14' Series dometic fridge 2005 expanda 12v issue?

[Brenton]

Hey guys, my van which i bought recently works on 240v and gas. the little red switch for 12v (i think) doesn't light up when connected to the car. its got a 7 pin flat plug and an anderson which the bloke i bought it off told me it charges the battery and runs the fridge. battery charging works when plugged in but the light doesn't light up on the red switch. either the bulb/light doesn't work or its not getting power. haven't traced the wires back yet, anyone had issues or is there something i am doing wrong? I haven't driven it long enough purely on 12v to see if the fridge keeps cool as thought maybe its just the bulb however i dont want to do a large trip to arrive and have all of my food and drinks hot.

Below is a pic of my fridge. green switch 240v, red 12v and yellow on the right for gas.

any idea where the fuse is located for these things?

 

[WHHEMI]

Are you sure the wiring on the tow vehicle is correct.

 

[Brenton]

Are you sure the wiring on the tow vehicle is correct.

yep 100% i wired the car it is good and powered my camper trailer fine. its definitely an issue with the van. i will have to trace the wires back from the fridge and just make sure it is all connected properly and try and find the fuse for the fridge. i have read online some of them have the fuse at the back of the fridge i might pull it out and inspect it

 

[MDS69]

Trace the wires. You may have a fridge switch fitted which when motionless is open circuit and in motion closes and provides power to the fridge. Helps prevent draining your car battery when stopped for lunch etc.

http://rvelectronics.com.au/index.php?route=product/category&path=57

 

[Brenton]

yeah i had a look on the weekend and the anderson is only going to the battery in the van not the fridge and is working as it charges when I drive. i will need to figure out where and how the fridge runs. is it possible its hooked into the aux wire on the trailer plug which I would imagine that a 7 pin flat plug wouldn't have enough power to run it. i might have to trace the wires and pull it out and run a secondary anderson plug. any idea if there is a loom i can find the wire or the colour of the wire without having to remove the fridge? is there a trick?

 

[WHHEMI]

Remove bottom fridge vent, wires should be visible there.

 

[Drover]

Get the model number for the fridge and go online to the Dometic web site and download a manual. Remove the lower vent and you should see a black and a white wire going to a small connector block which will have a red and a black wires going to the fridge, should be a 12v label. the black and white wires are from the trailer plug, well should be anyway....Jayco use black and white wires for pos and neg so always check with a meter............If you run your fridge on 240 for a day or 2 before departure and load it with cold stuff then it won't matter if the 12v is working or not, it only keeps the fridge at temp and then only just, so doesn't really do much.

 

[Dobbie]

Yep...agree.

Our new Thetford all - magic all - wonderful electronically controlled fridge is good as a fridge....as it should be.

but.....to tell it to change over to DC when ready to roll...it just ignores us! Gas control is fine, 240 is fine but no go on DC. So we've just told it to ?!K@)(6$&/. and travelled with it turned off.

Freezer contents fine....other stuff fine...so who cares?

They could have done away with all that over design nonsense, kept it simple and functional and all would be hunky dory.

but it does come with fitted fans and is supposed to be 'tropical rated'.

The dometic in our previous van, when the fans were added, was great.......so it's worth doing. Get decent fans rather than make do with old computer ones...we tried this and the difference in efficiency is noticeable.

Also, the fittings are more suitable....or ours were.

 

[Drover]

Hey Dobs, have a look on my Big Mal thread, fixed the same thing on mine.........it's the D+ wire thats not connected I bet.

 

[Brenton]

Get the model number for the fridge and go online to the Dometic web site and download a manual. Remove the lower vent and you should see a black and a white wire going to a small connector block which will have a red and a black wires going to the fridge, should be a 12v label. the black and white wires are from the trailer plug, well should be anyway....Jayco use black and white wires for pos and neg so always check with a meter............If you run your fridge on 240 for a day or 2 before departure and load it with cold stuff then it won't matter if the 12v is working or not, it only keeps the fridge at temp and then only just, so doesn't really do much.

thanks for the info. so you are saying remove the lower vent on outside of van? when you say wires should be going to the trailer plug the vans only got a 7 pin flat plug, i wouldn't imagine any wires going to that would be for the fridge would they?

 

[WHHEMI]

thanks for the info. so you are saying remove the lower vent on outside of van? when you say wires should be going to the trailer plug the vans only got a 7 pin flat plug, i wouldn't imagine any wires going to that would be for the fridge would they?

Thats how the where all wired back in the day.

 

[Brenton]

Thats how the where all wired back in the day.

interesting, thanks did not know that. probably just cant get enough power then. So it would be wired to number 2 as per below i would imagine? is earth for them tapped into the earth wire on the plug or somewhere else?

maybe it is working then, i just assumed it wasnt as the red light isn't lighting up on the fridge. i might plug it in and pull the cover off the outside and run a test light on the wires and see if its getting any juice.

 

[WHHEMI]

interesting, thanks did not know that. probably just cant get enough power then. So it would be wired to number 2 as per below i would imagine? is earth for them tapped into the earth wire on the plug or somewhere else?

maybe it is working then, i just assumed it wasnt as the red light isn't lighting up on the fridge. i might plug it in and pull the cover off the outside and run a test light on the wires and see if its getting any juice.

A 12 pin plug would work, but seperate anderson would be best.

 

[Brenton]

A 12 pin plug would work, but seperate anderson would be best.

yeah its got an anderson running to the house batt to charge it, i might splice into that and run a wire to the fridge also to give it some juice.

 

[Brenton]

Remove bottom fridge vent, wires should be visible there.

do the vents just pop off?

 

[WHHEMI]

do the vents just pop off?

It depends on the type, take a pic

 

[Drover]

The wires are in the harness even if they aren't connected, you may find that the 12v supply to van cable will split further along and go to van and battery, since yours has an Anderson to the battery then you may find the wires are chopped in the harness, the best way to sort it out and save running extra cable would be to track and ID each cable using a multi meter. Pics along with your questions will help give correct advice instead of general info, can be so many versions and variations, not to mention mods carried out over the years............whats the fridge model ???

 

[Crusty181]

Before you start splitting and disconnecting, probably best to first connect up you car and make sure there is 12v at the fridge and what pin is providing that power so you know what your working with. The fridge will be trying to pull a lot of current through a 7 pin plug. In the perfect world the 7 pin would likely be fine but in the real world with dodgy connectors, corrosion, dirt, grease and road crap it will probably eventually fry the plug. As @Drover mentioned the 12v connection on the fridge will be inside the lower fridge vent.

 

[mfexpanda]

Before you start splitting and disconnecting, probably best to first connect up you car and make sure there is 12v at the fridge and what pin is providing that power so you know what your working with. The fridge will be trying to pull a lot of current through a 7 pin plug. In the perfect world the 7 pin would likely be fine but in the real world with dodgy connectors, corrosion, dirt, grease and road crap it will probably eventually fry the plug. As @Drover mentioned the 12v connection on the fridge will be inside the lower fridge vent.

Words of wisdom and not even a hint of sarcasm! Well done crusty

 

[Crusty181]

Words of wisdom and not even a hint of sarcasm! Well done crusty

Thanks ... Im at step 8 at S.A. (Sarcastic's Anonymous)