Newbie Questions! Living in a camper!

Times are tough, what can I say! I find myself living in a camper! Not sure of the size, but guessing I will say it is a 32 footer tow behind a vehicle type camper. Anyway, i got a propane tank today and that has lead me to several issues!
I have a Norcold 662 bk refrigerator that is a 2 way. It seems to be dead. I plugged it in, have the battery connected up front, and the propane is on, but as far as anything else I am just confused! I am used to just plugging things in and they work! I have no indication of power or anything to this fridge! What do I check from this point? Under neath the fridge is some sort of power box that I can tell is getting power because I hear a slight buzz from it.
Another thing I attempted to do was light the pilot light for the water heater and it wouldn't accept a flame at all. My stove top works though and I get propane through that system.

I will have more questions I am sure, but will look through the forums first!
Thanks for any help
Mr Carlson

Both the fridge and the water heater need 12v power to function, even if they are running primarily on electric or propane. Their internal controls are all 12v powered. That would be the first thing to check

I checked the battery by removing the wire I connected the other day and noticed no visible change to anything. The box under the fridge ( i think it is some form of power inverter) was still buzzing and everything still works inside (lights and power). So leads me to think the battery is dead. Is there any simple way to see if the battery is dead and I need to replace it?

Thanks for the reply Gary! Appreciate your help!

Local auto parts shops (Auto Zone, Napa, etc.) will check your battery for free.

Wendy

The buzzing box under the fridge is the converter.  It's like a battery charger - when you're plugged into electricity it takes 120 volts and converts it to 12 volts to charge your battery.  It also runs your 12 volt lights, the control boards for your appliances, the furnace fan, etc.  Basically everything in your RV except the 120 volt outlets and the air conditioner.

When you're NOT plugged into electricity, the battery supplies 12 volts to do the above.

Since you were plugged into electricity when you disconnected the battery, you still have 12 volt power coming from the converter.  Put the wire back on the battery, then unplug the trailer from electricity and see if your lights still work.  If they do, the battery is probably OK.  If they don't work when you're not connected to electricity, the battery is dead.

Your hot water heater might not have a pilot.  Many just light themselves from a spark when you turn on a switch inside the rig.  There may be two switches - if one looks like a normal wall switch that's for a 120 volt electric water heating element.  The other switch to light the gas flame (if you have one) looks like an automotive rocker switch and may have a red light on it.  The light comes on if the flame blows out or doesn't light.

As far as the refrigerator goes, it's pretty much silent while operating.  A small flame or heating element boils a water and ammonia mixture and the ammonia gas circulates through the fridge by convection to cool it.  It takes some time, sometimes several hours, for the system to heat up and begin cooling the fridge.

Since the fridge relies on convection to circulate the coolant, the RV has to be level front to rear and side to side for the refrigerator to work properly.  When it starts cooling the first thing to cool down will be the rear wall of the freezer, then it the cold will extend downward into the fins in the back of the fridge after the freezer cools down.  But all of this takes some time.  Turn on the fridge, walk away for a while and see if it's getting cold when you come back.

Thank you for the replys. Very helpful! I will check the battery and be back with more questions I am sure!!

I'm back! The battery was dead. Have it replaced with a brand new battery from the RV place in town. Problem is still not solved with the fridge though. Nothing but dead silence. No lights on the display panel or anything.