Thetford Fridge N175 not working on gas

regnarts

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2 days before I head off to Spain for 3 moths I find my fridge will not work on either gas nor 12V on vehicle start. I'm in a dilemna wether to head off or cancel my long awaited trip now.
Fridge will only work on 240v power, I've checked the gas it is lighting up then failing after 30 seconds with Fault 9 then when I start vehicle goes to battery but again fails on fault 10. Going to see a local dealer tomorrow but does'nt sound promising as they already told me a 3 to 4 week wait time on parts etc. Should i just go to Spain powering fridge through a 2500amp inverter off my 200amph lythium whilst driving then relying on the solar. Would I be able to get a repair done in Spain has anyone any experience with this. I am really gutted as its been idle for 3 months and could have been sorted if I had known.
 
regnarts said:
2 days before I head off to Spain for 3 moths I find my fridge will not work on either gas nor 12V on vehicle start. I'm in a dilemna wether to head off or cancel my long awaited trip now.
Fridge will only work on 240v power, I've checked the gas it is lighting up then failing after 30 seconds with Fault 9 then when I start vehicle goes to battery but again fails on fault 10. Going to see a local dealer tomorrow but does'nt sound promising as they already told me a 3 to 4 week wait time on parts etc. Should i just go to Spain powering fridge through a 2500amp inverter off my 200amph lythium whilst driving then relying on the solar. Would I be able to get a repair done in Spain has anyone any experience with this. I am really gutted as its been idle for 3 months and could have been sorted if I had known.
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Your N175 Thetford will be on around 75% of the time, pulling around 200W when on.
So when the sun is down (say between 8PM and 6PM being optimistic) that is around 1500Wh every night. Add in maybe 20% for inverter inefficiencies and that would be 1800Wh overnight. Your 200Ah of Lithium from full to dead will have 2560Wh, so you have enough power to run the fridge from a full battery, but do you have enough solar to put back over 2kWh, as well as the approximate 2.5kWh you will need to run the fridge during the day, every day bearing in mind you will need power for other use.
I would hazard a guess that would be very unlikely.

If it were me, I would buy a Compressor Coolbox which will do a much more efficient job than a 3-way on 240V (around 7 times more efficiently) and go on my trip using that. If you get the fridge fixed, good stuff and sell the coolbox on.
 
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It is likely that the control unit has failed. I had a similar fault in France a good few years ago.

I found that I could light the gas burner with a match and provided the fridge thermostat was set to maximum it would stay alight pretty much permanently. I used this technique until I could get the control unit replaced.

In my experience it is much easier getting such problems fixed in Europe. If you phone a dealer here they usually have a list of excuses prepared to explain the delay in sorting it out.

My experience in France was exactly the opposite. I found a Thetford authorised repairer through their website, phoned them, and the unit was replaced on the spot. I had to do this twice because the first replacement failed after a few weeks. It was replaced at another dealer free of charge under warranty.

Both dealers had the part in stock. (Probably because they are prone to failure.)

The unit isn't cheap and the job is fiddly so can take some time. However labour rates are lower in Europe than here.

If it were me I'd check for dealers on your route and give them a call tomorrow and see if you can get booked in. Make sure to get a price for the job.

Bon voyage!
 
True a problem with both 12v and gas at the same time would suggest an issue with the main control panel but it could be 2 separate issues occurring at the same time.
Try vacuuming any debris from around the gas burner/thermocouple.
Check the fuse in the main 12v supply to the fridge heater, these often fatigue over time because the current at 14.4v as the engine is running is way higher than the 12v rating.
Good luck and hope you get away🤗
 
Thanks for responses & advice, I have managed to get a replacement control panel & changed out with a succesful outcome.
The 12v power supply was my fault as I removed both 30a & 3a fuses to test them, then replaced them in the wrong slots blowing the 3a fuse.
Thankfully all is now sorted and the trip is now about to start fingers crossed. Addios
 
Power board. I changed the one on mine, part about £120 and a bit fiddly to do.

Oh just missed your post!
 
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