Depending on size of fridge , element resistance should be between 1 & 1.5 ohms

Turn all power & switchs off then check element resistance @ IT's terminals[@ boiler]

Thanks Paul,, Makes sense what you what you just said however I would have thought the fridge would have worked when I connected up my ctek battery charge straight into the fridge.. When I conected the ctek into the fridge inputs the ctek supply light turned off & voltage went to zero..

thxs SS

ss-ss

Get a battery instead of the ctek. A correctly working fridge will draw 12 - 14 A and your ctek won't cope so it may be normal for it to go to 0V.

Wire the battery DIRECTLY to the fridge connectors and put a 20 A fuse in line. If it really is taking everything to 0V that will blow for sure and in that case there is a short. But you should have blown fuses galore already if that is the case.

Are you aware that many fridges are not wired to the 12v of the camper/caravan. But run on a separate circuit to the trailer plug. Usually to pin 2 ( otherwise known as reverse). They also often have a separate 12v for aux functions to the 12v of the van. This is so they are only powered when the vehicle is connected and engine running.

When you say "connected directly" do you mean right at the connector adjacent to the fridge or directly to the 12v battery terminals in the trailer?

Also check to see if your reverse lights on the vehicle go off when you turn the fridge to 12v.

Hi SS,

I certainly do not profess any expertise in the field of electrics but simply passing on what I learnt from owning a Jayco myself. They have their own "trickle charger" to the battery but the on board battery doesn't connect to the fridge. The 12v on the dometic fridge works "reasonably" well but it is simply to keep the heating up process at bay rather than cooling anything down. best advice is to run the fridge 24+ hours before your trip on 240v, maintain during travelling via anderson plug ($100 from auto elect. best money you'll spend but make sure they use 6 - 8mm wire) and then if your free camping use gas (these fridges work a treat on gas). They are a good fridge for what they are.

cheers
Paul

Thanks a lot,,I will give those suggestions a go tomorrow...my charger is 7amp so if it's trying to pull 12amps no wonder it shut down... when I said 'connected directly' I meant I removed the lower ventilation vent behind the fridge & plugged it directly into the 12v input in the fridge...

I'm very happy with this fridge but would be handy to also use the 12v whilst driving between sites...

Cheers SS

Thanks Boobook , I did as you suggested & hooked the battery straight into the fridge with a breaker I had.. The fridge ran on 12v fine, it was pulling around 16amps so no wonder the charger shutdown when I connected it. I'm happy the fridge can operate on 240v,gas & 12v !!
I think I'll get some anderson connecters to wire from the car battery to the fridge for when we are on the road..

Cheers SS

Great.

Next 3 steps to make it cool nicely are

1)Take the fridge right out and then get a couple of insulation batts. Staple them to the sides of the opening around the cupboards and underneath the bench. In other words insulate all around the sides and top of the fridge keeping the back clear of insulation. This keeps your fridge cooler as well as the bench top.

2)Get as heavy wire as possible in the van AND in the vehicle. Those 16 Amps cause a massive voltage drop. something like 6AWG ( not 6mm) would be good, if not 8WG. Wire it to the main battery via a 40A relay that is powered from the accessories.

If you can't run new wires, you can double up the two wires to be the positive ( ie join the black and red wires at both ends and use them as the +12v) and run the - from the fridge to the chassis at the fridge end and at the plug end.

3)get a thermostat fan like this

Doing these changed my fridge while on 12v from warming to about 12 degrees to being able to cool from ambient to about 2 degrees.

I also took out the freezer door inside, now I can freeze stuff in the fridge, even on 12V

Good luck.