Electrolux 3 Way Fridge

motorhead550

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Hi, The Electrolux 3 Way Fridge wont operate on 12v......no problems with gas & 240v it seems tho'. Have checked the fuses which are located under the bonnet & all seem ok. Always run the engine when on 12v too. The engine battery ran flat, so I removed & recharged, but still no 12v operation.......can anyone help? Thanks.
 
I had this problem last month. I simply took out the fridge and ran new wiring and fuse. Works a treat now and only took about 30 minutes.
 
I've had a few "dry" spade connectors on the Electrolux fridges over the years. Try taking off and refitting the connectors a few times - small squirt of WD40 to help make a better circuit.

After that if it does not work, do as advised by caspar.

BTW its really best to have a dedicated leisure battery to run appliances - unless you can park on a hill everytime you park up for a bump start. Starting/cranking batteries are not suited to being discharged below about 70% (varies by make) - whereas leisure batteries are designed to go down to around the 30% - 40% mark and then recovering. I'd be buying a new starting battery before winter set in.

Do a lookup in the forums on fitting leisure batteries and simple dual battery charging circuits - its a lot cheaper than stuffing batteries every few years.
 
Didn't pick up that you don't have a dedicated leisure battery. It really is well worth the cost of buying one. All you need to get it to charge as you drive along is a spotlight relay wired up - about £5.00! Connect to the ignition or alternator, or alternatively you can have it manually switched (though the danger here is that you forget to turn it off when you stop so still end up draining the engine battery.

A very cheap, quick and easy job - just make sure you use the correct wire and the lowest fuse you can get away with without it blowing.

ps Insulated spade connectors make excellent fuse holders and are much cheaper!
 
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Thanks for all your responses. Yes the vehicle has a dedicated leisure battery for all the other functions, but the fridge takes its 12v from the engine battery, so the engine needs to run to operate the fridge in this mode. Maybe the battery is on its way out perhaps? The motor is still under warranty so I may get it repaired while its still covered as I've limited time to carry out any modifications.
 
motorhead550 said:
Thanks for all your responses. Yes the vehicle has a dedicated leisure battery for all the other functions, but the fridge takes its 12v from the engine battery, so the engine needs to run to operate the fridge in this mode. Maybe the battery is on its way out perhaps? The motor is still under warranty so I may get it repaired while its still covered as I've limited time to carry out any modifications.
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The fridge works on 12 volt only when the engine is running. The fuses under the bonnet

are from the relay. Fridge is wired from the D connection on the alternator to relay then

via fuse to fridge . If you have power at fuse connection then the problem should be

with the wire direct to fridge The leisure battery has NO connection with the fridge
 
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If the vehicle has a dual battery setup - I'd expect the leisure battery to be isolated from the cranking battery by a solenoid of some sort - engine off = no charge to the leisure battery and no discharge from the cranking battery. Just rewire the the fridge to the leisure battery. If the leisure battery was not isolated from the cranking battery it would have discharged at the same time as the cranking battery - do you remember if the living area lights still worked?

Sounds as though the leisure battery may have been the original culprit and someone (previous owner??) has rewired the fridge to operate off the cranking battery. Maybe a quick visit to an auto elec to have both batteries tested unless you can do it yourself with appropriate testers that can check the alternator as well the batteries. There's plenty of info on here and the internet about leisure batteries, sizing, simple dual battery circuits, gel v wet v glass mat etc. etc. Just dont use a cranking battery as a leisure battery they just cant hack it.
 
Mickt said:
The fridge works on 12 volt only when the engine is running. The fuses under the bonnet

are from the relay. Fridge is wired from the D connection on the alternator to relay then

via fuse to fridge . If you have power at fuse connection then the problem should be

with the wire direct to fridge The leisure battery has NO connection with the fridge
Click to expand...

I agree with Mickt. The fridge should only work on 12v when the engine (alternator) is producing power. If the split charge relay has gone faulty it may be cutting of this connection. The power should only flow when the ignition light is off.

As an experiment try connecting the fridge heating element direct to a battery remember this draws a lot of current (130w @12V = about 11 amps) so if left connected to a battery it will soon flatten it.
 
Still have the original manual for my express merlin and im certain the wiring diagram for the shows that 12v runs directly off the alternator via a relay that energises when the engine is running. It should not be connected to the leisure battery because it will flatten it quicker than the alternator can charge it.
 
If your alternator is not very powerful (as has been suggested) you could always fit a more powerful one. They come in a range of outputs. A split charge relay is easy to fit.
 
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