Westy 3 way fridge - wiring to leisure battery

[IndigoSteve]

Please bear with me - I am an electrical beginner

Van is a 1984 Westy Joker

I've been re wiring all the interior appliances that attach to the leisure battery to a blade fuse block (just to tidy things up). In addition to this I have purchased a 100W solar panel and wired this in via a dual controller - the solar panel has been doing brilliantly and last weekend we were off hookup the entire time with the kids merrily charging devices.

With this in mind - the only issue I had was a warming fridge (std 3 way fridge in westy) being off hookup - The gas system doesn't work so I pinched the feed from under the sink for the propex heater.

I am aware that the fridge plugs into a European socket when on hookup and has a single wire with a spade connector for 12v - this connects to a wire in the loom that runs the fridge on 12v when the engine is running - I assume this feeds off the alternator ????? Can someone clarify this?

So I tried to attached an option to wire it directly to the leisure battery via a simple on/off switch that would enable me to choose to power the fridge when it's sunny and the solar is cooking on full power.

To do this I attached a piggy back spade connector to a 15amp wire and connected the "alternator" power wire and the fridge wire to this and then ran to the fuse block with a 15amp fuse. Every time I threw the switch the fuse blew!!

Any ideas why this happens ? Does the fridge draw many more amps? How big a fuse do I go to?

Does anyone have an alternate option?

Your comments appreciated.

[California Dreamin]

Gets its feed from the split charge relay (or it did) which only allows power to the fridge when the engine is running.
And for good reason..these absorption fridges draw around 8 amps continuous current on 12 volts. Your 100 watt solar panel won't be able to keep up even on the sunniest day and even used in conjunction with a full leisure battery I suggest that there is too much being taken out and too little putting in, for this to be a practical solution.
It is possible with a compressor fridge but these draw half as much current and the motor 'cycles' on and off.

Your best bet is to get the gas working again.

Martin

[marlinowner]

When the engine isn't running, that wire to the alternator is effectively a ground (this is how the ignition light on the dashboard works), to connect as you wish you would need to use a two way on/on switch rather than a simple on/off one. That's without considering Martin's reply.

[kevtherev]

So it begs the question why doesn't the fridge work on gas?

[California Dreamin]

Indeed ...the original 5 terminal relay Westfalia used was a double make and break so the two output terminals, 87 & 87b, were/are not connected. Many users mistakenly replace the original relay with the more common

CORRECT type.






WRONG types.









Otherwise you could UPGRADE to a Lucas/Durite SRB630 relay which is designed exactly for this purpose, with 70amp main switching for the batteries and a second 20 amp take off for the fridge (you can see electrically, this is identical to the original but uprated from 30 to 70amps on the battery switching contacts)





Martin

[IndigoSteve]

Not sure why the fridge doesn't work on gas. I took it out and cleaned it all and had it running outside the cupboard but when I put it all back the igniter kept firing even though it seemed to be lit?


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[IndigoSteve]

Not sure why the fridge doesn't work - I took it out and cleaned it and seemed to have it working when out the cupboard but when I put it back in the ignition seemed to keep firing and wouldn't stop



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[IndigoSteve]

Martin

I had some issues with the split charge working last year so had it in the garage to be replaced and they said they replaced with the 'expensive' one c£80 I think so hoping it's the one you mentioned above


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