Fridge not working on 12V

vanmandan

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main fuse is OK.
I'm thinking it might be the split charge relay.
mine is a 5 pin 30A
Amazon only lists 60A &80A.
would the 60A be OK to fit ?
TIA.
 
You could swap the 2 relays over (one is the split charger the other is the fridge) and see if that does the trick to prove that one is indeed faulty. My fridge went off intermittently during our travels, but all it needed was pushing back in.
I got a supply before we left the UK in January from this ebay site
www.ebay.co.uk

5x 12v 30A 40A 5 Pin Automotive Relay Amp Car Van Motorbike Boat 5Pcs | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 5x 12v 30A 40A 5 Pin Automotive Relay Amp Car Van Motorbike Boat 5Pcs at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk
 
There is nothing at all special about a split charge relay. Any 12v relay that has the same pin configuration will do. The current it will carry will be less than 20A so any you can find will be fine. I have a few that I bought a year or two ago (they're less than £1 each if you buy ten) which are excellent.
A relay that's rated to take a higher current will be fine, within reason (a 200A relay might draw too much coil current).
I'd worry about why the relay has failed, if it has. Check carefully: a bad connection is far more likely.
 
That is how I understand it
common to the few vehicles/vans that I owned, the options were:
Static with 220v : 220v cooling
Static with no 220v : gas cooling (plus 12v for light & control board)
Engine running : 12v cooling - energy from alternator.

I leave mine in auto-select with a supply of gas available.
In rural Spain, power cuts are frequent, leaving the gas on enables auto-switch to gas.
Turn off gas supply when driving, rely on engine.
This ensures that the fridge doesn't switch to gas and ignite when I am on a forecourt.
Switch on gas supply for overnight or longer stops.
 
All auto-select (AES) fridges wait about fifteen minutes after stopping the engine before lighting the gas. This is in case you stopped to refuel.
In hot weather, after stopping the engine I sometimes turn the fridge off for a second to make it light the gas immediately (not when refuelling, of course).
 
dont think it's a bad connection..... pulled all the wires from the relay & reconnected them.
past week or so the 12v was working sometimes, then not........ now not at all.
it's an AES Dometic with the option of self selecting, I'll just run it on gas during the day & switch it off at night.
( yes, I'll remember to switch it off when refueling)
I'm returning from Portugal, now in France........I see Halfords has the relay for £5
will pick one up in Folkestone & hope that does the trick.
thanks for your input folks.
 
vanmandan said:
dont think it's a bad connection..... pulled all the wires from the relay & reconnected them.
past week or so the 12v was working sometimes, then not........ now not at all.
it's an AES Dometic with the option of self selecting, I'll just run it on gas during the day & switch it off at night.
( yes, I'll remember to switch it off when refueling)
I'm returning from Portugal, now in France........I see Halfords has the relay for £5
will pick one up in Folkestone & hope that does the trick.
thanks for your input folks.
Click to expand...
Don't just check the relay connections: at the very least also pull the fuse out and put it in again.
Your plan to swap the relay over to see was a good one. What happened?
 
Some SCR relays are double ones, with more connections, so they can switch both lines at the same time. A normal relay has two field connections and three others (common, NO and NC) a double one has more. It's cheaper and better to use two standard relays, but not all motorhome makers do it that way.

If it is an auto-switching (AES) fridge, it may not use a SCR at all.

Mine has a wire from the D+ connector on the alternator, so it decides for itself when the engine is running. It goes via a fuse in the engine bay. On mine a few years ago, it was a bit corroded where it connected to the fuse holder, so was staying on gas until I cleaned it.
 
Before you start messing about with relays and wiring, you should physically check the Fridge operation because a common fault on these Fridges is a failure on the Printed Circuit Board. Your Fridge might work as normal if you manually set the switch to the 12 volt position instead of relying on the AES.

I have a similar problem with my Dometic AES Fridge/Freezer with the Gas operation. 9 times out of 10 I have to manually select Gas but occasionally it will work automatically.
 
vanmandan said:
dont think it's a bad connection..... pulled all the wires from the relay & reconnected them.
past week or so the 12v was working sometimes, then not........ now not at all.
it's an AES Dometic with the option of self selecting, I'll just run it on gas during the day & switch it off at night.
( yes, I'll remember to switch it off when refueling)
I'm returning from Portugal, now in France........I see Halfords has the relay for £5
will pick one up in Folkestone & hope that does the trick.
thanks for your input folks.
Click to expand...
just short out relay to check that isn't the fault, loads of pin out diagrams on the net.
Did you check element continuity?
 
vanmandan said:
already pulled the fuse.
don't know where second relay is located.
that was oppys suggestion.
Click to expand...
Perhaps it's because ours is a rather geriatric van, but both the relays are together Close to the battery, and for me, it was a really easy task to check
 
seems I spoke too soon..........
when I saw the green light next to the 12v light up I assumed everything was ok.
now after starting, the green light says on for about 10 seconds then goes red,
I also heard a click from under the French bed & sure enough there's another relay on an electric panel there.
it's switching off the main +ve feed to the the relay next to the fridge.
now thinking it's a bad 12v heating element.
any bright sparks out there like to comment ????
I wont be able to check it myself as I'm disabled from a stroke 10 years ago & only have the use of my right arm.
thanks.
 
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