Thetford fridge not working on 240v

[Corrinne]

Hi All
Our fridge has stopped working on 240v - works fine on gas and 12v. Has anyone else had experience of this? Hope it doesn’t mean a new fridge. It’s a full size Thetford fridge freezer in a Swift Kontiki. Can anyone give me any advice please? Many thanks in advance.

 

[Richard n Ann]

When set on mains power Is there any heat coming out of the top vent outside?

 

[Richard n Ann]

If there is no heat, the element has probably come to the end of it's natural life. You can test it with a multimeter ?

 

[Corrinne]

Thanks for the response. Not sure but will check that just as soon as it stops raining. Many thanks.

 

[Reallyretired]

If it works on gas you dont need a new fridge. Possible element burnt out, easily replaceable but check with a meter that power is reaching the fridge,could be something upstream.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Corrinne]

Many thanks for your advice, that is reassuring. We will get the element tested. Many thanks

 

[kevntrace]

just had mine fixex (under warranty) dealer said they replaced the element.
should't be too expensive but think the fridge needs to come out to replace it.
good luck
kev.

 

[PhilandMena]

I had the heater element go on mine. It's just a longish tube that slides in above the 12 Volt heating element next to the flue. Took the engineer about 15 minutes to change it. The cost is around £25.00 for the part, plus labour.

 

[Corrinne]

Thank you all very much for your help. We will get the element tested and let you know the outcome.

 

[TerryL]

My fridge put up a code on the control panel that told me the 240v element had failed (it happened with the 12v also within a couple of months!)

There are a couple of fuses but unfortunately I don't think you can get at them without taking the fridge out.

Really quite easy to change, just need to make a note of the connections, electrical and gas, which you should be able to access from the outside lower vent, before taking out the 6 screws on the inside (probably under caps) and sliding the whole unit out. It's quite heavy and you may need some help in lining it up with the hole when you put it back.

Leisureshopdirect usually have them in stock or within a day or two, around £25 if I remember properly.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[bigtwin]

You don’t necessarily have to take the fridge out to replace the heating elements. I’ve replaced mine without taking the fridge out and was able to replace the element through the ventilation spaces.

Ian

 

[Corrinne]

Thank you for your help, that sounds like good news. I have an electrical engineer looking at in this week. Many thanks.

 

[MisterB]

You don’t necessarily have to take the fridge out to replace the heating elements. I’ve replaced mine without taking the fridge out and was able to replace the element through the ventilation spaces.

Ian

that sounds like a good plan lol. looks like we are having the same issue re 240v so I will do some 'dismantling' - to those who suggest testing, do i need to remove the element to test it???

 

[bigtwin]

MisterB, No, you don’t, necessarily, need to remove the element to test it; you only need access to the connections.

Assuming that you do, in fact, have a 240V supply going to the element, this would suggest that the element has failed.

To test it, firstly ensure that the 240V supply is isolated. After disconnecting the two wires to the heating element, measure, using a DVM (digital volt meter) the resistance across the two wires. This should be a few hundred ohms. If it is open circuit (infinite resistance) it has failed and needs to be replaced.

Ian

 

[Corrinne]

Update to my fridge problem for those interested and to help if you have the same problem. As mentioned by many helpful comments above, the fault was a failed 240v element. Purchased a replacement element from leisureshopdirect.com and electrician has fitted it. Needed to take our fridge out to replace the element but now all back up and working. Many thanks again for all your help.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Manic]

Thanks for update, so many of these post for help just go silent, so other people don’t get to know results.

 

[MisterB]

that sounds like a good plan lol. looks like we are having the same issue re 240v so I will do some 'dismantling' - to those who suggest testing, do i need to remove the element to test it???

Update - I replaced the 240v heating element and its working fine now on 240v. I replaced the 240v heating element and it was simple enough. Hardest part was working out how to remove the black cover. I did it by removing three screws from the top - 2 where the cable for the heating element enters and 1 from the top near where the multi wires enter, then released the two clips - one on each side. I also removed the earth wire assembly as it made it easier to reach the two connections for the 240v heating element, by simply unclipping the connection on the right of the earth assembly.