valsarhino Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 I'm new to motorhoming and need a little help. Our Thetford N150 fridge freezer works perfectly on mains hook up or gas but does not seem to work on 12v when travelling. (everything defrosts) The little blue LED is not flashing and no fault is showing on the control panel. We have been told it could be a fuse??? if so can someone tell me where the fuse is located. We are holidaying in Europe in a few weeks so really need to sort this out.Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmac Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Hi fridge will not run on gas when engine is running. You have to switch fridge control to 12volt, on my fridge its an icon that looks like a battery. Regards David Sorry ignore the above did not read question properly, could be the relay is jammed Fridge fuses are quite often located under the passenger seat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Val Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums. It wiould be helpful to have details (make/model/year of manufacture) of your vehicle as the location of fuses and the specification of motorhome electrical systems vary widely. I believe the Thetford N150 fridge/freezer had a Smart Energy System designed to a choose gas, 12V or 230V automatically according to which energy source was available. Consequently, as your N150 won’t operate on 12V, this may be due to something straightforward like a failed fuse/relay or a problem with the appliance’s electronics. If you say which motorhome you own a forum-member may be able to advise you how best to proceed regarding fuse location. My own feeling is that, as you have a holiday abroad impending, you’d be wise to get a Thetford service agent involved sooner rather than later. Thetford service centres can be identified via this link http://www.thetford-europe.com/dealers-service-centres/# Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Derek Uzzell - 2015-06-24 8:27 AM......................My own feeling is that, as you have a holiday abroad impending, you’d be wise to get a Thetford service agent involved sooner rather than later. Thetford service centres can be identified via this link http://www.thetford-europe.com/dealers-service-centres/# Sconded! :-) The alternative would be to a franchised dealer with a workshop for the make of motorhome you have, as the fault may not be with the fridge, but with the van electrics. Even if it is a fuse that has blown, it will be worthwhile getting the installation checked, in case the underlying cause of the blown fuse might reoccur while you are away. An auto electrician with a decent tester should be able to identify any such fault quite quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valsarhino Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 Thanks for the replies. Sorry I should have said we have a 2008 Autotrail Chieftain se. The Thetford does have a smart energy system which chooses the best available energy source. We have just had our first holiday but we were told to turn the gas off when travelling, so 12v was the only option and we found that the freezer contents defrosted in a few hours. Any info as to fuse location etc would be appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Some further thoughts... If your 2008 Auto-Trail is warranted (which is likely to be the case if you bought it from a motorhome dealer) it would be sensible to contact the vendor, make them aware of the problem and ask for advice. Motorhome 3-way fridge/freezers are hellish expensive and repairs can be tricky. I’ve looked at a 2008 Auto-Trail hanbook that contains an entry for the N150 appliance. This indicates that - besides automatic selection of gas, 230V or 12V - one can select the energy source manually. If you do this (when the vehicle’s engine is running) am I right in thinking that the information on your N150’s control-panel suggests that 12V operation has been selected successfully? You’ve said that the appliance cools OK on gas or 230V (which indicates that the cooling system is working OK) and that “...The little blue LED is not flashing and no fault is showing on the control panel.” Apparently there is a fuse (or fuses) on a N150’s ‘power board’, but I don’t know what these do or (more to the point) what the effect of a failed fuse would be. It would be nice if it were practicable for you to set your N150 to 12V operation and then drive for a significant diistance to prove that the appliance does not cool on 12V. You’ve said that the freezer contents defrosted during a several-hours-long trip, but that doesn’t necessarily prove 12V cooling isn’t happening as the appliance might still be cooling except not as well as might be expected. Turn on the gas, switch on the N150, choose automatic energy selection and confirm that the appliance successfully selects gas operation. Now start the motorhome’s engine. The N150 should recognise this has happened and automatically switch to 12V operation. If your N150 appears to do this successfully, there’s a fair chance that the problem does not lie with a failed fuse. A 3-way fridge-freezer’s cooling is produced by a gas flame, a 230V heater and a 12V heater, with the latter two heaters buried in the insulation that surrounds the gas-burner’s flue. This link refers to a 230V-related problem with a N150 http://www.outdoorbits.com/blog/2014/01/replacing-thetford-n150-heater-elements/ and suggests that a 12V DC heater fault, or a failure to obtain an ‘engine running’ signal when 12V operation is selected manually, OUGHT to display a control-panel error code. 12V operation can be significantly less effective than gas or 230V operation and is dependent on the thickness and length of the wiring supplying 12V power to the appliance and the appliance’s installation in the motorhome. As your N150 apparently does not display an error code, it’s possible that there is no actual fault and that the appliance is just unable to cool sufficiently on 12V to keep the stuff in the freezer compartment frozen indefinitely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Our fridge does not work very well on 12v either (never has done from new) Any fridge should keep cold enough for travelling on 12v, just change to gas or electric as soon as possible. I am sure you do not drive for long periods of time no stop? I always start off with frozen goods well frozen from my home freezer. Just got back from 8 weeks away, and some mince I put in before leaving home , has come back still frozen enough, to put back in freezer, even after a ferry crossing. PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I don't know the van, or the fridge, but we have a Thetford 3000B (auto energy selection) fridge in our van and so far, over about 13,000 miles mostly in France, Germany and Spain, frozen food in the freezer compartment (which is a separate freezer, not within the fridge compartment) has remained frozen - albeit it has been necessary to turn the cooling to max in hot weather. So, if the fridge installation is well executed, and the wiring adequate, Thetford fridges can run adequately well on 12V. I can't remember a series of complaints regarding poor freezing ability on 12V for any of the Thetford range, which points to most being acceptable. Doesn't much assist you to a solution, I know, but maybe points to the problem being within your van, rather than being a known Thetford shortcoming. As the fridge appears to "think" it's getting 12V power, I would think the 12V heating element may be suspect, or that, as Derek suggests, the voltage may be too low at the element for it to work. Haven't delved inside a Thetford's works, but might it be that the 12V heater is misaligned, so unable to heat the cooling circuit adequately? Clutching at straws really, as I'm pretty sure there is only one circuit, that serves both fridge and freezer. So, if the fridge is cooling OK, so should the freezer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Agree probably best to get a technician to look at it. However, if you can trace the 12 volt feed wires you may be able to check the element by switching to 12 volt operation and putting a ohm meter (ohm setting on any multivolt meter) across the 2 wires. If there is no reading then the circuit is blown and probably means the element has gone. If there is a reading then the element is probably fine and the fault lies elsewhere. By the way disconnect from any battery first as that would give a false reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 This guide may be useful http://www.swift-owners-club.com/support/oem-handbooks/thetford/troubleshooting-fridges.pdf It includes advice on testing when an appliance lacks performance when operating on 12V, 230V or gas but no error code is displayed (which I understand is the case with Val’s N150 fridge/freezer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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