Club 80-90 Forums

Can anyone help
we are in Holland then going to France.
Some days ago the fridge wouldn't work on gas (igniter stopped) working and also on mains the fridge stopped cooling as well.
Driving the camper the 12v circuit seems fine with cooling.
Now from Bentley manual it seems the Gas and Mains cooling are controlled through the thermostat.
Also the green light (fridge on light) in both mains and gas mode only comes on if our propex heater is on, which I take indicates a return circuit
is being made in this mode.
Any way can anyone throw any light on this.
I currently suspect either the three way switch or the thermostat.
I have checked the 12 volt feed 3 spade coupler with two brown together , blue and red 12 volt (live) under the sink so still think its to do with switching.
I have checked both fuses in the little box on the drivers door pillar (LHD) and they are ok.
I don't think there are any fuses or relays for the fridge in the main fuse box but let me know if I have missed something.
As we are on the road I don't want to strip out the fridge yet so any info would be welcome as a working fridge would be very welcome

PS the unit under the bed is a split voltage regulator. Can this cause problems with the fridge circuits as there is no circuit diagramme in Bentley
cheers
Kevin

If the unit works on 12V it's not the refrigeration circuit that has failed.

If it won't work on gas because you know the igniter isn't working, it's quite likely that the two faults are not connected.

Every time I have been asked to repair a fridge that doesn't work on mains electric it has been the 240V element failed.

They aren't difficult or expensive to replace once you have gained access, but probably not a job to do on the road.

You gain access either by removing the bottom vent grille, or by pulling the fridge out of the van. While it's out, it is a good idea to clean the gas jet etc, which is usually full of rust, and in your case to sort the igniter.

Could be the ignitor has a build up of crud between it and the thermocouple preventing a spark or big enough spark.

I had a problem with my 184 not working on gas so took the fridge out yesterday and the ignitor and thermocouple were joined together by crud. Cleaned it up, tested it - huge big spark now, put the fridge back in and it works fine now. Within 60 mins it was producing ice.

Took 15 mins to get fridge out and about 30 to get back in, so it really is an easy job.

chriscburgess wrote:..................it really is an easy job.

Maybe it is on a Westfalia, but I seem to remember having to take out the hob first, and the rear fixings were almost impossible to access. Then the fridge was built in with all sorts of seals at the back and sides. Second time I needed to get at it I did it in situ through the bottom grille.

But you're quite right about crud in the igniter.