Thetford FridgeFreezer Problems, help.....

[michellekevin]

Hello everyone, I write this post in desperation for some advice from my fellow motorhomers, we purchased our 2005 Fiat Ducato Autotrail in Sept20 and the fridge/freezer (ff) initially worked okay on gas, battery, ehu etc. We visited a non ehu site in early May21 and the ff worked ok on the car battery on the journey there, but as soon as I tried to transfer it to gas, the ff on/off button on the panel started flashing red and would not allow me to select gas or battery (as if it was stuck) I thought it might have been because I may not have been dead level (purchased some ramps for next time) however what is very strange is that as soon as I connect to ehu the fridge/freezer works perfectly fine. I’m now parked on my drive with everything switched off (no ehu/gas and the leisure battery off) and the ff panel is still flashing red and won’t switch off?? The ff isn’t cold but the interior light comes on when the door is opened. Battery current is 2.3amps with everything supposedly off (we do have a solar panel charging the battery but I’m guessing this isn’t good long term?) has anyone experienced something this strange??? Is it something we’ve just got to live with when we have no ehu?? Or spend £1800 on a new one?
Thanks in advance for any advice you can share. Michelle

 

[GeoffnDee]

You could try removing the fuse for the fridge that I would expect to find with others on your Power control unit to disconnect it for now.(the fridge fuse may also be in a different location and there could be two fuses for it ,your hand book may help with this)
Are you able to see which model Thetford fridge it is ? there may be a label inside it with this information.

 

[michellekevin]

You could try removing the fuse for the fridge that I would expect to find with others on your Power control unit to disconnect it for now.(the fridge fuse may also be in a different location and there could be two fuses for it ,your hand book may help with this)
Are you able to see which model Thetford fridge it is ? there may be a label inside it with this information.

This was inside the fridge

 

[autorouter]

First the good news. Absorber fridges like this one have a complex coolant circuit containing a mixture of liquids and gases. Applying heat to the lower corner (about 100 to 200W) causes the circulation that works the magic to produce cooling. Heat comes from a mains 240V element, a 12V element, or a small gas flame. The fact that it works OK on mains hookup means the coolant circulation is fine, and that's the expensive bit.

There's a fridge control board that controls the switching of the heat power. It's working OK for the 12V and mains heaters. It also controls the gas heater. There's a problem, but that could be anything like a blocked gas jet or a sticking electrically operated valve, or a dud thermocouple/flame failure detector.

Usually access is possible by removing the lower exterior vent cover.

 

[GeoffnDee]

If removing the fuse(s) for the fridge has caused the light to go out and stopped the amp discharge I wonder if the relay that allows the engine battery to supply the fridge only when running could be faulty .
The parts for these fridges seem to be available so it should be possible to have it repaired by a Thetford approved Motorhome/Caravan engineer instead of replacement.

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[autorouter]

If you are removing fuses to try to reset the fridge control, it helps to know that there are two 12V supplies to the fridge. The low power supply comes from the leisure battery, through one of the fuses on the distribution/fusebox, to the fridge control board. this is the one to remove for resetting the control board.

The high power supply comes from the alternator/starter battery, and powers only the fridge 12V element. There's usually a fuse, about 20A, near the starter battery. The high power supply is switched by a fridge relay, that is triggered by the D+ (engine running) signal from the alternator.

 

[michellekevin]

Thank you all for the invaluable advice, I’m going to get the book out tomorrow and have a look, really appreciate your help