12V fridge caution (1 Viewer)

[DavidG58]

Maybe by sharing my predicament I can stop others doing the same. This happened last year using the Eurotunnel, they insist on gas being turned off, which I had done, but to keep food and beer chilled I switched my fridge manually to 12V, so while moving around would keep fridge temp down. What I never thought about was when on the train I do not remove my key from ignition, maybe our MH was wired up wrongly, but even with ignition set to off, but key still in for radio / MP3, the fridge must have stayed on 12V because when we stopped in France we stayed stopped on train!! Control panel confirmed cab battery at 11.4V.

Sorry to those behind who had to reverse off!! Many thanks to Euro Tunnel who were brill and jump started us, I expected to be pulled off and left. We do at least have a solar panel so we had a chance of a recharge before dark!!

David:thumb:

 

[Mel]

I would have thought on that Hymer model you have to run the engine to use the fridge on 12 volt.

Mel

 

[DavidG58]

Good spot Mel

We have changed MH since, but I would have thought the same would have applied to our older Pilote

David

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[Mel]

Always possible last owner has done some modifications.



Mel

 

[jonandshell]

Motorhomes are notorious for 'modifications'!

 

[pappajohn]

your fridge will draw around 10 amps per hour on 12v so the short trip under the channel should make little difference to your engine battery.

no matter how its wired, alternator or battery sensed, the engine has to be running to trigger the split charge and fridge relay's

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[cmcardle75]

Maybe by sharing my predicament I can stop others doing the same. This happened last year using the Eurotunnel, they insist on gas being turned off, which I had done, but to keep food and beer chilled I switched my fridge manually to 12V, so while moving around would keep fridge temp down. What I never thought about was when on the train I do not remove my key from ignition, maybe our MH was wired up wrongly, but even with ignition set to off, but key still in for radio / MP3, the fridge must have stayed on 12V because when we stopped in France we stayed stopped on train!! Control panel confirmed cab battery at 11.4V.

Sorry to those behind who had to reverse off!! Many thanks to Euro Tunnel who were brill and jump started us, I expected to be pulled off and left. We do at least have a solar panel so we had a chance of a recharge before dark!!

David:thumb:

Test your battery. Running off 12V on the train would have used 20Ah tops, assuming half an hour on the train and 1.5 hours faffing at the terminal and customs. That should have left your engine battery more than three quarters full.

 

[DavidG58]

your fridge will draw around 10 amps per hour on 12v so the short trip under the channel should make little difference to your engine battery.

no matter how its wired, alternator or battery sensed, the engine has to be running to trigger the split charge and fridge relay's

Test your battery. Running off 12V on the train would have used 20Ah tops, assuming half an hour on the train and 1.5 hours faffing at the terminal and customs. That should have left your engine battery more than three quarters full.

Thanks guys, I have now swapped MH anyway, so presume somebody had done something to the wiring, I will forever more leave my fridge in auto, should have done that anyway as it would have seen gas was off and used 12V when available as option.

I have lived and learnt

David

 

[mitzimad]

12 volt isnt an option without the engine running

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[pappajohn]

12 volt isnt an option without the engine running

unless the relay has welded closed.

 

[stevensson10]

your fridge will draw around 10 amps per hour on 12v so the short trip under the channel should make little difference to your engine battery.

no matter how its wired, alternator or battery sensed, the engine has to be running to trigger the split charge and fridge relay's

Test your battery. Running off 12V on the train would have used 20Ah tops, assuming half an hour on the train and 1.5 hours faffing at the terminal and customs. That should have left your engine battery more than three quarters full.

Thanks guys, I have now swapped MH anyway, so presume somebody had done something to the wiring, I will forever more leave my fridge in auto, should have done that anyway as it would have seen gas was off and used 12V when available as option.

I have lived and learnt

David

better to have lived and learned than never to have learned at all. no matter how many years you've been motorhoming we learn something new every day steve

 

[Reallyretired]

your fridge will draw around 10 amps per hour on 12v so the short trip under the channel should make little difference to your engine battery.

no matter how its wired, alternator or battery sensed, the engine has to be running to trigger the split charge and fridge relay's

Test your battery. Running off 12V on the train would have used 20Ah tops, assuming half an hour on the train and 1.5 hours faffing at the terminal and customs. That should have left your engine battery more than three quarters full.

Thanks guys, I have now swapped MH anyway, so presume somebody had done something to the wiring, I will forever more leave my fridge in auto, should have done that anyway as it would have seen gas was off and used 12V when available as option.

I have lived and learnt

David

If you leave the fridge in auto with the gas turned off it will just keep trying to light. It will not switch to 12v just because the gas is off, the engine must be running.
When I go on the tunnel I always switch the fridge to 12v, not to auto, as then it will not attempt to light as the ignitor going constantly for half an hour cannot do it any good. The fridge will not be cooling while the engine is off, but then it wouldn't whatever it was switched to.

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[DavidG58]

I will now never know as the van has been sold, but can only presume the fridge had been wired so it ran off 12V as soon as the key was in. I definitely had a very flat battery when the train stopped, having started and driven on half an hour before.

Hopefully never to be repeated, a very embarrassing few minutes