Fridge not working on battery setting

Thross

Thross

Joined
Nov 13, 2020
Posts
30
Likes collected
71
Location
Stratford upon Avon
Funster No
77,758
MH
Adria Coral 690SC
Exp
Newbie
We have a Thetford N3142 C2 fridge in our Adria Coral (2017). It works fine on ehu and gas but won’t work on battery when engine is running. When set to Auto, it will automatically change from ehu to gas no problem, but not to battery - tries to go to gas instead. Red light will blink in power switch and Auto/cool level lights will flash.
I have changed the 20 amp fuse labelled fridge/solar, but no good. Any ideas please?
 
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Is there a 2amp fuse on your fuse panel , if so, this may be linked to the fridge 12v control side of things (there should be 2x 12v supplies to the fridge) Also check that there is not another 20amp fuse at the starter battery for the fridge main 12v supply.
 
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GeoffnDee said:
Is there a 2amp fuse on your fuse panel , if so, this may be linked to the fridge 12v control side of things (there should be 2x 12v supplies to the fridge) Also check that there is not another 20amp fuse at the starter battery for the fridge main 12v supply.
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This is the only fuse panel I know of. I have inserted a 15 into the spare slot marked for AES frI’d he but it’s made no difference. Where would I find other fuses? It’s a Fiat Ducato. Sorry, no experience of this sort of thing at all. Appreciate your help!
 

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GeoffnDee said:
Could you check fuse 13 (It is the only low amp fuse I can see and may have a duel purpose)
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Checked and looks ok. Found dashboard fuses - should there be something in the empty slot next to the 20?

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Thross said:
This is the only fuse panel I know of. I have inserted a 15 into the spare slot marked for AES frI’d he but it’s made no difference. Where would I find other fuses? It’s a Fiat Ducato. Sorry, no experience of this sort of thing at all. Appreciate your help!
Click to expand...
Are you saying that there wasn’t originally a fuse in the AES slot And that you have put one in? If so, does your control panel show the 12v drain, ie how many amps are being used? Check that when the engine is running. On our Coral, we had a problem with our leisure battery showing an off the scale drain when the engine was running. After contacting Adria we were told to check that fuse slot and if there was a fuse in it to remove it. As this problem started after a hab service we assumed that was when the fuse was inserted.
 
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Do you have a multimeter? You can get a cheap one for under a tenner from a DIY store, and I think every motorhome should have one. If you've never used one before, it's very easy to measure voltage, and I'm sure someone here will point you to a good Youtube video to get you started.

The big 4-way plug in the top left of your photo is the fridge output from the Nordelettronica NE237 distribution box. The connectors are doubled up, because the heavy current is too much for one single spade connector. So you could check the voltage between one of the positives and one of the negatives. There should be over 12V when the engine is running, and near zero voltage when the engine is stopped.
 
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Potty said:
Are you saying that there wasn’t originally a fuse in the AES slot And that you have put one in? If so, does your control panel show the 12v drain, ie how many amps are being used? Check that when the engine is running. On our Coral, we had a problem with our leisure battery showing an off the scale drain when the engine was running. After contacting Adria we were told to check that fuse slot and if there was a fuse in it to remove it. As this problem started after a hab service we assumed that was when the fuse was inserted.
Click to expand...
Thanks - have removed fuse and off to find a meter to check feeds.

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Do you have a multimeter? You can get a cheap one for under a tenner from a DIY store, and I think every motorhome should have one. If you've never used one before, it's very easy to measure voltage, and I'm sure someone here will point you to a good Youtube video to get you started.
autorouter said:
The big 4-way plug in the top left of your photo is the fridge output from the Nordelettronica NE237 distribution box. The connectors are doubled up, because the heavy current is too much for one single spade connector. So you could check the voltage between one of the positives and one of the negatives. There should be over 12V when the engine is running, and near zero voltage when the engine is stopped.
Click to expand...
Thanks - off to buy a meter!
 
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Thross said:
Do you have a multimeter? You can get a cheap one for under a tenner from a DIY store, and I think every motorhome should have one. If you've never used one before, it's very easy to measure voltage, and I'm sure someone here will point you to a good Youtube video to get you started.

Thanks - off to buy a meter!
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Did you manage to resolve this? I have just picked up our new to us MH and appears to have the same issue....also a 690 sc.....I have also tried fuses but no joy so far :(
 
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On my Cheyenne the fridge only works on battery (12v) whilst the engine is running, the drain on the batteries would be to much with the engine off
 
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Yes, appreciate the Van needs to be running.....just seen another post on the subject, so next stage is to investigate the PCB and its fuse in the fridge vent.
 
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Working on 240 and Gas, when trying to put on 12v, with engine running, battery and temp green indicators flash but will not set or be adjusted.
No error codes being shown at all.

Thanks
 
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The trouble shooting guide for the N3142 / 3141 says to press the 3 x buttons < > and the button between them simultaneously to go to fault code setting which should then be shown as a number on the right of the display (If your controls are as described ), it also states that fault codes will not be displayed if the green 12v supply led is not being shown ,
 
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On our 2010 Fiat based Burstner, there is a yellow 20A fuse on the positive terminal of the engine battery.

This protects the power feed to the Dometic Fridge/freezer.
 
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GeoffnDee said:
The trouble shooting guide for the N3142 / 3141 says to press the 3 x buttons < > and the button between them simultaneously to go to fault code setting which should then be shown as a number on the right of the display (If your controls are as described ), it also states that fault codes will not be displayed if the green 12v supply led is not being shown ,
Click to expand...
thank you !
 
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I am sure it is different on yours, but on my chausson the fuse for the secondary supply to the fridge is also connected to the dump valve on the water heater.
I wondered what the hell had happened when I accidentally shorted it out removing the fridge one day and suddenly had water pouring out from under the van.
 
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Julian North said:
Did you manage to resolve this? I have just picked up our new to us MH and appears to have the same issue....also a 690 sc.....I have also tried fuses but no joy so far :(
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Mechanic at Central Leisure Motorhomes near Banbury fixed it. Component on pcb burnt out apparently by previous owner not cooling fridge on ehu before trips - overloads component if battery is trying to cool fridge down from ambient temperature. Worked fine ever since and I always put fridge on ehu at least 24 hours before a trip.
 
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Thross said:
Mechanic at Central Leisure Motorhomes near Banbury fixed it. Component on pcb burnt out apparently by previous owner not cooling fridge on ehu before trips - overloads component if battery is trying to cool fridge down from ambient temperature. Worked fine ever since and I always put fridge on ehu at least 24 hours before a trip.
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Sounds like poor design, that should not be possible, in which case this "workaround" is a good idea.
The worst that should normally happen is the fridge doesn't work optimally, i.e. it won't be cool enough, In fact Thetford state; "The performance of the refrigerator, when operating on 12V, is dependent on the thickness and length of the wiring and the overall installation of the vehicle" and "Always use the gas connection or mains voltage to start up and cool. Operating on 12V is only effective while the engine of the vehicle is running". Nowhere does it advise that damage can result in not pre-cooling, obviously pre-cooling is good for performance of the fridge but so is adding pre-cooled contents from your home fridge...
 
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Thross said:
I always put fridge on ehu at least 24 hours before a trip.
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We have different fridges and motorhomes but the Dometic fridge (with thermometer added) is ready for use turned on at sunrise the same day as a trip. (y)
I use a smart switch to turn on the motorhome EHU at sunrise and off at sunset a couple of times a week* to boost solar charging.

*- And travel days obv. :)

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Post deleted - didn't spot that you'd fixed it.
 
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