12V Fuse blows on Fridge circuit

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
cwilt said:
Interesting... I think something in the fridge is causing this. When I check the manual it doesn't mention a moisture control switch. Do you know where it is located or what to look for?
Click to expand...
On a dometic the control panel is called the "Eyebrow" the Moisture control is on the bottom of the Eyebrow (Open freezer door to access) also there may be a LAT switch there...
What they do
Moisture (I forget how it's labeled) turns on a heat element that runs around the door seals.. on mine it shorted and fuses a popping. I ended up disconnecting it
The LAT turns on the inside light even when the door is closed. (low ambient Temp)
I did not have that feature and when needed I had to do it by "other means"..
However. Plugged in or not should not matter in these cases So I have no idea why it only happens plugged in.
 
John From Detroit said:
On a dometic the control panel is called the "Eyebrow" the Moisture control is on the bottom of the Eyebrow (Open freezer door to access) also there may be a LAT switch there...
What they do
Moisture (I forget how it's labeled) turns on a heat element that runs around the door seals.. on mine it shorted and fuses a popping. I ended up disconnecting it
The LAT turns on the inside light even when the door is closed. (low ambient Temp)
I did not have that feature and when needed I had to do it by "other means"..
However. Plugged in or not should not matter in these cases So I have no idea why it only happens plugged in.
Click to expand...

I just checked and mine only has a switch marked as Climate Control. I'm going to turn it off and see what happens.

Thanks for the info.
 
Climate Control is a euphemism for the moisture (condensation) control that John described. It operates a heater that evaporates condensation from the edges around the door seals.
 
cwilt said:
No, I likely have more experience with electric troubleshooting than the folks they hire plus chasing issues like this could take hours that I'm not willing to pay someone else to do.
Click to expand...
Or they have seen the same problem with rigs like yours and can fix it in an hour? I also don't want to see you do something wrong and mess up something in your rig.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Earlier you mentioned that it only fails when on 30A shore power. That should not be a factor at all, since it's a DC system fuse and you have full 12vdc whether 30A or 50A or even no shore power at all. If you are confident that 30A shore is somehow related, focus on what operates different when on 30A power. For example, do you put the water heater on LP instead of electric? Maybe the fridge too? If 30A is a factor, there has to be a clue somewhere.
Click to expand...
I had an issue with my popup fridge on my second trip. In transitioning from shore power to the 12v from the tow vehicle, I got something wrong wrong in the sequence and popped the 30amp breaker in the truck for the circuit that sent 12v to the trailer. To those who know more than me: Could the device that decides to use 12v or shore power for the fridge be ha ing an issue?

Way out of my comfort zone on this,but even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then.
 
Update...

I removed the interior light and turned the climate control off. I went all weekend without blowing a fuse. I have a feeling it is the climate control that is causing this and I'll continue to test it next weekend.

Thanks everyone.
 
I tried the climate control on my fridge when I came to Florida as the freezer was icing up faster.

I found the climate control drive temps up inside and the freezing was only slightly improved. I could chalk it up to 27 year old door seals as well but I don't use climate control and get along fine.
 
In a Dometic RV absorption fridge, "climate control" is a euphemism for eliminating condensation on the outside of the fridge. It heats up the skin around the door frame to evaporate the condensation, thus making it harder for the fridge to maintain temperature inside.
 
Next update...

I put the light back in and changed over to auto, to use ac when available this weekend. No blown fuses again.

When I get a chance to monitor it more closely, I'll turn the climate control back on to see what happens. I think I'll ohm out the circuit before and likely after the fuse blows.

Thanks again everyone.
 
Well I haven't had much time to continue to test the climate control issue and the problem came back this weekend while we were out. This rules out the climate control circuit because the fuses started popping again. I even disconnected the wires to the switch for the climate control and it still popped fuses.

My next thought is it is in the wiring running to the slide out that could be connected to that circuit. The slide only has a couple lights and AC outlets on it but one of the lights hasn't worked. Something I haven't been able to troubleshoot yet. Also the slide out is next to the bathroom which is part of the circuit.

I looked around the slide out and I couldn't see where the wiring runs through to it. Obviously the wiring moves back and forth when extending and retracting so I'm thinking maybe there's a wire shorting out in there somewhere.

Do any of you experts know where I should look to track down that wiring to the slide out?

Thank You.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 833 (members: 6, guests: 827)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,981
Posts
1,388,594
Members
137,727
Latest member
Davidomero
Back
Top Bottom