Greetings from Boise, Idaho!

[BrandonW]

Hello! My name is Brandon, and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself.

• 48 years old;
• Served in Air Force, 1989 - 1993;
• Graduated from Eastern Washington University with a BA in Urban and Regional Planning;
• Used to race dirtbikes (was lucky enough to race Vegas to Reno, and the Baja1000 (x3);
• I still ride dirtbikes, but my focus has shifted over to bicycles;
• I am NOT a mechanic, but I am a qualified "Parts Changer"; and
• I have a van, and I am about to travel. (OK, not PERMANENTLY, but I do plan on using this thing.)

Long story short: I wanted a project, so I bought a 2000 Chevy Astro AWD. I painted the wheels black; I used "truck liner" to paint the lower trim; I put a 2" Overland Vans lift on it (with a leaf spring "Helper" for when I have my moto carrier; added a 2" receiver; in the back I made a bed that had storage underneath, and "telescoped" out so that two may sleep on it; and added a wooden rack in the back for my "kitchen" and storage. I started that project in January, finished sometime in February, and got two trips down to Maob in it when a co-worker decided they needed to have it. Made me an offer that I could not refuse, so then I was back on the streets, looking for something else.

I found a 1987 Ford F-150 Econoline "high top" camper van that is super sweet. About 98,000 miles, 302 motor, and it has a very open floor plan.

I have ONE ISSUE with it. The fridge has three settings: Gas; Electric (shore power) and 12V. I cannot seem to get the 12V setting to work. Three weekends ago (1st week of ownership) I took off to meet some buddies up in Bellingham, WA for a mountian bike extravaganza. My last stop in Boise was the grocery store. I bought all the food I needed, loaded up the fridge, set it on the 12V setting, and started my 10 hour drive. 

I get to Bellingham, open the fridge, and the temp is ambient. I had to throw out half of what I bought.

In reading up, some say to "pre-cool" the night before; maybe use a couple of ice blocks during transit; and don't expect the 12V system to do anything more than "maintain" what ever coolness you have already created.

While that might be valid, I still have an issue.

I have tested my Coach battery (12.5 volts when not running; and 13.8 volts when engine running). I then follow the red cables, and I think the one running towards the rear of the vehicle actually daylights from the floor near what I am assuming is my "conversion" box. On the bottom right of the picture is a white ground, and when I test the top of each fuse, all of them show 12+ volts.

From there, I have opened up the hatch behind the fridge, and while I do see it plugged into a standard outlet, I cannot find any power to that outlet.

I think this this was put together quite smartly. I am guessing that I have an override switch somewhere. I am guessing that the default is to open the circuit when the engine is off, as to not run the coach battery down. Somewhere is an over-ride switch to allow power when engine is not running.

Other than that, am I missing something?

(Also, anybody know the name of the company that may have done this conversion?)

Thank you for allowing me to join the group, and I hope to add as much as I get.

Thank you!

Brandon

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Brandon to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you. highdesertranger

 

[A Savage Adventure]

Welcome, Brandon! Thank you for your service!

 

[DannyB1954]

Welcome Brandon. Those three way refrigerators actually use heat to make it work. It is pretty common for the electrical heating elements to burn out. They are pretty easy to change. The problem could also be in the control board of the unit, or like you say it might not be getting the 12 volt power. When you say it is plugged into a regular outlet I assume that would be for when you are plugged into shore power. There will be a separate power supply for the 12 volts.

 

[BrandonW]

"When you say it is plugged into a regular outlet I assume that would be for when you are plugged into shore power. There will be a separate power supply for the 12 volts."

Hi Danny,
Thank you for the response.

Let me be more clear: When I open up the hatch behind the fridge, I see it plugged into what I would consider a common household 3-holed outlet. I have tried my multi-meter, and a "power detector", and neither of them will detect power coming from that outlet.

When I was in Bellingham, we were essentially "boondocking", so I just turned on the propane, and the fridge worked fine from there. I have also plugged into shore power (trouble shooting when I returned from Bellingham), and shore power was working. The fridge was cooling.

It is just the 12V setting that is giving me fits. I don't think there is any power Coach battery power getting to that outlet. All of the fuses in my "conversion" box seem to be good, as I am getting 12+ volts when I test each end of each fuse. My power disruption is somewhere AFTER that box.

In picture below, I put my ground on the white wire in lower right hand corner of box, and test the top of each fuse. They all show that the fuse is good, and I don't really know what else to be looking for.)

 

[BrandonW]

"There will be a separate power supply for the 12 volts."

AHHH! Now I think I understand what you are saying!

In the picture below, the standard "plug into the outlet" is how the fridge gets power when I am plugged into shore power.

I was reading the owners manual for the fridge, and it also was talking about a "low voltage" connection. 12 < 110, so the "low voltage" connection must be for the 12V supply?

Is that low voltage connection visible in the this picture?

 

[highdesertranger]

I don't see the low voltage connection in that pic. take one a little to the right of that one and one above. highdesertranger

 

[DannyB1954]

That looks like the 120 Volt connection. If you plug your rig into 120 AC you should see power there.

The low voltage connection is what you are looking for. See if there is power there. If you look at the bottom area near where the propane flame is you may also see two wires going to a probe. That is actually a heating element. If there are two of those one would be for 120 volt and one would be for 12 volt. You could test those with a meter or just put 12 volts to them and see if one of them gets hot.
I tried to blow up your pic to see the wiring diagram but couldn't make it out. See if you can get a close up of that. It should show the electrical heating elements.

 

[bob91yj]

Not much help on the 'fridge. I'm a remote pit guy for Dust Junkies Racing. We raced in Class 1700 (Jeepspeed), took first in class for the Baja 1000 in '09, '10 and '12. '10 and '12 were peninsula runs.

We raced the 2010 Vegas to Reno "The Long Way" as well.

I think there is a lot to be learned from the folks on this site, for full timers, adventure travelers, and even desert racer chasers!

The one night that we spent in a hotel for our SoCal to Eclipse and back last August was in ID. We boondocked at Deadwood Reservoir for the eclipse, had a great time. Idaho is AMAZING until that white stuff starts falling out of the sky!

 

[BrandonW]

Welcome, Brandon! Thank you for your service!

Thank you. It really was a great time in my life.

I was a Loadmaster on a C-130, and I don’t know if there is a better/more fun job for an enlisted person.

I got to fly all over the world, had some funky stuff in the cargo department (in very rare occasions), and I actually got to fly into Area 51 (Groom Lake).

Good times, and made some life-long friends.

Brandon

 

[BrandonW]

Not much help on the 'fridge.  I'm a remote pit guy for Dust Junkies Racing.  We raced in Class 1700 (Jeepspeed), took first in class for the Baja 1000 in '09, '10 and '12.  '10 and '12 were peninsula runs.

We raced the 2010 Vegas to Reno "The Long Way" as well.

I think there is a lot to be learned from the folks on this site, for full timers, adventure travelers, and even desert racer chasers!

The one night that we spent in a hotel for our SoCal to Eclipse and back last August was in ID.  We boondocked at Deadwood Reservoir for the eclipse, had a great time.  Idaho is AMAZING until that white stuff starts falling out of the sky!

Nice to meet you Bob! And congratulations on the Jeepspeed success! 

We were always “also rans” in the Sportsman division in the Baja runs. We always had some kind of mechanical; wreck; sickness; or other. We always finished, but not where we wanted to be.

In our Best in the Desert run from Vegas up to Reno, we ran in the Pro class (mainly for the earliest start possible), with a goal of finishing before the trucks caught us.

We did it, with about 30 minutes to spare! That was a great race, and Casey Folks was a great race promoter.

As for the eclipse, we could not have been more than on mile apart! I rode my motorcycle up there, with the intent of going to the Deadwood Reservior lookout station. Damn gate was closed. I ALMOST went around it, but with as many people that were up there, I decided not to push the envelope. I found a good spot on a hill (I heard that watching the shadow raced across the landscape was something spectacular), so I wanted to try and see that, as well as be in the path of Totality.

I sat there reading a book, and would put my eyeglasses on every 15 minutes or so to check progress. It was awesome during the last 25% of the eclipse. Temps dropped, light was changing, animals got silent, and then it happened. I don’t get all “ga ga” over things like this, but that was a pretty cool event. I was glad that I put the effort in to get within the path of Totality. That was a cool event.

Guess who else was within a mile of us for the eclipse? As it turns out, it was a damn good thing I did not go around that closed gate to get to the Deadwood Reservior lookout.

 

[BrandonW]

That looks like the 120 Volt connection. If you plug your rig into 120 AC you should see power there.

The low voltage connection is what you are looking for. See if there is power there. If you look at the bottom area near where the propane flame is you may also see two wires going to a probe. That is actually a heating element. If there are two of those one would be for 120 volt and one would be for 12 volt. You could test those with a meter or just put 12 volts to them and see if one of them gets hot.
I tried to blow up your pic to see the wiring diagram but couldn't make it out. See if you can get a close up of that. It should show the electrical heating elements.

I have the owners manual for this fridge, so if it comes down to that, we have what we need.

Here is a better photo of that compartment. I think we are getting closer to the goods.

 

[DannyB1954]

Having the wiring diagram would stop a lot of the guessing. Those red and white wires could be the 12 volt input, or they could be the leads for the electrical heating element. There is a tag under those wires but I can't be certain what it says.

 

[BrandonW]

Having the wiring diagram would stop a lot of the guessing. Those red and white wires could be the 12 volt input, or they could be the leads for the electrical heating element. There is a tag under those wires but I can't be certain what it says.

I hope this helps!

 

[BrandonW]

Having the wiring diagram would stop a lot of the guessing. Those red and white wires could be the 12 volt input, or they could be the leads for the electrical heating element. There is a tag under those wires but I can't be certain what it says.

Also hope this helps!

 

[BrandonW]

I hope this helps!

As a follow up to the “wiring diagram”, this is the text above that diagram, in the Operation Manual, that gets me thinking there is some kind of “over ride” switch somewhere that will allow you to manually allow, or restrict, power to the fridge.

 

[DannyB1954]

OK, it looks like the refrigerator is fed 12 volts through a relay that is only energized when the ignition is turned on. This makes sense as 12 volts DC has to use a bit of amperage to heat the element that makes the refrigerator work. Without a solar panel it would drain the battery in a matter of hours.
They are probably only using the 12 volt feature while you are driving and then figure you will either turn on the propane, or plug the RV into electricity. The next step is to start the vehicle and see if you can hear or see the refrigerator working.

 

[A Savage Adventure]

I don't know if this will help or hinder things. But it is how my Norcold is set up in my 2018 Jayco.



The RED arrow points to the AC power cord which, like yours, connects to a standard looking AC outlet. 

The GREEN arrow points to the wires that turn on the GAS power when there is no shore power. These are 12 VDC.

The YELLOW arrow points to the solenoid that turns the gas on when switched to propane.

The big red wire that comes out of that black box is the electric igniter and it lights up the gas coming into that cylinder.

The BLUE arrow points to the sensor that detects if there is a flame inside the cylinder.

The moment shore power is lost, if my fridge is on AUTO you can hear the solenoid, followed by the igniter, followed by the sound of a gas flame, at which point the igniter stops firing.

 

[BrandonW]

 The next step is to start the vehicle and see if you can hear or see the refrigerator working.

Hi Danny,
Thank you so much for trying to walk me through this.

I drove from Boise to Bellingham, WA (almost a 10 hour drive, stopping once for gas), and when I got Bellingham, the food in my fridge was all “room temperature”. The fridge controller was set in the “12V” setting the entire 10 hours.

I will try again tomorrow, and report back my findings, but as of right now:

• Using gas, I can feel the refrigerator cooling down within 5 minutes of turning it on;
• Using Shore power, I could feel the refrigerator cooling down within 7-10 minutes; and
• In 10 hours of driving, with fridge turned to the “12V” setting, it was room temperature.

I will start the rig tomorrow; turn on the 12V setting, and see/feel/listen to find out if I can detect any activation.

(Savage Adventure, I see your diagram, and I find it very helpful. I will see if I can detect that solenoid working. This fridge is manufactured by Dometic, and the main control has five (5) settings: 12V; Off; Electric; Off and Gas. It is essentially a dial that you turn, and the window will only show one of the five settings listed earlier.)
Thank you.

Brandon

 

[DannyB1954]

The wiring diagram you gave in post 14 shows how the refrigerator gets power. It does not show the internal wiring of the refrigerator. That wiring diagram is the one on the backside of the refrigerator that I can't read. Find the solenoid and see if it is working. The ignition switch needs to be on for that solenoid to close. You can also check if you are getting 12 volts at those red and white wires.

To find the solenoid, power comes from the ignition switch and goes to the ignition coil. They are using the positive position on that coil to feed the solenoid that sends power to the refrigerator. It is probably not in a loom as it was installed after the vehicle was manufactured, so you can follow this wire and it should take you to the solenoid. It is odd that that post #14 diagram does not show any fuses. Over the years the wire may have been taken off of the coil or the wire that feeds the load portion of the solenoid may have been disconnected at the battery.
They are not using the house battery to feed the solenoid but rather the vehicle's battery.