Tethford Fridge accident... any similar experience?

[LosBrutos]

It has been quite a stressful time with our new RV.
Everything was going well for three years until the fridge suddenly started acting weird. Initially, we thought it was a general electrical problem. Despite our efforts, we couldn't figure out the issue. Whenever we plugged the RV into 230 volts, it would shut down suddenly after 3 to 4 hours. The fridge would switch to gas while the rest of the RV ran on 12-volt batteries.

The 20-amp security fuse for the fridge kept tripping on the electronic board, so we decided to check the back of the fridge.
What we found was unbelievable: the 25-amp fuse was completely burnt out,

the entire board was fried

We were lucky teh rest of the rv didnt burn down as well...

We're not sure how to approach Thetford about this problem, especially since the warranty has expired.

Has anyone else experienced a similar issue? How can we prevent it from happening again?
We've opted to order a replacement, but we're worried about it happening again.
We couldnt find teh replacement for the connection cables, nor the top protection plate, any suggestions?

Thank you for your feedback,
Cyril (in france, Toulouse)

 

[icantremember]

May have been caused by a poor fitting fuse causing heat build up.

 

[Phill D]

Hi Cyril and welcome.
Looks like you were lucky nothing caught fire.
It certainly looks like a high resistance perhaps in the fuse holder causing excessive heat build up.

I have had a fuse discoloured and partially melt ( not on my fridge) I replaced the fuse holder and it’s not happened since.

 

[Steve N Tracy]

It's quite common unfortunately but not normally as bad as yours, Thetford quietly superceded the 3 series board to the later 4 series one with a higher amperage fuse, a better fuse holder and thicker tracks on the PCB.

 

[LosBrutos]

Thank you so much for the insight!
That would explain why the replacement element is not the original anymore but a newer model. I hope this will not happen anymore...
any ideas on the wiring cable strings to replace teh damaged ones?

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[LosBrutos]

Hi Cyril and welcome.
Looks like you were lucky nothing caught fire.
It certainly looks like a high resistance perhaps in the fuse holder causing excessive heat build up.

I have had a fuse discoloured and partially melt ( not on my fridge) I replaced the fuse holder and it’s not happened since.

Boreda Phill, and thanks for your input. Perhaps I should think of adding and extra fuse between...

 

[IRHP]

I had a similar experience, contact Thetford, they are aware of the problem, God knows why they weren't recalled especially with a safety matter. I got a warranty claim form from them despite being outwith the 3 year warranty. They sent me a new board FOC. yours looks like it might be a newer one though as it's 25 amp. My original had a 20 amp fuse. Have a look at post 16 https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/dometic-3-way-fridge-issue.275970/post-5406512

 

[VXman]

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