Having some fridge issues...?

[dmackyaheard]

Hi there! I have a BougeRV 40L E-Series fridge. Last year, it would throw an E1 code (low voltage) and the compressor wouldn't turn on, even if the house battery was over the minimum voltage. Normally my house battery doesn't drop much below 12.5v (its a Renogy 100amp hour lithium). However, as soon as you started the engine, the E1 fault wouldn't show and the fridge would run normally. I emailed BougeRV at the time and they said to move the switch on the fridge to low-voltage mode, and I did this, and it worked. Apparently, this is the minimum voltage the compressor would kick on at.

SO.... I haven't had a peep out of the fridge till a few weeks ago. It is now doing the same as before, runs fine when the van is on, and throws an E1 if the van is off. I made sure the switch on the fridge is still on the low-voltage mode, and it is. I checked the Renogy App, and at the time the E1 code was on, the battery is at 88.98%, 13.2v, 88.86ah, and all of the house lights, fans, and electronics work in the van just fine.

My question is, do I likely have another fridge issue, or might there be something with the electrical system I should check out? Pics of the electrical system and battery status from the other day for reference. Thank you in advance for any feedback.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Hello, and I'm gonna suggest you might have failing, or oxidizing, or maybe loose, connectors and/or fuse holder connections.

I've seen this in other high current accessories, over time and with road vibration, humidity changes, etc, the connectors can oxidize and/or tabs can loosen, screws can partially unseat.

Power connectors that carry higher amperage are especially susceptible to getting hot and cold, hot and cold, which will cause oxidation and even becoming partially loosened. They might LOOK fine, but when you wiggle them, or tighten screws, or unplug and re-plug, the problem goes away for awhile.

If it were me I would check the integrity and voltage between positives and negatives, and also check for voltage drops along and between connectors, at EVERY connector and fuse and wire on both hot and ground, between
the fridge and the fuse panel, and between the fuse panel and the house batteries. Even a one volt drop across a fuse holder, for example, might be enough to cause problems.

Also check for corrosion/oxidation/loose connectors at the main and house batteries, and any and all on-board chargers and charge controllers.

Good luck!

 

[bullfrog !]

^^^people often overlook connections especially ground connections. Learning to check voltage drops in circuits is well worth your time and can be done with a simple volt meter.

 

[jonyjoe303]

you might need to get a voltage stabilizer to make sure the battery voltage doesnt drop too much when the compressor kicks on.
My 26 liter joytutu fridge doesnt run too well (compressor keeps cycling back and forth) if the battery voltage isnt stable. I built my own voltage stabilizer (a boost converter/ buck converter) and have it set to 13.4 volts and its been running my fridge 24/7 nonstop for the past 3 years with no more fridge shutting off problems. 13.4 volts was the sweetspot where the fridge was happy, at lower voltages that I tried I would get problems.
Something else you can try is run it from an AC inverter, the inverter will be inefficient but it will provide stable power to the fridge.

Picture of boost buck converter. You need both, the boost raises the voltage to about 19 volts, the buck converter drops it back to 13.4 volts. Thats the only way you can get max amps going to the fridge, which needs about 4 amps. With this stabilizer I run the fridge off my 312 ah li-ion battery (max voltage 12.6 volts) which can go all the way down to 10 volts and fridge will still run like a champ, it also runs from my 220ah lifepo4 battery without issue.

 

[maki2]

If you are using a cigarette lighter style of connector that is most likely cause of the issue. Always check the physical connections first when trouble shooting electrical issues! If that is the type of connector you have then change to something more reliable. Just going over a rough patch of road can loosen that style of electrical plug.

 

[dmackyaheard]

If you are using a cigarette lighter style of connector that is most likely cause of the issue. Always check the physical connections first when trouble shooting electrical issues! If that is the type of connector you have then change to something more reliable. Just going over a rough patch of road can loosen that style of electrical plug.

I checked the connection of the spade connectors to the back of the DC 12v female outlet and one of the spade connectors wasn't pushed on all the way. I then started the fridge (its been off for 3 or so days), and the starting internal temp was 87 degrees F, and the van temp was 78.8 degrees. It cooled from 87 F down to 33 F in about 40 minutes with no errors. Since then I have been periodically checking it to see if an E1 error reappeared. I just checked it a few minutes ago, internal van temp was 84.2 F and the fridge was still at 33 F with no errors. I am hoping that loose connector was the issue.

Of note, it is only kicking the E1 low voltage when the internal temp of the van is really hot.

I also noticed that the van builder daisy chained the sink water pump, and USB charger ports to the circuit the DC plug is on, and used I think 16 gauge wires from the plug to the fuse box. I have a spare bank on my fuse block, maybe wire the DC plug that came with the fridge directly to the fuse block?

 

[dmackyaheard]

Hello, and I'm gonna suggest you might have failing, or oxidizing, or maybe loose, connectors and/or fuse holder connections.

I've seen this in other high current accessories, over time and with road vibration, humidity changes, etc, the connectors can oxidize and/or tabs can loosen, screws can partially unseat.

Power connectors that carry higher amperage are especially susceptible to getting hot and cold, hot and cold, which will cause oxidation and even becoming partially loosened. They might LOOK fine, but when you wiggle them, or tighten screws, or unplug and re-plug, the problem goes away for awhile.

If it were me I would check the integrity and voltage between positives and negatives, and also check for voltage drops along and between connectors, at EVERY connector and fuse and wire on both hot and ground, between
the fridge and the fuse panel, and between the fuse panel and the house batteries. Even a one volt drop across a fuse holder, for example, might be enough to cause problems.

Also check for corrosion/oxidation/loose connectors at the main and house batteries, and any and all on-board chargers and charge controllers.

Good luck!

I checked the connections at the DC plug, found a spade connector that was not all the way pushed in. I didn't see any corrosion of note, then checked the fuse block and it looked fine. I need to break out the multi-meter to check voltage across the fuse block and DC plug next. The fridge has been on for 18 hours since i fooled with the connector and hasn't errored out yet, so fingers crossed. Thank you for the advice!

 

[dmackyaheard]

you might need to get a voltage stabilizer to make sure the battery voltage doesnt drop too much when the compressor kicks on.
My 26 liter joytutu fridge doesnt run too well (compressor keeps cycling back and forth) if the battery voltage isnt stable. I built my own voltage stabilizer (a boost converter/ buck converter) and have it set to 13.4 volts and its been running my fridge 24/7 nonstop for the past 3 years with no more fridge shutting off problems. 13.4 volts was the sweetspot where the fridge was happy, at lower voltages that I tried I would get problems.
Something else you can try is run it from an AC inverter, the inverter will be inefficient but it will provide stable power to the fridge.

Picture of boost buck converter. You need both, the boost raises the voltage to about 19 volts, the buck converter drops it back to 13.4 volts. Thats the only way you can get max amps going to the fridge, which needs about 4 amps. With this stabilizer I run the fridge off my 312 ah li-ion battery (max voltage 12.6 volts) which can go all the way down to 10 volts and fridge will still run like a champ, it also runs from my 220ah lifepo4 battery without issue.

View attachment 35793

Does anyone sell these pre-built?

 

[jonyjoe303]

they sell some voltage stabilizers on ebay in different voltages, you would need one that can at least handle 6 amps. I have a small one I use to run my swampcooler where I need 12 volts (any voltage higher well burn out water pumps).

When I had problems with my fridge it was also in hot weather. I notice as the fridge compressor runs it puts out hot air into the van, heating it up. The hotter the van the more the fridge runs and the hotter the van gets. Besides the stabilizer I built, I also vented the fridge to the outside with 4 inch flexible ducting and a 120mm 12 volt fan. Now all the hot air (measure at over 115F) from the compressor vents goes outside and the inside of the van is cooler. Having a fridge running in a hot van is like having a heater inside your van.

Since it looks like the spade connector was your problem, I would just vent your fridge to keep the van cooler and keep the compressor from running all the time.

picture of prebuilt voltage stabilizers, i seen them in 12 volts and 13.8 volts. The higher voltages should work better and it shouldnt hurt the fridge since the fridge can be seeing up to 14.4 volts when its connected to the battery, and the battery is charging. Since your fridge runs good when the battery is charging it seems it prefers the higher voltages.

 

[maki2]

I checked the connection of the spade connectors to the back of the DC 12v female outlet and one of the spade connectors wasn't pushed on all the way. I then started the fridge (its been off for 3 or so days), and the starting internal temp was 87 degrees F, and the van temp was 78.8 degrees. It cooled from 87 F down to 33 F in about 40 minutes with no errors. Since then I have been periodically checking it to see if an E1 error reappeared. I just checked it a few minutes ago, internal van temp was 84.2 F and the fridge was still at 33 F with no errors. I am hoping that loose connector was the issue.

There you go! That is exactly why the instructor in the computer repair classI took at university taught us from day one of class all through the class to always check the physical connections first.

That saves a lot of time, stress, worry, money, etc. It is very much needed when doing electrical work that is installed in a vehicle. I also learned from the in-house instructors who taught us the FAA requirements for installing wiring on aircraft that within a few inches of each connector including spade connectors the wire needs to be clamped to a stable surface so that there is zero chance of movement stress causing a connection to come apart. So if you have not yet done so get those wires stabilized with clamps so there is no possibility they can shift out of position again.

In tight areas in my travel trailer I often choose the easy to use plastic zip ties that have a hole for a screw molded into of the fastening end of the zip tie. That is a quick, convenient and easy way to stabilize a wire by securing it to a solid surface. Most hardware stores sell them so no problems getting some to keep in your supplies. .

.

 

[Happy Camper]

There you go! That is exactly why the instructor in the computer repair classI took at university taught us from day one of class all through the class to always check the physical connections first.

That saves a lot of time, stress, worry, money, etc. It is very much needed when doing electrical work that is installed in a vehicle. I also learned from the in-house instructors who taught us the FAA requirements for installing wiring on aircraft that within a few inches of each connector including spade connectors the wire needs to be clamped to a stable surface so that there is zero chance of movement stress causing a connection to come apart. So if you have not yet done so get those wires stabilized with clamps so there is no possibility they can shift out of position again.

In tight areas in my travel trailer I often choose the easy to use plastic zip ties that have a hole for a screw molded into of the fastening end of the zip tie. That is a quick, convenient and easy way to stabilize a wire by securing it to a solid surface. Most hardware stores sell them so no problems getting some to keep in your supplies. .

.View attachment 35797

This! I will add ^^^ that is exactly the type of zip tie you want to use for wires.

Regular zip ties can crimp wires, or cause other issues if used improperly. Which is not often than not with wires.