Dometic fridge. URGENT

[sandalwood]

Hi urgent help needed. Arrived on site in IH TIO and fridge lights won’t come on. Worked this morning, seems no power, elderly lady wound like assistance. Don’t know where fuses are! Model is DOMETIC RM 8401.

 

Thanks in advance you lovely people

 

S

[buddy]

Do you have a IH manual showing the habitation fuses on the PSU , there may be one for the fridge power supply . If not do you know the make and model of the Power Supply Unit that is fitted to the van.

[sandalwood]

I found fuse box but 15 fuses! Don’t know which one is for fridge. Numbers on power box DS 520 AN 205210. Make c v e Tks for reply. Control panel is dead. Found fuse box as said but don’t know which fuse!

 

Regards

 

S

[weldted]

Slowdown take a breath, first do you have a hook up available and is it plugged in? Is the fridge switched to gas or 240. It wont run on 12 volts unless the engine is running. When you say the control panels is dead do the interior lights or water pump work. Let us know

[buddy]

You should find that the 10th from the left fuse (3amp) is for controls ,including fridge , and the 6th from the left fuse (30amp) is the fridge main 12v power.

[sandalwood]

All else working, think control panel might have gone. Chap no door says I not level abd this causes fridge battery to fail. Get level abd try again.

 

Many Tks. Will now have to cook defrosted food!

[Tracker]

Are you in the UK - if so where as you may be near the IH factory, or someone may know of a nearby trustworthy dealer, or an auto or marina or caravan electrician, or even a forum member who might be able to offer live help with fault diagnosis?

 

These things are often much easier to solve on the spot than they are online and it may well be something very simple - once someone knows where to look!

 

Could you phone IH - I don't know how helpful they are but it may be worth a try?

[Alanb]

The fridge draws current from a 12V contol supply, whenever it is switched on.

 

On in this context means anything other than off.

 

The CBE DS520 has red LEDs behind each fuse to indicate a blown fuse.

 

With your fridge switched on, (You do not need the control panel to be switched on.) you should be able to see the red LED if a fuse in the DS520 has blown.

 

If no red LED then your problem is elswhere. Your statement that the control panel, PC200? seems dead, suggests that this may be the case. However you do not seem to have replied to Welted's logical question regarding lights and water pump.

 

On my IH Tio R, the fridge supply uses fuse 10, when counted from left. This fuse is shown as 3A (purple) in the CBE manual, but as it also supplies toilet extracton fan and flushing. However IH had also incorrectly connected a 12V socket to this fuse and increased the fuse rating to 7.5A. After our fuse blew, I removed the socket, and exercising my professional judgement, I decreased the fuse rating to 5A (tan).

 

May I add that the advice proffered from your neighbouring unit is nonesense, as regards effects on either battery. What he is thinking about is the tilt tolererance of absorption fridges, which may be as low as 3 degrees. Greater than that tilt angle, and the fridge may not work, but it will not have any abnormal effect on batteries or fuses.

 

Alan

 

[sandalwood]

The owners of a Motorhome. Previous owner advised if nit level on site the liquid in fridge battery gets air lock, three days, sitting level on site hey presto fridge started working again. Nite to self, don’t panic, be patient, all will come right in the end! Many Tks fir assistance, lesson learned!

[sandalwood]

Previous owner had same problem, said it was something to do with nit being leve, wait abd ut will come back on, 4 days on pitch, not going out, BINGO came back on, relieved! Tks fir help

[sandalwood]

Elderly lady here, how , did you just replace 3 fuse with 5 fuse? We find with heating, kettle on, then microwave it trios switch. Woukd 5 fuse stop this? Grateful fir reply abd advice!

 

 

[GandJP]

You should always stay with the same size fuse but you should check that it is supposed to be 3amp as someone may have put the wrong one in. If it was me I would check them all just to be sure. If it is correct then I would speak to someone who has the proper knowledge of vehicle electrics. I think you should start a new thread as your question is not really connected to the fridge problem the original question was about.

[Alanb]

The elderly lady seems to be confused, to the extent that she is mixing up 12V, and 240V systems.

 

My mention of changing the rating of Fuse 10 on the CBE DS520 actually represented a decrease from the 7.5A fuse that was originally installed in my vehicle by the converter.. I used the term "professional judgement" to denote that I am qualified both academically, and by many years of experience in electrical matters. In fact having changed to LED lights, and taken note of the fridge 12V element consumption, I have reduced the rating of several of the DS520 fuses on my vehicle.

 

As regards the question about the kettle, it should be noted that the CBE 240V electrical installation uses a 13A MCB. This will support a maximum contiuous load of 3kW, tha same as one domestic socket outlet.

 

If the OP is experiencing tripping with the connected loads, it may be that she is using a standard 3kW domestic kettle, which combined with the other items mentioned will create an overload. If I am correct in my supposition, then the simple answer would be to purchase a lower wattage camping kettle,

 

A forum should be a two way system, but we still have no explanation as to why the CBE control panel was reported as being dead.

 

Also may I point out that modern absorbtion fridges do not contain batteries, but it may be that some older manual modeles use a small battery to ignite the gas burner.

 

Alan

[Brian Kirby]

There is insufficient detail of the CBE electrical installation to be reasonably certain that the following will be of assistance, but in the hope that it may be of some help, I'm just wondering whether a quirk of our own CBE installation may be what has caused the "dead" control panel.

Whether on mains power or not, if the control panel is switched on with no water in the fresh water tank, a low water level warning begins flashing.  This happens irrespective of whatever other control panel controls may also be on, or off, at the time.  If the panel is then left "on" with the low water level warning flashing it eventually locks up, and becomes completely unresponsive to any of the control functions including the on/off button.  I'm just wondering if this may be the reported "dead" panel.

If so, the only way I have found to revive the panel is to remove the main 12V fuse (which in our van is under the (LHD) driver's seat), wait a few seconds, and then replace the fuse.  Normal service is then resumed providing that the panel itself is immediately turned off.

Once there is sufficient water in the tank to reach the two longest tank probe rods and complete a circuit the panel can be switched on with no flashing warning, and performs as it should over several weeks of continual use.  It appears to be a logic fault in the design of the panel in that the presence or otherwise of water in the tank should not be a significant issue unless the water pump is also switched on, when running a dry submersible pump could well cause damage.

Our installation (Knaus van) is CBE PC110-KN control panel, CBE DS-300 KN distribution board, and CBE CB516 charger.  The above "KN" suffixes indicate that the control panel and distribution board have been modified to Knaus' specification.  Experience indicates that these modifications have not resulted in an entirely de-bugged relationship between DS300, PC-110, and the four rods water tank probe installed as standard, but that is a different matter.  However, it is possible that alternative mods may have been specified for the OP's van, with similarly "buggy" consequences.