ENGLES WON'T WORK
Submitted: Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 20:07
ThreadID:
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MarJac
Can anyone offer any help? I cannot get my 3 year old 40 litre Engel to work on 12v. It works fine on 240V. I have tested all the usual things, and I have 12v or more at all of the critical
places, ie the battery, the socket, the fridge end of the cord as
well as the fuse in the back of the fridge. I have also made sure it is turned on at the temperature dial.
When I turn it on after plugging everything in, the little green power light comes on, but then fades away. The LED light inside the fridge does not come on at all.
The unit worked perfectly about a month ago, I have not changed anything.
Can anyone offer any help?
Thanks
Reply By: GT Campers - Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 20:14
Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 20:14
I had this same problem a few weeks ago... worked on 240 in-vehicle but not very
well on 12V. 0-5C when 240 delivered (-)16!
I had 12V everywhere I needed 12V
check your earth!!
at the plug, between the plug and vehicle body
AnswerID:
482451
Follow Up By: MarJac - Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 20:52
Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 20:52
thanks GT,
But I have checked all conections with a multimeter, and everything checks out ok.
FollowupID:
757686
Follow Up By: Member - Fred B (NT) - Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 20:56
Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 20:56
Multimeter will not necessarily show you the fault.... bad connection under load will mean low volts, and fridge will stop. One dry, loose or dirty connection will do it.
regards
FollowupID:
757687
Follow Up By: MarJac - Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 21:09
Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 21:09
Thanks Guys,
All conections are tight and clean.
FollowupID:
757688
Follow Up By: GT Campers - Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 21:43
Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 21:43
yeah as Fred said multimeter may not show the fault - as I did, you will see 12V. Go looking for crook terminals - especially on the earth side of things. can you 'hotwire' the earth circuit
FollowupID:
757689
Follow Up By: Member - Mark (Tamworth NSW) - Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 21:48
Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 21:48
One diagnosis
tools can sometimes be, IF it works in 12 when the engine is working, but not when engine is turned off.
IF that is the case, then fridge is fine, but either earth problem or positive connection (low volts to fridge) problem in the vehicle.
Not applicable to your problem, but I spent an hour today working on my male 12V Hella connection when for my Waeco, but it turned out to be the blasted fuse within the 240V power supply. Not always the most likely culprit!
Mark
FollowupID:
757690
Follow Up By: fisho64 - Saturday, Apr 07, 2012 at 00:15
Saturday, Apr 07, 2012 at 00:15
Go as far into it as poss (close to the compressor) and put your multimeter on there while running it on 12V. A big volt drop when it starts up is telling you there is a poor earth, sagged battery, bad connection etc.
As it wont get down as cold on 12V but is running thats where Id be looking.
FollowupID:
757695
Follow Up By: MarJac - Sunday, Apr 08, 2012 at 07:16
Sunday, Apr 08, 2012 at 07:16
Thanks to all who have replied. However, I do feel like a bit of a fool. I have found the fault, it is a $2 fuse holder. It was allowing 12v to pass without load, but would not allow the start up load that the fridge pulls. I have cleaned and tightened the fuse conections, it seems fine now, thanks again.
Mark.
FollowupID:
757747
Follow Up By: Member - mechpete - Sunday, Apr 08, 2012 at 12:47
Sunday, Apr 08, 2012 at 12:47
I had the same problem a few years back .
had 12v at the plug , light would come on but the motor wouldn,t run ,
found in the end the fuse had a dirty connection and under load the power
would drop away , cleaned it up an all ok
mechpete
FollowupID:
757769
Follow Up By: GT Campers - Sunday, Apr 08, 2012 at 19:41
Sunday, Apr 08, 2012 at 19:41
mate don't feel foolish! You got it sorted and we all learned some new diagnostic skills.. again...
was it a fuse holder in teh fridge, or in a circuit that someone had installed?
FollowupID:
757813
Follow Up By: MarJac - Monday, Apr 09, 2012 at 18:08
Monday, Apr 09, 2012 at 18:08
It was the inline fuse holder in the power cord supplied with the fridge.
FollowupID:
757888
Reply By: gke - Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 21:48
Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 21:48
I cured a similar problem by very carefully bending the 3 prongs at the bottom where the 12v cord plugs in. This seemed to improve the quality of the contact, and all worked again. Cheers, Graham.
AnswerID:
482455
Reply By: Ross M - Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 23:04
Friday, Apr 06, 2012 at 23:04
G'day MarJac
Thes edon't use much power but the connections have to be tight on the pins so I squeezed mine with pliers to clamp it up and is now very tight to push in and contacts reliably.
If you use a 50 watt down light globe and plug it into the fridge plug it will load test the plug for you. Not good light and good volts at pins means the cable or the cig socket is crook. Cig sockets get corroded too and won't pass current. Sort of electrical constipation.
The voltmeter/multimeter only reads a voltage level and not an amp flow so although an indicator, as mentioned it is only a sign there is voltage but maybe no flow.
Go with the flow.
Ross M
AnswerID:
482456
Reply By: GT Campers - Saturday, Apr 07, 2012 at 08:19
Saturday, Apr 07, 2012 at 08:19
Is it mounted in a vehicle? Is the socket original or one you have fiitted? Is it in a camper? Is teh camper earthed... etc
Can you try the fridge plugged into another car/12V?
AnswerID:
482462
Reply By: ABR - SIDEWINDER - Saturday, Apr 07, 2012 at 11:38
Saturday, Apr 07, 2012 at 11:38
Back probe each joint while the fridge is trying to start, that way you will find the problem.
As already mentioned it could be a loose earth or even a corroded fuse.
Regards
Derek from ABR
AnswerID:
482464
Reply By: Member - Bucky - Saturday, Apr 07, 2012 at 13:02
Saturday, Apr 07, 2012 at 13:02
MarJac
Tried it in someone elsed vehicle ?
Cheers
Bucky
AnswerID:
482468