magicsurfbus
Free Member
I have an ongoing problem with my CI Carioca 656's fridge in 12v mode - so far three different MH technicians and an auto electrician have looked into it and the problem remains. I would welcome any suggestions from the community as it's frankly getting on my nerves now.
The fridge will only operate on 12v when the engine is running, and (typically) is linked to a control panel that monitors engine and leisure battery state. When I start the engine and monitor the voltage in the circuit there is a clear increase in voltage as the battery charger starts up. However, when the fridge is switched to 12v there is a steady drain on the voltage until it drops below the level where the control panel cuts off the fridge in order to preserve engine battery voltage. The fridge then repeatedly switches on and off as the voltage fluctuates around this cut off point.
The engine battery is an 80Ah Bosch Silver battery bought new and fitted last July. The fridge is 7 years old. The charger is definitely putting power into the circuit when the engine runs. All the fuses have been checked and are OK. It seems to me there are three options here:
1. I have a duff engine battery. The fridge problem pre-dates the new battery, which is why I had the original 2005 vintage battery replaced last summer. The voltage on the engine battery at rest is below 13v - that doesn't seem healthy to me. It's still under warranty so I might be able to get it replaced.
2. The fridge is drawing more 12v current than normal - any thoughts on if/why that might be happening? It works fine on 230v and gas.
3. There's something up with the charger. The new engine battery is a higher rating (80Ah) than the original. Could the charger simply not be up to the task of topping it up?
The leisure battery is topped up by a charge-controlled 85W solar panel but I can't see any evidence that this is messing with the fridge or control panel.
Any thoughts/opinions etc most welcome - we're off to France soon and we're not supposed to drive around with our fridge on gas over there. Plus I'm getting fed up with paying people to not find the solution.
The fridge will only operate on 12v when the engine is running, and (typically) is linked to a control panel that monitors engine and leisure battery state. When I start the engine and monitor the voltage in the circuit there is a clear increase in voltage as the battery charger starts up. However, when the fridge is switched to 12v there is a steady drain on the voltage until it drops below the level where the control panel cuts off the fridge in order to preserve engine battery voltage. The fridge then repeatedly switches on and off as the voltage fluctuates around this cut off point.
The engine battery is an 80Ah Bosch Silver battery bought new and fitted last July. The fridge is 7 years old. The charger is definitely putting power into the circuit when the engine runs. All the fuses have been checked and are OK. It seems to me there are three options here:
1. I have a duff engine battery. The fridge problem pre-dates the new battery, which is why I had the original 2005 vintage battery replaced last summer. The voltage on the engine battery at rest is below 13v - that doesn't seem healthy to me. It's still under warranty so I might be able to get it replaced.
2. The fridge is drawing more 12v current than normal - any thoughts on if/why that might be happening? It works fine on 230v and gas.
3. There's something up with the charger. The new engine battery is a higher rating (80Ah) than the original. Could the charger simply not be up to the task of topping it up?
The leisure battery is topped up by a charge-controlled 85W solar panel but I can't see any evidence that this is messing with the fridge or control panel.
Any thoughts/opinions etc most welcome - we're off to France soon and we're not supposed to drive around with our fridge on gas over there. Plus I'm getting fed up with paying people to not find the solution.