Not sure if the fridge working or not!! Any help welcome

[Barbarella]

Hi everyone,
I have a general query about the 3 way fridge which came with our 1986 van. We have only ever used it on the electric hook up but it wasn't particularly cold and the small freezer section wasn't any colder than the main section. It kept the food cold enough,just, but wouldn't have kept it all fresh if it had been hot weather or we had been using it for any longer than a day and overnight. So my question is are they all like that or is our fridge just old and on the way out?
Thanks folks

[R0B]

On hookup you should be getting ice in the freezer.summats not working on yours

[Mocki]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIGITAL-FRIDG ... 3a83e73d32" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Simples!

[ZsZ]

Did you bought it new or was an used one? Built in or stand alone?
On long term storage or shipment some bubbles can form in the coolant causing low flow rates inside the tubes. Turn it upside down for overnight, that should get the bubbles in the evaporator.

[The Bishop]

if that fails, take it out and round the back are two pipes. with it plugged in the 240v one should get very hot, too hot to touch,

[Ralf85]

Did you bought it new or was an used one? Built in or stand alone?
On long term storage or shipment some bubbles can form in the coolant causing low flow rates inside the tubes. Turn it upside down for overnight, that should get the bubbles in the evaporator.

Yep. If it hasn't been used for a long time, taking out and turning upside down is the answer to getting it working properly again. Also when you've done that, run the fridge occasionally during the winter, to stop this happening again.

[Oldiebut goodie]

Turning upside down is to remix the constituent parts of the mixture as they can separate during long periods of inactivity, not for bubbles.

[dbz864]

Fridges are a pain in the a***! As said turn it upside down,have you not tried it on gas and 240volt?

[R0B]

Mate.Electric hookup is 240v

[Oldiebut goodie]

[dbz864]

Whoops,meant 12volt.lol.

[ZsZ]

Turning upside down is to remix the constituent parts of the mixture as they can separate during long periods of inactivity, not for bubbles.

Lifelong learning

[Barbarella]

Thanks guys for all the advice. In answer to the questions- it's an old one built in and no haven't tried it on the gas as we always have to crack a window a little when we use the gas in the van as there is always a bit of a smell. We have only tried it once on the hook up but once we get into camping session again we will try the turning up side down trick and see if that helps. We plan to redo the interior this spring anyway as there is obviously an issue with the gas smell when we turn it on to use the cooker, but with regard to the fridge we have no idea when it was used prior to us buying the van last May- if the mechanics are anything to go on the van hadn't had a lot of use in recent years.
Thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated

[dbz864]

Forgot to say. Fridges have to be level to work, so if you've parked on a slope it wont work