Refrigerator bulb problem

[gspot01]

New Salem Cruise Lite 261bhxl. Noticed a couple days ago that the refrigerator bulb no longer comes on when I open the door. Took the bulb out and thought to myself that the filament still looks intact. Went to Walmart and purchased an LED replacement: Pilot 578/212-2.



Problem is, new bulb only glows very, very dimly. You can just barely tell it's burning. Took it out, put it back on the battery in the package, and it works perfectly. So I'm starting to think that, for whatever reason, the fridge isn't giving the bulb its full 12v. I need to put a multimeter on it to see. I pulled the fuse for the fridge to examine it, and it's fine. I also checked the switch that turns on the bulb when the door opens and it seems ok because it turns the led off when I push it. I was wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this?

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[extremebike]

try to measure the voltage at the bulb while installed in the fridge. It could be a bad contact in the switch which does not allow free current flow. The volt meter takes very little power so it will still see 12 volts.

[5picker]

Some LED bulbs are polarity sensitive.
Possibly try turning the bulb end for end.

I realize the chances are slim that you took it out of the packaging, installed it (end for end) in the refrigerator and then reinserted it back into the packaging the correct way but it's always a possibility.

[Bama Rambler]

You may want to take a look at the control board in the back of the unit. Unplug and replug the connectors on the board a few times to clean off any corrosion and that may solve your problem.

If you can tell us which model fridge you have we may be able to tell you exactly which connector powers the light.

[gspot01]

Just checked it again. Doesn't seem to be polarity. Multimeter shows 8.4v however, so it's something in the fridge wiring. Here's the model number and back of the fridge:




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[Bama Rambler]

The light/heater connector is J2 and it's under that black plastic cover in the bottom pic.

Have you made sure that you have 12+ volts going to the fridge from the battery?

Here's the manual for that fridge.

[gspot01]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

Have you made sure that you have 12+ volts going to the fridge from the battery?

No, how do I do that?

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[Bama Rambler]

If I'm looking at it correctly, it's the 2 white wires in the terminals about the middle of the bottom pic. Check to see if there's 12+ volts between them.

[gspot01]

So, I have 13.1v at the input. That means, according to the wiring schematic in the manual BamaBob sent me, that the problem is either something on the circuit board or the switch at the door. Unfortunately, while mucking around in there, I shorted the 3 amp fuse on the board. Went all over town to find a replacement, and all I can find locally is a 5 amp. I went ahead and used that just to see if I broke anything, and luckily the fridge still works EXCEPT THAT THE DARN LED IS STILL DIM!! This indicates to me that the switch at the door is probably faulty. Also, can I just use the 5 amp fuse instead of continuing to search for a 3 amp? It says in the manual that the fuse is for the fridge "controller," whatever that is.

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[Bama Rambler]

The 5 amp fuse should be fine.

Did you pull and replug the J2 connector a few times?
If so, then you're probably right about it being the switch.