04 Journey - Fridge working on generator/shore power but not on battery or LP?

[cheeky_dragon]

Does anyone have any suggestions as to why my fridge works fine off the generator or shore power but will not run on LP or A/C from the batteries?

Cheers

Simon

 

[John Canfield]

Hi Simon - welcome!

The fridge needs 12V at a certain minimum voltage to operate.  Go to bryantrv.com and download your fridge manual.  Chances are there are some diagnostics available on the fridge to give you an idea of what's wrong.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Most likely bad batteries. When on shore power or generator, your converter/charger supplies 12v, but without those you are relying on the batteries and they may be dead.

The fridge control circuit board needs 12v at all times, whether running on gas or electric.

 

[Neal]

Does anyone have any suggestions as to why my fridge works fine off the generator or shore power but will not run on LP or A/C from the batteries?

Cheers

Simon

Does it work fine in LPG mode on shore power, or is it in Electric mode?

 

[maddog348]

".......but will not run on LP or A/C from the batteries" ???

 

[Neal]

".......but will not run on LP or A/C from the batteries" ???

My thinking was, he did not specify while working fine on shore power & generator if this included LPG mode, electric mode, ETC. So if it was working fine on electric mode, but maybe he had not checked LPG mode while on shore power, then this would mean it worked fine on electric mode on shore power.
Then when in battery mode, maybe inverter not turned on, not working ETC. Maybe LPG mode was not working from any source, then should check ignition & flame proving, ETC.

 

[maddog348]

Neal ~~ I was responding to OP's  statement ~~ not your explanation.  AS I first read it he expected alternating current from the batteries to run the fridge.  I did not make myself clear.  ~  K

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Some people run the fridge off the batteries via an inverter too.

 

[John Canfield]

Now all we need is the Original Poster to make an appearance and provide some more input

 

[cheeky_dragon]

Sorry everyone, I have been away in the MH for a few days and had not had a chance to check back in.

Let me clarify a couple of things as I understand my comment about AC on the batteries was confusing and inaccurate. I mostly leave the fridge in auto mode and it used to run off LP regardless of whether the inverter was on or off. Now it won't work at all unless the generator is running or we are plugged in to shore power. We have LP and the flow works to the stove top but I'll double check the message that is being displayed

Thanks again everyone

Simon

 

[Ned]

Most refrigerators aren't wired to the inverter so it's normal for it to run on propane when not on shore or generator power, even if the inverter is on.  If it won't run on propane when on batteries only, I would suspect low battery voltage such that the control board won't work.  When you have shore or generator power the charger/converter is supplying enough DC voltage so the refrigerator works.  Check your battery voltage with and without A/C power.

 

[cheeky_dragon]

Thanks Ned I'll take a look at that.

I recently replaced the coach batteries with new ones and there's a fairly constant charge from the solar panels

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

If you recently replaced the batteries and now have this problem, I would guess you either wired them incorrectly or blew a fuse in the process.

 

[cheeky_dragon]

I replaced the batteries in June and the fridge has been working fine for months so this is a recent development. Will get the voltage tester out on the weekend and poke about

 

[Neal]

Most refrigerators aren't wired to the inverter so it's normal for it to run on propane when not on shore or generator power, even if the inverter is on.  If it won't run on propane when on batteries only, I would suspect low battery voltage such that the control board won't work.  When you have shore or generator power the charger/converter is supplying enough DC voltage so the refrigerator works.  Check your battery voltage with and without A/C power.

Hi Ned,

I think our frig when set on auto runs on LPG when the inverter is off & defaults to electric when the inverter is on, when disconnected from power supply or generator.  I know we normally run with the inverter on to save on LPG. Some also think it is safer than LPG when driving, especially when the frig is in a slide like ours & does not have a roof stack.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Many rigs have a pair of outlets for the fridge, one for the icemaker power cord and one for the fridge. The icemaker power outlet is typically driven by the inverter and the fridge outlet typically not on inverter, thus allowing the icemaker to work while the fridge runs on gas and no shore power.  But it's easy enough to move the fridge power cord to the other outlet if that's what you want.

On the newest models, many of which have a large inverter as standard equipment, it is becoming more common to wire the fridge outlet to the inverter, for the reasons Neal cited.