RE Fridge/freezer problem

Hi. you don't say what brand or size of fridge it is but it is quite possible that the wiring to your cigarette socket is not heavy enough. Does the fridge work with the engine running and plugged in to the lighter socket, if it does then the wiring definately needs to be upgraded. Bob

Is it a Waeco?

hi you need to set up a dedicated 20 amp wire with an inline fuse to run your fridge off in particular if it is a waeco directly from your battery
cig liter socket wiring on almost all vehicles is far to small to operate a fridge off it
the signals your getting is indicating the fridge is not geting enough current to run
many others have had the very same problem
cheers

There are a gazillion threads on this and other forums on this. As per what a few others said, it it the tiny wiring in your vehicle which is underrated to save money. You need to get it upgraded and all will be well.

Thank you to all who have replied, I think you have solved my problem and I will check out the wiring. The fridge is a Ozrover.

Hi Terry

As mentioned you should run a dedicated cable. We recommend 6mm2 cable as shown below.



Regards

Derek from ABR

Thanks for the diagram, Sidewinder unfortunately I`m in NSW and you are in Qld otherwise I would get you to do it. Much appreciated for all the advise from all who took the time to add their comments.

Terry, cigarette lighter plugs are the last thing I would use for anything I would require to be reliable. The sockets in cars were not designed to make a good connection, in fact the reverse. The cigarette lighter was pushed up onto the contact, the poor connection in its socket was part of the heating process. If the existing socket is slightly dirty this could be part of your problem.

Your Waeco plug had a red/orange sleeve that can be removed to convert the plug into a Merit plug. These make better contact in the socket. The positive connector slides into the socket connector, this provides a self cleaning action each time you insert or remove the plug. The slide in connection also has more surface connection and more tension on the contact. Contrast this with cigarette lighter plug that just pushed up with socket connector, no self clean and minimal contact.

I suggest you get a Merit socket (or a few) postal order from Derek or somewhere like Jaycar. This will make a more reliable connection for your fridge.

Thank you Peter I will check out all options.