sidewinder fridge problems

Submitted: Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 20:10

ThreadID: 80300 Views:4248 Replies:2 FollowUps:14

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fugwurgin

hi
im after any information from people who have/had an ABR sidewinder fridge.
i have one and is permanently mounted in the back of my rodeo running off a 100ah battery. the batt gets charged using a 3 stage charger everynight (or second night at worse). i set the temp to -2 and the fridge runs at about 5 degrees (in about 33 degree ambient), the last 3 nights it has jumped up to around 20 degrees. it still has power but its as though the compressor isnt kicking in. i turn it off and on again and it seems to run fine again. only seems to happen at night.
ive checked all connections and the fan is clear from dust etc.
any suggestions?
the fridge is connected to the battery when it gets charged, but i didnt charge it last night and the fridge still ran hot, so ive eliminated the charger being related to it.
the fridge has been good so far except not being able to maintain a constant temp, it varies alot but only by a few degrees, this is probably normal.

thanks in advance.

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Reply By: Best Off Road - Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 21:53

Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 21:53

Have you called the supplier?

I'm sure he would relish the chance to support his product and I'm sure he is better qualified to deal with product issues than the general public.

AnswerID: 425211

Follow Up By: fugwurgin - Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 22:06

Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 22:06

no doubt he would relish the chance to support his product. i am wanting feedback from USERS of these fridges to see if anyone has come across this problem. thanks anyway.

FollowupID: 695754

Follow Up By: Shaker - Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 11:17

Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 11:17

Wouldn't the supplier have feedback from all owners that may have had problems, instead of the few that may read this thread?

FollowupID: 695798

Follow Up By: fugwurgin - Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 14:27

Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 14:27

shaker
i would assume the supplier would have feedback from owners. i dont doubt that.
i have chosen to ask for feedback from USERS\OWNERS on this forum first.
thanks, (i think)

FollowupID: 695819

Follow Up By: Best Off Road - Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 20:02

Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 20:02

So, have you spoken to the supplier today, and if so, what is his response/advise?

FollowupID: 695851

Follow Up By: fugwurgin - Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 20:15

Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 20:15

thank you for your interest in this. no i havent spoken to Derek yet. The fridge is working fine now and perhaps the issue lies within the battery. i will monitor it for a bit longer and if it happens again i will contact him to see what he suggests.
one again, thanks for your interest and if a solution comes to hand i will let you know.

cheers

FollowupID: 695854

Follow Up By: Best Off Road - Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 20:41

Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 20:41

I think in fairness to a business, you ought approach them about any perceived problem with their product before making statements on a public forum.

Such comments have the propensity to harm that business as the average punter may read them and conclude that the product is of poor quality. You have, and I don't believe by intent, slurred the said business unfairly. Give it some thought.

Regards,

Jim Best.

FollowupID: 695871

Follow Up By: fugwurgin - Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 21:22

Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 21:22

Hi Jim
i dont think i have made any negative "statements" about the business or the product, i have been very happy with the fridge (still am), i have purchased many items from the ABR store and will purchase again.
i can appreciate that you are a business member and probably have a different perspective about threads relating to products sold by other members than the average punter- so be it!

I have read many threads about the quality or reliability of many products on here, waeco, engel, nissan, toyota, hema, navman etc etc etc and people having problems with them, i cant see how my topic is any different (except its a product sold by an exploreoz business member).
All i was stating was my specific problem which happens to be with a sidewinder fridge and asked for feedback from other owners who would have an unbiased response.

Dont read too much into things jim- give that some thought!

anthony

FollowupID: 695875

Reply By: Battery Value Pty Ltd - Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 21:56

Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 21:56

battery voltage while connected to fridge, been measured and sitting above 12V?

Maybe a shorted cell?

cheers, Peter

AnswerID: 425212

Follow Up By: fugwurgin - Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 22:10

Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 22:10

hi peter
battery probs was my first thoughts so have measured voltage as often as ive been monitoring the temp.
battery voltage is above 12, and the eye indicator is green. i hope its not a dropped cell, but wouldnt it play up during the day aswell?
i was thinking it may have been the thermostat.

cheers

FollowupID: 695756

Follow Up By: Battery Value Pty Ltd - Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 22:45

Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 at 22:45

Now that you mention the eye indicator, I remember vaguely there was a battery issue in the not too distant past?

Although the battery voltage looks fine, the battery may have sulphated up to such an extent that it cannot supply the high inrush current of the fridge compressor.

And because the battery capacity, and internal resistance depend on temperature, things are worse during cool/cold nights.

Why not wire the fridge up to the starter battery and do a test run early morning?
BTW, I doubt that the thermostat is faulty because it doesn't care about night or day time.

cheers, Peter

FollowupID: 695760

Follow Up By: fugwurgin - Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 07:37

Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 07:37

thanks again peter, yes the eye indicator wouldnt go green for me a while back, but that was due to me not having the charger set to calcium (on battery worlds advice) which you steered me in the right direction of what settings to use. eye is now green!!!
i will do a test run on the starter batt to see.
im in the NT at the moment and the coldest night we have had here this week was 25 degrees, so i dont think it was the cold making it play up.
the only reason i thought it might be the thermostat is that if it was faulty it might not have been telling the compressor to kick in again and it was an intermittent fault with it occurring at night on co-incidence.
i noticed this morning that it didnt warm up overnight but kept cool at about 4 degrees. i am concerned about the battery now you mention "dropped cell" this is my second Allrounder, first one dropped a cell and was replaced.
thank you very much for your suggestions.

FollowupID: 695774

Follow Up By: Battery Value Pty Ltd - Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 08:37

Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 08:37

No worries fugwurgin.

In a go/no go situation like this one, a few degrees temperature change could be all that's needed to tip the scale.

But you're right if something else than the battery is at fault, it could be coincidence if it plays up at night.
So you might have to wait and keep observing for a few more days.

With this flooded type battery, don't expect miracles from it in terms of cycle life.
And if you recharge it overnight (8 hours?), chances are that it won't be fully charged before the next discharge session during the day.
Shortens the life even more.

Best regards, Peter

FollowupID: 695785

Follow Up By: Member - Gary J (NSW) - Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 14:22

Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 14:22

Hi Peter,
Have you tried the fridge on 240V?
That should sort out whether it's the fridge or the battery.

FollowupID: 695817

Follow Up By: fugwurgin - Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 14:32

Monday, Jul 26, 2010 at 14:32

hi gary
its my fridge, not peters.

i havent tried it on 240 yet, will try it if it plays up again.

cheers

FollowupID: 695820

Follow Up By: Dust-Devil - Wednesday, Jul 28, 2010 at 01:20

Wednesday, Jul 28, 2010 at 01:20

Just ring the dude you bought it from and see what he has got to say about it.

It's not like you bought it from 'flash harry's' or Jumbo Bests during a 'fire sale' price type of thing.

The supplier in question might even have a suggestion or three that may have your fridge setup running colder than an Emporer Penquins Butt.

No! I do not have any business interests whatsoever with this organisation or any others for that matter. (I'm retired)

It just C h i t s me off when people refuse to exhaust ALL avenues of enquiry available to them re their problem/s, before airing them on this forum.

DD

FollowupID: 695999