3-way fridge fault question
Submitted: Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:35
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Road Warrior
Chaps
My 3-way fridge has decided to stop working on 240V and 12V power. Still runs ok on gas, but its all kind of pointless without mains or 12V power.
People have said to me that it is most likely the element which heats the little boiler. However the manufacturer (Gasmate) has told me there are 2 separate elements - one for 240V and one for 12V. Trouble is, I'm having difficulty finding the two, see below:
The bottom tube is, I assume for gas operation. Its appearance is consistent with gas, and has the igniter just above it (the white thing).
The other bit under the boiler is I assume one of the heating elements for electrical power, but I don't know which one - or does it do both? There is no transformer inside the back of the fridge that I can see to break 240V down to 12V so...if there is another heating element, where is it?
Reply By: Notso - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:45
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:45
What brand of fridge is it?
AnswerID:
463647
Follow Up By: Roughasguts - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:47
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:47
Gasmate
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Follow Up By: Notso - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:48
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:48
OOPs, should pay more attention, don't know the gasmate.
FollowupID:
737480
Follow Up By: Notso - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:55
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:55
If they are like most of the 3 ways the 12 and 240 volt elements will be about half way along the boiler.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Road Warrior - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:01
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:01
Nah on this one all I can see is (what I assume to be) an element at the base of the boiler and nothing along the side of it. There are a bunch of wires going into the top of it, but the whole unit appears to be sealed and I can't see what they do/where they go.
FollowupID:
737484
Reply By: Roughasguts - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:46
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:46
Do you see an
Orange wire??? that should be the 12 volt to your fridge!
Cheers.
AnswerID:
463648
Follow Up By: Road Warrior - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:52
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:52
It's a Gasmate fridge, and there is a yellow wire and some sort of hard unsheathed steel wire going to the element. Thats all there is going to the underside of the boiler, apart from the gas line of course.
FollowupID:
737481
Follow Up By: Roughasguts - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:59
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 16:59
Hmmmmm Yellow would be a indicator wire if it comes from the 12 volt plug on the car.
Pull your 7 pin glug apart and start tracing the
orange wire!! but maybe in this case the
orange wire ended up at a turn signal instead of the fridge.
So then the yellow wire maybe and I stress maybe the 12 volt fridge wire!!! don't electocute yourself trying to find out which it is.
Cheers
FollowupID:
737483
Follow Up By: Road Warrior - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:03
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:03
I'm talking about the actual innards of the fridge. That picture I posted is of the inside after I took the back off. The car has nothing to do with it!
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Roughasguts - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:08
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:08
Yes it has! cause thats where the 12 volt feed would come from! trace that feed as it goes in to the fridge wiring box and and then trace the coluor they have chosen from there to your 12 volt element.
Cheers.
FollowupID:
737486
Follow Up By: Road Warrior - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:19
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:19
The 12V plug for the supplied cable has a red and blue wire going off it. It goes to a
junction box which has a bunch of white protected wires coming out of it. The yellow wire that runs to the element runs to the switching mechanism at the other end. That switch is something to do with the gas.
Actually I have now come to the conclusion that this 'element' is something to do with the gas part of it - the other elements must be something to do with those wires that go into the top of the boiler and disappear because they have 2 layers of protective sheathing on them.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Roughasguts - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:26
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:26
Have you got a multi meter or even a 12 volt
test light. Use this to check out the 12 volt section provided your NOT conected to 240 Volt.
Sorry my bad thought this fridge was in a Caravan then my wiring thought would hold up.
Cheers.
FollowupID:
737488
Follow Up By: Notso - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:28
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:28
I reckon you are right about the wires going into the top, I've had a look around the web but can't find any info or a manual that would help.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Road Warrior - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:29
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:29
Yeah sorry I should have clarified, it is a portable unit
I have a multimeter and will plug it in to a jump starter to
test - back in a minute!
FollowupID:
737490
Follow Up By: Road Warrior - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:43
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 17:43
"The lights are on but nobody's home" the light comes on, but like last time when I tried nothing else goes on. There is nowhere for me to attach the pins of the multimeter really and the boiler is sealed.
The owner's manual is of course useless, I guess I should accept the fact that "you get what you pay for" and planned obsolescence is part and parcel with some of this cheap gear. But I wanted to have a crack at fixing it first.
This is looking like being a bin job.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Road Warrior - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 18:02
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 18:02
OK just to make a liar out of me the boiler got warm on 12V power so I'm at a bit of a loss to work out what is going on here!
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Follow Up By: Roughasguts - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 18:09
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 18:09
Shaking these things up is sometimes all it takes with these Gas obsorb Ammonia fridges.
Cheers.
FollowupID:
737493
Follow Up By: spudseamus - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 21:45
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 21:45
turn it upside down or on its side overnight --then plug in and see if it has come alive again!
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Follow Up By: oldtrack123 - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 22:19
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 22:19
Hi
Seems some are getting a little side tracked here
The OP said it works on gas so it is not a system problem
NO NEED TO TURN IT UPSIDE down
Hi Road warrior
As it now seems it is heating on 12v check the voltage as close as you can to the fridge,they need a good 12v+ to operate
How are you connecting it to 12v??
Has it worked OK on 12v previously??
The 240v side is very likely the element burnt out, but you would need to know which wires go to it to do ANY tests
The elements will be under the steel & heat insulation of the cylrindrical sides of the boiler
Peter
Remember playing with 240v can be deadly
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Follow Up By: oldtrack123 - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 22:26
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 22:26
Hi
Re:"Road Warrior posted:
It's a Gasmate fridge, and there is a yellow wire and some sort of hard unsheathed steel wire going to the element. Thats all there is going to the underside of the boiler, apart from the gas line of course""
They have nothing to do with the 12v or 240v heaters
The yellow one will be the igniter
The hard steel one is the Flame failure senser
The heater wires WILL go in either @ the sides or near the top & probably 3 wires
One for 12v & two for the 240v
Perhaps a ic of anything further up from the burner might help
Peter
FollowupID:
737501
Follow Up By: oldtrack123 - Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 22:33
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 at 22:33
Hi
OOPs just had a close look @ the pic
I see there is a very small yelow wire going into the bottom right against the flue tube , so that is not the igniter
I would also doubt it is the element 12v feed .
Seems too small & not very well protected against damage from metal cutting
Peter
FollowupID:
737503
Follow Up By: Road Warrior - Sunday, Aug 28, 2011 at 10:29
Sunday, Aug 28, 2011 at 10:29
Thanks Peter
Not wanting to risk myself playing with 240V I reassembled it and plugged it into the mains - no bingo. No heat, no temp drop in the cabinet. The little light came on though showing power is going into the unit but that is it. Removing the cover from the boiler appears to be a bit of a mission - can't see any screws or clips to get the whole shooting match off.
FollowupID:
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