Motorhome Facts Forum banner

230V Fridge only working when battery charger is on

1K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  eurajohn 
#1 ·
Hi alll.
I am very new to this game and new to the forums so please excuse me if this is a silly question, but I have checked the user manual and googled and cannot find an answer to this.
I have a 2006 Autotrail Tracker with the Sargent 2007 PSU.
When hooked up to EHU and the fridge is set to 230V, the fridge only works when the battery charger is turned on. All 3 pin plugs work fine without the charger being on, but the fridge does not.
Is this normal or is something wrong?
Thanks
Chris
 
#2 ·
I'm guessing Chris the fridge has a 12v control. It's only the heating element needs the 240v.

Ray.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Ahhh, good call.
I have just checked and the 12V system is not working when not on EHU, so would that be the problem? I didnt realise the 12V system needed to be functioning for the fridge to work on 230V.
So I switched from leisure battery to vehicle battery on the control panel, the 12V system works, and the fridge runs on EHU without the charger on.
Interestingly, when I switch back to leisure battery (EHU still hooked up but charger off) the fridge stays on, but as soon as I turn a light on, the light comes on for about half a second, then goes off, as does the fridge.
So I am guessing there is an issue with the leisure battery, its circuit, fuse or something. Now I have to find the cause of that problem! What would be the sensible steps to take to check this? It is a brand new battery I fitted from Tanya and is showing as 12.5V on the control panel. I may have done something wrong, or maybe it is a bad battery (it was quite wet when I opened it up - could it have leaked even though it is sealed?). Or maybe the wiring is screwed up somehow (we had to get the wiring fixed when we bought it in May)
Sorry if any of this is obvious but mechanics/electrics are really not my thing
 
#5 ·
The engine has to be running for the fridge to work on 12v, it works via a voltage sensing relay, I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if it works on tick over or if you need to be over a certain engine speed for the alternator to kick in, but if you put a meter on the 12v input to the fridge you should be able to tell one way or tother.


Thanks for coming back to us, so many ask a question then never respond so we are unsure if we helped or not.

Welcome to MHF
 
  • Like
Reactions: Glandwr
#6 ·
Yes sounds like there is a battery problem.
If the 12v leisure only works for seconds, either it's flat or a bad contact. I would check the terminal connections first and monitor with a multi meter both the terminal volts and the lug volts.

Ray.
 
  • Like
Reactions: erneboy
#8 ·
That can also be a problem Mike, tightening a battery post clamp. It has been known for the post to be loosened off the plates which can result in a poor connection.

Ray.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for everyones help so far.
So the problem is that I am getting no power from the leisure battery. Or rather I do sometimes, for half a second, and then it goes. Other times there is not even that.
I have checked the battery terminals and they are tight, I have had a look at the fuse near the positive terminal, it looks fine and in tact. Same with the fuses on the PSU, all look good.
Any ideas on next steps?
 
#11 ·
Seems there is more than one problem, but you need to put a meter on the battery then again with the heaviest load you can put on it.

As said the fridge only works on 12v when the engine is running, and I believe it would still run with no battery in effect it is simply acting as connection point.


One point to mention is the 12v will never cool down a fridge, it simply tries to maintain temperature, do NOT open the door, gas and 240v are the only cooling modes.
 
#13 ·
Hard to tell with Ray :D :D :D

possible I suppose, but I've only ever had manual selection models so that didn't occur to me, not all posh like wot you lot am.
 
#17 ·
Ah, I'm hard of reading Bantha, right, so as has been mentioned have you checked with a meter where you do have 12v, we always do our best to help, but if we ask something it can help if there is a response to that so we can hopefully help further, it's easy to forget we all started at the bottom rung, but we learn as we go along, also we have to bear in mind that this thread will show up on a Google search and help others to help themselves so we may ask what may appear to be unrelated questions to the OP, but knowing where you do have 12v helps.
 
#18 ·
Dont have a meter so no not able to check that.
Difficult to say if it was working properly before I changed the battery as the battery was dead. It HAS worked ok before.
I’ve rang where I bought it from, its the last week of warranty and so I think I will let them resolve the issue next week
 
#19 ·
It is worth getting a cheap meter to keep in the van even girls have them 😉 😉

Handy for 12v systems checking the presence or not of power and double checking fuses. As looking at a fuse doesn't tell the full story. Its holder may be faulty for instance.

Get a digital one from around a tenner.
 
#23 ·
In your original post you tell us that the van is fitted with Sargent controls, if I remember correctly that disables the 12 volt supply to the habitation area as soon a the engine starts, that functions via an output that switches a relay.
I'd start by looking at that element of the system.


.
 
#24 · (Edited)
I think raynipper and eurojohn helped out with the first answers, and the last.
It is now clear to me that the fridge control panel is run from the 12V system, and it was the 12V system that was not working as it should - I checked this by unplugging the EHU and trying the lights, which did not work.
Anyway, I have taken it in and it turns out it was a problem with a relay. All sorted now. Thanks all.
And I have come back home to find my multi meter already delivered, so all good.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top