Fridge not working when driving

Richard B · 09-26-2018, 11:33 AM

Recently the fridge quit working on my way home,it works fine when plugged in checked inverter,converter, batteries are good, all fuses are good, stumped now, any help would be nice.

007matman · 09-26-2018, 11:38 AM

Couple of things to check.

Is your vehicle charging the trailer battery when towing? Lack of 12v power will shut it off. They require 12v to operate at a minimum.

Is your fridge staying lit? There is a flame sensor in there that if it's malfunctioning will cause the flame to go out. Mine would operate on shore power but not on propane. The control panel needed to be replaced.

These are my experiences.. I've had both happen myself.

Richard B · 09-26-2018, 11:41 AM

It is a full size fridge

rsdata · 09-26-2018, 11:48 AM

I guess Full-size fridge means it is NOT powered by LP gas...
only 110V by inverter when you are driving?

So next time you are driving, stop and check the light in the fridge... is it ON?

If not them something with the inverter is going on... not getting 12V power or NOT making 110V power to the fridge.

rracer5 · 09-26-2018, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard B

It is a full size fridge

Yup. The type (residential or conventional RV style) fridge would help.

Richard B · 09-26-2018, 12:08 PM

Yes the fridge is powered by 110 by inverter did some checks on the inverter it seemed to be working, but? Don’t know for sure.

Richard B · 09-26-2018, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rracer5

Yup. The type (residential or conventional RV style) fridge would help.

Residential whirlpool side by side

emoney · 09-26-2018, 12:12 PM

Are you having any other DC issues? There's probably a fuse there in the inverter dedicated to the Fridge, is it ok? I'd also check the battery itself. Could be you're not drawing enough power to keep the fridge operating, but there is enough to power the lights? Just spitballing ideas basically.

Richard B · 09-26-2018, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emoney

Are you having any other DC issues? There's probably a fuse there in the inverter dedicated to the Fridge, is it ok? I'd also check the battery itself. Could be you're not drawing enough power to keep the fridge operating, but there is enough to power the lights? Just spitballing ideas basically.

No other problems everything else works fine, the co detector started flashing, I know it means low voltage but from where?

rsdata · 09-26-2018, 12:19 PM

Quote:

did some checks on the inverter it seemed to be working, but? Don’t know for sure.

With the engine still running, get a voltmeter and read the input votage to the inverter... should be at least 12.6 VDC... probably closer to 13.2... then check the outpower by plugging the probes into the AC outlet where the fridge is plugged in at... should be at least 110 VAC...

These two checks will tell you if the inverter is getting DC power and putting out AC power to the fridge.

Quote:

No other problems everything else works fine, the co detector started flashing, I know it means low voltage but from where?

The CO is powered by the same 12 VDC that the inverter is, so low voltage on that unit means low voltage to the inverter also...

Richard B · 09-26-2018, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsdata

With the engine still running, get a voltmeter and read the input votage to the inverter... should be at least 12.6 VDC... probably closer to 13.2... then check the outpower by plugging the probes into the AC outlet where the fridge is plugged in at... should be at least 110 VAC...

These two checks will tell you if the inverter is getting DC power and putting out AC power to the fridge.

The CO is powered by the same 12 VDC that the inverter is, so low voltage on that unit means low voltage to the inverter also...

Will check it out, kinda hard to check the plug behind the fridge but will try

Navaner · 09-26-2018, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard B

Will check it out, kinda hard to check the plug behind the fridge but will try

You need to check the battery voltage on your rv/trailer with a voltage meter.

Not the 110v plug behind the fridge.

My guess is that your battery/ies are done or not getting charged up.
Once you determine your battery condition and if charging is occurring when your engine is running I can guide you better as to what your problem will be

CHICKDOE · 09-26-2018, 12:44 PM

just stop and look at the inverter face panel. make sure you are not plugged into shore power or generator power. many inverters jave status lights and a display panel. if they shut down due to low voltage there may be a status light that says so and the display panel may read the 12 volt voltage level it is seeing. if the suspicion is correct that your batteries are low the inverter should confirm that. if you post make and model of the inverter that may help.

Richard B · 09-26-2018, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsdata

With the engine still running, get a voltmeter and read the input votage to the inverter... should be at least 12.6 VDC... probably closer to 13.2... then check the outpower by plugging the probes into the AC outlet where the fridge is plugged in at... should be at least 110 VAC...

These two checks will tell you if the inverter is getting DC power and putting out AC power to the fridge.

The CO is powered by the same 12 VDC that the inverter is, so low voltage on that unit means low voltage to the inverter also...

Hooked up my truck to the plug in, turned the inverter on and unplugged shore Power when in and fridge is now running but the co is still blinking also the voltage was 13.2 on the inverter and also on the batteries.

Richard B · 09-26-2018, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHICKDOE

just stop and look at the inverter face panel. make sure you are not plugged into shore power or generator power. many inverters jave status lights and a display panel. if they shut down due to low voltage there may be a status light that says so and the display panel may read the 12 volt voltage level it is seeing. if the suspicion is correct that your batteries are low the inverter should confirm that. if you post make and model of the inverter that may help.

WFCO 5100 pure sine. Batteries are showing 13.6

CHICKDOE · 09-26-2018, 01:34 PM

batteries do not get to 13.6 volts. a fully charged battery is around 12.6 volts. the 13.6 is coming from the truck's charge cable.

the initial problem was refrigerator not working off inverter. it seems to be working now. but if it stops again please get a battery voltage reading unhooked to either truck or shore power so we can get an idea of the status of the battery. inverters cut off when battery voltage drops below a lower limit.

Meemaw · 09-26-2018, 01:34 PM

We had the same issue. We had to replace our batteries. No problems since replacing both.

CHICKDOE · 09-26-2018, 01:43 PM

just a fast skim of the inverter manual states that it will shut down if it receives 11 volts or less from the batteries. if it does it lights in 'low battery' indicator on the display panel. also states it will shut down at 15 volts or higher which can sometimes come from a tow vehicle alternator. i do not know if either of these actually happened. that is why you need to get the voltages and inverter status should it happen again. and yes, it could be something else.

formerFR · 09-26-2018, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard B

Recently the fridge quit working on my way home,it works fine when plugged in checked inverter,converter, batteries are good, all fuses are good, stumped now, any help would be nice.

to give us a clear picture here, what exactly does 'quite working on my way home' mean? Just doesn't work when you unplug from shore power? or it did 'originally' work when you unplugged, but found that it 'later' was not working while on the way home?

- if it doesn't 'work' when you unplug from shore power, meaning that there is no 120v power to it, then your inverter may be OFF(or your House batteries are low and the inverter has 'shut itself off' to preserve any battery power that is left. Inverters many times have a LBCO(low battery cut out) that automatically shuts down the inverter, until the battery Voltage is resolved thru recharging).

- was the House batteries being CHARGED while you were plugged in? It sounds like it, as you say the batteries show over 13...certainly a close to full number.

- is the Fridge's breaker in the main panel tripped? is a GFCI outlet in the bathroom or kitchen tripped? Sometimes the fridge may be on the same circuit.

- if the Fridge is powered after you plug in, then it's certainly a sign that the Inverter is not providing power, otherwise, since those are the only two ways for it to receive 120v power.

Navaner · 09-26-2018, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHICKDOE

batteries do not get to 13.6 volts. a fully charged battery is around 12.6 volts. the 13.6 is coming from the truck's charge cable.

the initial problem was refrigerator not working off inverter. it seems to be working now. but if it stops again please get a battery voltage reading unhooked to either truck or shore power so we can get an idea of the status of the battery. inverters cut off when battery voltage drops below a lower limit.

I agree.
You need to get an actual reading from the batteries while unpluged from the tow vehicle or shore power.
We know that your vehicle is charging them while traveling now. So it s not your 12v supplie from the tow vehicle.

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