Electroblock

[BB007]

Hi I recently attended a rally in Spain where I found out that about 4 vans on the rally had trouble with the electoblock so I got the fellow rallier to look at mine at first glance all looked fine but when the plastic connector was pulled out from the block where the wires come to power the fridge on 12 v the plastic had melted away and appeared black as if it could catch fire I was lucky enough to scrounge a spare connector strip and 2 great guys soldered the fridge wire back on to the electro block .Our van is 15 years old but some of the other faulty electro blocks were on newer vans we also tend to do short journeys before we take a break so the 12 v side of the fridge is pulling power for a shorter time before cooling down anyone doing longer trips before stopping would risk the connection getting even hotter with a greater fire risk has any one else come across this problem Brian b

 

[tonka]

Personally i have never really bothered with using the 12v side of the fridge. Instructions do state that it will help maintain the temperature but DOES NOT cool. As long as the fridge is cool prior to setting off and the door is not open it should be ok for quite a while, after all thats how it works when you go on a ferry. I make a point of putting the gas back on once stopped, even for a short break.
Maybe give it a try and see how you get on.

 

[Lenny HB]

It is a common problem on EBL's caused when the pins are not making a good connection and you get some arcing.
I've had 3 Hymers with EBL's (2008, 2014 & 2017) never had the problem myself.

Personally i have never really bothered with using the 12v side of the fridge. Instructions do state that it will help maintain the temperature but DOES NOT cool.

Only really applies to old fridges the modern ones the 12v is thermostatically controlled and they have bigger elements. Mine is set up so that when the batteries are charged and there is enough solar it automatically switches to 12v, it's never been a problem.

 

[autorouter]

at first glance all looked fine but when the plastic connector was pulled out from the block where the wires come to power the fridge on 12 v the plastic had melted away and appeared black as if it could catch fire

There are two problems. One problem is that the amps through the pin is about at the limit of the spec for that type of pin. An additional problem is the wires were not supported, so put a sideways strain on the connectors, slightly distorting them. I've had the problem on mine (2006).

OK, this is going to sound overly geeky, but there are some pins that have higher amps spec - they have a gold-plated section where it matters. You can buy these, but they are not easy to find. I have replaced the connectors and had no further trouble with them.

Gold-plating on high-spec connectors is normal - just look at any phone battery or SD card.

 

[Allanm]

Good excuse to go and have a look in the van at my Electroblok and check the connectors, though, it is a newer van so assume it will be ok.
on the point about running the fridge on 12v, ours definitely does cool the fridge. When we had problems with it not cooling properly on gas, ( temp in fridge went up to 12 degrees) after a couple of hours driving with the fridge on 12v, it went down to 5 degrees.

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