Driving with fridge on
38 replies
EmilysDad replied on 22/08/2019 23:34
Posted on 22/08/2019 21:35 by Ph1lTurnerMay I ask a question in relation to this. I drove from the Devon to Abbey Wood (5 1/2 hours). I turned the fridge on for a good 15+ hours before and then connected to the car for the drive up. When we arrived the fridge had lost its coldness and warmed up.
For it to work on battery setting did we need to turn the "Mains" switch to on as well - we left it off? If not would need to get checked at next service.
Thanks
Phil.
lornalou1 replied on 23/08/2019 14:28
Ph1lTurner replied on 23/08/2019 20:48
KjellNN replied on 23/08/2019 23:11
Posted on 22/08/2019 17:19 by pete490194thank for your input, I was wondering if the power board was at fault but at a replacement of £115 I hope not but I get the same fault when running the fridge from the leisure battery which makes me wonder if it is the power board....the fault finding continues
KjellNN replied on 23/08/2019 23:16
Posted on 22/08/2019 21:35 by Ph1lTurnerMay I ask a question in relation to this. I drove from the Devon to Abbey Wood (5 1/2 hours). I turned the fridge on for a good 15+ hours before and then connected to the car for the drive up. When we arrived the fridge had lost its coldness and warmed up.
For it to work on battery setting did we need to turn the "Mains" switch to on as well - we left it off? If not would need to get checked at next service.
Thanks
Phil.
KjellNN replied on 23/08/2019 23:29
replied on 23/08/2019 23:44
Posted on 23/08/2019 23:16 by KjellNNCould be the power board or a fuse.
However, it should have stayed cold for that time if it was chilled well beforehand.
Posted on 23/08/2019 23:44
However, it should have stayed cold for that time if it was chilled well beforehand.
Indeed it should stay chilled. I never bother to turn my fridge on to battery option. I leave home chilled and tour from site to site without problem. The longest without power is probably 4.5 hours
KjellNN replied on 24/08/2019 00:51
Posted on 24/08/2019 00:51
Another thing to consider, if the 12v does not seem to be keeping the fridge cold at all, is what is your car doing?
If it is a newish car, say under 4-5 years old, it may be one of those that minimises everything to save fuel and thus have lower emissions.
For example, the VW we have, 3 years old now, is correctly wired as regards the 13 pin socket but as I understand it, the alternator will only produce power when the car battery needs it, and when you brake it can return power to the battery.
So the first thing to do, we were advised, is turn off the stop/start function when towing, and also turn on dipped headlights. Using from the battery will help fool the alternator into producing more power, hopefully a high enough voltage to charge up the van battery and run the fridge.
Even doing this, we found that the van battery was not getting enough charge for any prolonged Mover use on arrival on site, and we had no idea what was happening with the fridge. It did stay cold enough however, as discussed above,
The eventual solution was to invest in a "battery to battery" charger that is fitted in the van. This device takes whatever DC voltage it gets from the car and converts it to a high enough voltage to charge the battery and run the fridge,
Paul Norman