Carthago Fridge and Hob issues

[PJGWiltshire]

Carthago chic c line wiring.

A challenging tail of woe. Set off yesterday afternoon for an unplanned weekend away. Fully loaded and fridge on gas prior to setting off. We set off, no apparent reason to think the fridge has not automatically switched to 12v when running along. Stopped a few hours later for meal.

Stay with me now.

Having turned engine off got on with filling kettle to burn on gas along with another burner. So two ignitions start without issue. A minute or two later used third burner and the ignitor just stays stuck on. Burner lights but when releasing small knob ignitor still cracking away.

Just can't stop it so pulll draw out intending to see if I can pull the wire from the ignitor. Cannot pull wire. Now it is at this time I hear very faint bleeping from the fridge .

This would be about five or six minutes after engine ignition stopped, so at a time for the fridge to now automatically allow itself to start up on gas. The fridge panel Dometic tower fridge/oven lights are all off and there is a very faint glow from the power metering bar very low in illumination again with the very faint alarm bleep.

Still wiggling whatever I can under the hob the ignitor then stops cracking. The fridge is still in faint bleeping mood and the fridge control panel is still not lit up and fridge is not working..

Pressed fridge control board off buttonf Bleeping stops. Turn fridge on, no power up but agin faint illumination and faint warning bleeping again. Tried hob again ignitor stays stuck on again for some time then stops again. No change from the fridge.

Turn fridge off.

Leave for about 20 minutes. Turn fridge on again, no change as before very faint alarm sound. Try the hob, No ignition from any of the three burners on hob. Then very faint clicking sound coming from the oven area of the tower oven. This faint clicking stops when you push the over ignition knob but starts again when let go. Also the fridge faint bleeping has stoped completely with the ignition clicking going on. The fridge tower oven ignition faint clicking goes on for about 40 minutes then stops. After stopping the alarm bleeping form the fridge panel starts again immediately until I turn it off.

Now has anybody any idea what maybe going on

As off now, Turn fridge on still faint alarm bleep. Try hob ignition no clicking what so ever for hob or from the tower oven. Fridge turned off

Hob has power to it checked with multimeter. Fridge obviously has power to it.
I suspect the fridge PCB is toast but how could this happen.

Any ideas.

 

[DavidG58]

It would seem improbable that the hob and tec tower would be connected. Other than sharing gas and 12V supply , but totally independently I would have thought

The only crumb of help I can suggest, if it was mine I would turn off our Reich control box , count to 10 and turn back on. On ours that’s the bit with charger and all the control fuses

Other than that hoping someone else might pick this up

 

[PJGWiltshire]

The only crumb of help I can suggest, if it was mine I would turn off our Reich control box , count to 10 and turn back on. On ours that’s the bit with charger and all the control fuses

On the Carthago I cannot turn it off . I can turn off the control panel. I have turned off the supply of 12v to the system via isolation with and started up again but no change.
I am of the opinion that the PCB has blown. I could accept that if it occurred during the routine process of the fridge changing from 12v to gas and for some reason it fails. Its just the ignition and the strange link to the tower oven that's blowing my head. Will get a new PCB (£260) and hope. I am then going run an independedt12v fused supply direct from the leisure batteries to the hob. I hope then the igniters start. If they do I will keep an eye on the sticking igniter. Its funny the good lady said she hardly uses that burner in the norm so it could just be a dodgy sticky problem but why would the long jammed on sparking causing a surge through the fridge?

 

[PJGWiltshire]

Well I will post the solving of this problem in case any van has a similar stupid wiring set up.

Well it was a fuse. Not fridge fuse that I could not find, but a fuse marked as heater 3amp. This was all strange to me as the fridge had power to it so on that bases I thought is was the control panel that had failed. The hob had no power.

It turns out that the hob has a fuse. Its not listed in the fuse wiring list as a hob but there is a fuse marked heating. This fuse is the fuse for the hob, so the stuck on igniter eventually blew the fuse. Now this fuse feeds a live to a relay at the fridge that allows the control panel to power up. So the control panel PCB is picking up very low 12v power from the feed but without the relay kicking in will not get full power. Once the fuse was changed both fridge worked along with the hob (with one sticky ignitor )

So thanks for Darren at Reliance Chichester. He saw the control panel on very low power and knew the problem straight away.
So I just hope any non Carthage owners do not have this stupid wiring set up. Carthago owners now you know if you have such an issue with your hob.

 

[WESTY66]

As you know your van is the same vintage as mine, I think they was registered very close together so I thank you for this useful information. As a side note, if yours has alde and has an external BBQ point fitted could you tell me where it is as I’m about to put one on mine (when I shake this bloody covid off) and as far as I can see, the only place I can get it is above the lower fridge vent as there seems a bit of a void where the pipe will go and I can T into the gas supply behind the fridge.

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[Steve and Denise]

Has yours got a drawer below the fridge? WESTY66

 

[WESTY66]

Nope, the alde unit is directly below the fridge.

 

[WESTY66]

This is what I have looking through the lower fridge vent

 

[PJGWiltshire]

As you know your van is the same vintage as mine, I think they was registered very close together so I thank you for this useful information. As a side note, if yours has alde and has an external BBQ point fitted could you tell me where it is as I’m about to put one on mine (when I shake this bloody covid off) and as far as I can see, the only place I can get it is above the lower fridge vent as there seems a bit of a void where the pipe will go and I can T into the gas supply behind the fridge.

I had it installed just by the exhaust from the boiler. The gas feed is from the boiler. It was explained to me that by using the boiler supply it woulds not interfere with the other appliances that would need the gas, Fridge Hob. I use a Webber Q1200 on a hose about 1.5m to make sure the BBQ is well away from the van when in use.

 

[WESTY66]

I had it installed just by the exhaust from the boiler. The gas feed is from the boiler. It was explained to me that by using the boiler supply it woulds not interfere with the other appliances that would need the gas, Fridge Hob. I use a Webber Q1200 on a hose about 1.5m to make sure the BBQ is well away from the van when in use.

There no way I can get anywhere near that alde outlet, I’d have to take out the alde boiler

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[PJGWiltshire]

There no way I can get anywhere near that alde outlet, I’d have to take out the alde boiler

My boiler is directly below the TEC fridge. They did not take the boiler out. I recall them drilling the BBQc fitting hole from the outside and feeding the gas feed pipe through to the front of the boiler where easy access was available to the boiler gas supply pipe

 

[WESTY66]

My boiler is directly below the TEC fridge. They did not take the boiler out. I recall them drilling the BBQc fitting hole from the outside and feeding the gas feed pipe through to the front of the boiler where easy access was available to the boiler gas supply pipe

Thanks for that, they must have known there was sufficient clearance between the boiler and the wall of the van. Could you post or pm me a pic of location of outside flap, and if possible where they T’eed into the supply. Thanks.

 

[PJGWiltshire]

If only you had messaged me earlier. Just taken van back to storage this morning. Not heading that way much before weekend. Will get some pics off to you then

 

[PJGWiltshire]

Thanks for that, they must have known there was sufficient clearance between the boiler and the wall of the van. Could you post or pm me a pic of location of outside flap, and if possible where they T’eed into the supply. Thanks.

 

[WESTY66]

This is the space I have to mount and get the pipes to T into this pipe, I’m assuming I will have to part assemble the bull finch and feed it through as there’s no way of coupling it in situ? Then couple the gas

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[PJGWiltshire]

Plenty of room. Not been over to storage so no photos. The fitter did in fact mould the copper pipe with the various bends to go from the gas supply (which is at the front of the boiler and accessible) back to where the hole had been drilled through the body. Yes, they then fixed the copper pipe to the bull finch fed the pipe back through the hole. They then screwed the Bull finch to the body then connected by T piece to the gas supply.

 

[WESTY66]

Well filled hole in exactly the same place and the bullfinch hits either the boiler or the other way the gas pipe It’s proving very problematic

 

[Jackd]

Well filled hole in exactly the same place and the bullfinch hits either the boiler or the other way the gas pipe It’s proving very problematic

Can you not get enough of a kink in the other pipe to get clearance on the bullfinch WESTY66

 

[WESTY66]

Can you not get enough of a kink in the other pipe to get clearance on the bullfinch WESTY66

Well that was a proper b######d to do, with hindsight I could have made it easier if I had moved it nearer the hab door and that would have cleared the boiler, I ended up with it downwards towards the boiler.(as going upwards towards the boiler pipe which was steel and wouldn’t move out the way)!!
Then just got enough clearance from the boiler, 0.05mm then having Bended the pipe around towards the front, I then had to take the 8mm pipe into 10mm to t into the boiler pipe work. Never again, it will be a dealer Jobbie

 

[Jackd]

Well that was a proper b######d to do, with hindsight I could have made it easier if I had moved it nearer the hab door and that would have cleared the boiler, I ended up with it downwards towards the boiler.(as going upwards towards the boiler pipe which was steel and wouldn’t move out the way)!!
Then just got enough clearance from the boiler, 0.05mm then having Bended the pipe around towards the front, I then had to take the 8mm pipe into 10mm to t into the boiler pipe work. Never again, it will be a dealer Jobbie

Well done mate. You’ll remember that when chomping into your first steak off of the bbq

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