Furrion 12V Fridge voltage problems

Scratchy907 · 04-12-2021, 05:53 PM

Hi all,

I've read all the complaints about the Furrion 12v fridge so I'm well aware of the problems associated with this particular appliance, but it's currently the fridge we're stuck with as we are not in a position to swap it out at the moment.

My question is this: our fridge works just fine on shore power or when plugged into the generator. When we are boon docking however, the fridge doesn't seem to be able to draw enough power to kick start the compressor.

My husband unscrewed the front panel below the refrigerator and found the wires, plugged his multi meter in and watched as the fridge dropped from 12.6v to 11.5v every time the fridge tried to start the compressor. It seemed to be pulling a consistent 6-7 amps the entire time.

Does anyone with any electrical knowledge have any ideas why this might be happening?

Thanks in advance,

SeaDog · 04-13-2021, 08:24 AM

Welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. it would be good to know the make and model of your rig and if you have one battery or two. Batteries can show proper voltage but when a load is put on they drop drastically this may be the problem with the gen or shore power the converter is supplying the needed voltage. Run a load test on the batteries/battery with them disconnected out of the system

ScottBrownstein · 04-13-2021, 08:50 AM

Do the same experiment but measure the battery voltage at the battery, not on the wire lugs but directly on the posts. If the voltage drops identically, your battery ain't the best. If it doesn't there is a poor connection between the battery and the reefer. My bet is that since that is a pretty big drop for only 6-7 amps, although you might be into starting current.

Scratchy907 · 04-13-2021, 10:17 AM

Thank you both for your reply.

We have a 2020 Coachmen Catalina 293RLDS and 3 12v batteries.

2 batteries are 100ah and the third is a 75ah battery we got from the dealer. They are all deep cycle batteries. We tried the same experiment 3 times with all 3 batteries.

We do have a battery monitor and could see that when the compressor tried to start on the refrigerator the voltage at the battery would drop up to 0.5v from 12.7v to about 12.2v but not the same as actually at the fridge where we are seeing a whole voltage drop.

Is it possible we have 3 bad batteries? Or would you guess a connection problem?

Thanks

ScottBrownstein · 04-13-2021, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scratchy907

Thank you both for your reply.

We have a 2020 Coachmen Catalina 293RLDS and 3 12v batteries.

2 batteries are 100ah and the third is a 75ah battery we got from the dealer. They are all deep cycle batteries. We tried the same experiment 3 times with all 3 batteries.

We do have a battery monitor and could see that when the compressor tried to start on the refrigerator the voltage at the battery would drop up to 0.5v from 12.7v to about 12.2v but not the same as actually at the fridge where we are seeing a whole voltage drop.

Is it possible we have 3 bad batteries? Or would you guess a connection problem?

Thanks

If your battery monitor is correct (and it is showing a drop on start) you have a bad connection between the reefer and the batteries. I would expect a drop like you are measuring (.5 VDC) on a start. You need to find out how the Furrion DC line is run and follow it back to the source. At some point you will find a high resistance connection...and fix it.

Scratchy907 · 04-13-2021, 10:42 AM

Thank you!

That will be our next move. Hopefully we can figure it out!

robertrfletcher · 04-13-2021, 08:26 PM

Make sure that the wire going to the reefer is at least 10 gauge

Scratchy907 · 04-13-2021, 09:23 PM

Will do. Thank you.

We may have to go to Coachmen to get this looked at. Trying to find the wire will require us to cut through the enclosed underbelly. I think we may have reached our limit and need to pass it on to them to look at.

kurtsont · 04-14-2021, 09:45 AM

Have you checked the connections behind the power converter?

Scratchy907 · 04-14-2021, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurtsont

Have you checked the connections behind the power converter?

No we haven't. The fridge is a 12V only fridge and my husband thinks (but isn't sure) that it doesn't use the converter when trying to operate on battery power alone and that is when we have a problem.

However he could be wrong as he is not completely sure how the system is wired. Do you know how we would do that?

Thanks,

kurtsont · 04-14-2021, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scratchy907

No we haven't. The fridge is a 12V only fridge and my husband thinks (but isn't sure) that it doesn't use the converter when trying to operate on battery power alone and that is when we have a problem.

However he could be wrong as he is not completely sure how the system is wired. Do you know how we would do that?

Thanks,

First disconnect the battery’s. Then remove the cover and remove the screws and pull out the converter he should be able to trace where the wires are going and check the connections.

Scratchy907 · 05-23-2021, 02:22 PM

UPDATE for those who may be experiencing similar problems.

First of all, there is still no solution to this problem. We haven't contacted Coachman yet, we camp a lot and to be quite frank don't want our trailer stuck in a service dealership for weeks on end. Since the fridge works on shore power and when plugged into a generator, we have been using it this way. We had one camping trip where we were boon docking and we used the mini Everchill (110V) in the outside kitchen plugged into an inverter using it's own battery and got 3 days out of a single 120 ah battery.

As for the Furrion fridge, as stated before it works just fine on shore power and the generator. Here are the results of our latest investigations this weekend:

1) Voltage at battery was 13.1V. Voltage at Fridge when fridge was switched off at the wall was also 13.1V.

2) Turn the fridge on at the wall, the light comes on, the compressor tries to start up but fails and the light inside the fridge flickers. Voltage at the battery when this happens drops to 12.8V but voltage at the fridge drops to 11.4V

3) Using the wires from underneath the fridge, we connect a battery directly into the fridge and turned the fridge on at the wall. The fridge started up first time, compressor kicked on and fridge started to work ?? Voltage before fridge started was 13.1v and voltage after fridge started dropped to 12.4V

4) Re-connected fridge to RV battery, fridge light came on, compressor tried to start and failed again.

We repeated this experiment with different batteries and got the same results 3 different times.

So now we know that the fridge works on shore power, generator, and when plugged directly into it's own battery. Still can't get the fridge to work when it is trying to run off of the RV battery.

We measured the distance from the fridge to the RV battery - 28.5 Feet. The wire under the fridge is 10 AWG. We are not electricians and don't know if this wire is sufficient or not.

We do have a friend with a little more knowledge who noticed that our grounding wire is connected to the positive terminal and while research online shows this shouldn't have an impact to our fridge, maybe it is a sign of shoddy wiring throughout the trailer?

If there is anyone out there who reads this and maybe has a light bulb moment I'd really appreciate your ideas! Also, maybe this post will help someone else experiencing similar issues..

Scratchy907 · 05-23-2021, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurtsont

First disconnect the battery’s. Then remove the cover and remove the screws and pull out the converter he should be able to trace where the wires are going and check the connections.

This is the only thing we have not yet checked. He took the cover off but didn't feel comfortable pulling the converter out as he was worried he might break something! He checked all the fuses and everything was working fine, I guess this is the next step.

Rolland · 05-24-2021, 09:47 AM

I’m guessing with all you have tried and posted you have checked the tightness of all connections at the back of the fridge. To get to it you may have to unscrew the fridge mounting, slide it forward a few inches and remove the panel (exposing the compressor, etc), behind the panel are many connections.

5 days after we took delivery of Spirit 1943RB the 12v Furrion fridge died sitting in our driveway, plugged into 110v. Our dealer found the ground wire very loose and fell out of the connection, other wires not tight and a loose inline fuse (glass fuse type). they replaced with a good one. Last Friday it ran all day only on 12v and in specs for safe food storage in the fridge and freezing water in the freezer. They planned to have it plugged in all weekend to 110 and see how it’s operating this morning.

Scratchy907 · 05-24-2021, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rolland

I’m guessing with all you have tried and posted you have checked the tightness of all connections at the back of the fridge. To get to it you may have to unscrew the fridge mounting, slide it forward a few inches and remove the panel (exposing the compressor, etc), behind the panel are many connections.

5 days after we took delivery of Spirit 1943RB the 12v Furrion fridge died sitting in our driveway, plugged into 110v. Our dealer found the ground wire very loose and fell out of the connection, other wires not tight and a loose inline fuse (glass fuse type). they replaced with a good one. Last Friday it ran all day only on 12v and in specs for safe food storage in the fridge and freezing water in the freezer. They planned to have it plugged in all weekend to 110 and see how it’s operating this morning.

Thanks. We have not yet pulled out the fridge and checked the connections at the back. We will add this to the list of checking connections at the converter also.

We don't think it's a blown fuse or anything like that because it works when it's plugged in to shore power and a generator. When plugged into the RV battery, it has voltage at the fridge and will turn on. (The inside light comes on). We assume (maybe incorrectly ?) if there were any blown fuses etc. the fridge wouldn't work ever. But the confusing thing is that it works just fine when plugged in. We also found out that it works just fine when you directly connect a battery at the fridge.

The only time we seem to have an issue is when the compressor tries to start off of the RV battery at the front of the trailer. The compressor will start off of the battery if you connect the battery at the fridge so maybe this is telling us there is something wrong with the converter? If that is case, why is there no problem with the converter when it is plugged in? So confusing!!

Good luck with your fridge!

Rolland · 05-24-2021, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scratchy907

Thanks. We have not yet pulled out the fridge and checked the connections at the back. We will add this to the list of checking connections at the converter also.

We don't think it's a blown fuse or anything like that because it works when it's plugged in to shore power and a generator. When plugged into the RV battery, it has voltage at the fridge and will turn on. (The inside light comes on). We assume (maybe incorrectly ?) if there were any blown fuses etc. the fridge wouldn't work ever. But the confusing thing is that it works just fine when plugged in. We also found out that it works just fine when you directly connect a battery at the fridge.

The only time we seem to have an issue is when the compressor tries to start off of the RV battery at the front of the trailer. The compressor will start off of the battery if you connect the battery at the fridge so maybe this is telling us there is something wrong with the converter? If that is case, why is there no problem with the converter when it is plugged in? So confusing!!

Good luck with your fridge!

Ours also had the fridge light working when it wouldn’t run before taking it to the dealer. The inline fuse on ours wasn’t blown but was loose and working intermittently. Looking at the wiring diagram it looks to me that it’s a fuse for the cooling fan but don’t know for sure. It was only discovered as well as the other wiring loose connections by pulling the back panel off.

Good luck

tomkatb · 05-24-2021, 12:37 PM

Are all three batteries connected?

That is not considered a good idea. All batteries should be matched in age and size. Adding a small one is an issue. Not sure of the results.

What you are describing is too small of a wire from the battery to the fridge. Too much line loss. Surly the manufacturer would not have done this. Loose connection?

Scratchy907 · 05-24-2021, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomkatb

Are all three batteries connected?

That is not considered a good idea. All batteries should be matched in age and size. Adding a small one is an issue. Not sure of the results.

What you are describing is too small of a wire from the battery to the fridge. Too much line loss. Surly the manufacturer would not have done this. Loose connection?

Thanks. No, all three batteries are not connected. We tried the same thing with three different batteries to see if the same thing happened with each. It did.

We also wondered about the wire. That is the wire that the trailer was built with.

Yes, we are going to look for a loose connection. Looks like Rolland above has had similar problems. We will pull the fridge out and look behind it. However, we have absolutely no problem with this fridge when it is plugged in. If there was a loose connection, wouldn't we have problems however we were trying to power the fridge and not just when it's being run off the RV battery?

My only other thought is that maybe there is something wrong with the 12v fuse box?

Without the fridge running, we are getting 13.1v at the battery and at the fridge. As soon as we turn the fridge on, the light will come on and after a few seconds the compressor will try to start. The light flickers, the compressor fails to start and voltage at the fridge drops to 11.4v. It seems the fridge cannot pull enough voltage through the RV's electrical system to start the compressor.

We do not have this issue when we are plugged in. Everything works fine.

tomkatb · 05-24-2021, 04:02 PM

I wonder if you charge the batteries up and check them with a hydrometer.

Not an expensive tool.

Scratchy907 · 05-24-2021, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomkatb

I wonder if you charge the batteries up and check them with a hydrometer.

Not an expensive tool.

I think we'd have to be pretty unlucky to have 3 bad batteries, but yes, it can't hurt. Will try that. Thank you.

One more thing we are going to try is to check and see if there is any resistance between the RV battery and 12v fuse box.

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