Fridge not getting cold?

[triumphboy]

Hi all

We went away in our inaugural weekend away to Kent in "Betty", our new '89 Autosleeper last weekend. All went very well indeed, apart from the fridge didn't seem to get cold on hook up - not like we actually needed a fridge with the weather at the moment(!) but we are building up for a couple of weeks in Austria in the summer so want to get everything sorted....

Anyway, maybe I'm just not doing something right, but I switched the Refigerator 'on' on the control panel and flicked the switch 'up' to hookup power on the fridge and...nothing even after a few hours.

All the other electrics work fine. We were running a small fan heater and a bedside light at the same time. Is it possible there just wasn't enough power for this?

Any known issues with this type of fridge / control panel or any way of testing?

Any help much appreciated! Thanks!

[lloydy]

Have you checked the fuse? Not just the fridge one, but the others, looked to be marked 1,2,3,4.
Could be something simple like a fuse, if they all are ok check for mains power at the fridge, if that's ok probably a new element needed. Does it work on 12v and gas?
Looking at the pic properly, number two fuse holder is missing...............

[Oldiebut goodie]

Surely that is just a 12v distribution board - I can't see any mains indication on it at all.
I expect all the mains voltage stuff is elsewhere.

[Ian Hulley]

Fridges also need to be level to work properly even if the power's on to them

Ian

[1664]

Surely that is just a 12v distribution board - I can't see any mains indication on it at all.
I expect all the mains voltage stuff is elsewhere.

Correct. The Autosleeper control Panel has no mains to it. The feed to the fridge is straight from a circuit breaker in the mains consumer unit. The switch on the control panel is for the 12v fridge operation.

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Was an audible 'click' heard when the thermostat was rotated? Could be the interior of the fridge was already cold enough...

Hook up to mains, check incoming RCD and circuit breakers of the consumer unit are turned on. Push the 'TEST' button on the incoming RCD and it should trip out. If it does, then the consumer unit is live. If it doesn't, either the RCD is knackered (very slim chance but worth a mention) or the mains isn't getting through to the consumer unit (much more likely).

If mains present, place a moderately hot water bottle in the fridge for 1/2 hour then quickly remove and close the door.Turn the 'stat up to max and leave it on mains for a few hours, then feel the metal tray in the ice box (carefully as if it's working your hand may stick to it).

[mrdp]

HI, When you have the hook up on. Put your ear near the fridge when you turn it on you should hear a slight 'ticking' noise as it starts to work, this is a good sign. As noted earlier the van does need to be level and on mine that really does mean level. I have had mine 'pretty level' and you can hear the ticking noise but it doesn't get cold. Level it up a touch and bingo . If you hear no ticking noise I suspect its not working at all. Hope it's just the levelling issue

[kevtherev]

does the fridge work ok on gas?

[1664]

does the fridge work ok on gas?

Good point. I assumed it worked on 12v and gas.....

[nevill3]

Did the fridge get cold when on 12v while you were driving to your destination, this would show that it works, (It usually only works whilst on 12v whilst the engine is running) and try the gas too. When I first got my van I was ready to have the fridge out due to it not working when I received the tip about getting it level, voila it worked. (I just put a small spirit level on the shelves inside to check)

Good luck

Nev

[triumphboy]

Thanks so much for all the helpful responses, there are many things to try out there. I hope to be able to get round to it very soon!

[triumphboy]

Just wanted to give you guys an update....the problems was as simple as Ian suggested - we weren't on a level surface. As soon as we tried it 'on the level' it worked fine. In fact I can't believe how cold the fridge gets, it's better than our fridge at home!

Thanks again for all the input

[Oldiebut goodie]

Interesting that that made a difference on yours - I have exactly the same fridge and have never had to level up the van to work well. Indeed sometimes have used it at the limits of comfortable sleeping whilst wild camping and had no trouble. Maybe you have one of the older models (square boiler tube casing) that were more intolerant.