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Refridgerator Mystery
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Author:  gulls@play [ Mon May 21, 2012 8:36 am ]
Post subject:  Refridgerator Mystery
Our fridge has not been working when we were out on the water so we had our battery checked. Even though it was not that old we needed a new one. Now the fridge runs and the inside light is on when we are out but it doesn't cool. If we are on shore power it runs fine. It seemed this weekend that the little freezer was cool for a little longer when we were out but not the fridge.
Anybody have any ideas? If it was the refrigerator could the freezer still be running? I mean are they separate motors and/or compressors because it sounds like something is running but not cooling? Just can't figure out why its running on shore power but not on the battery.
Author:  Paul I. [ Mon May 21, 2012 9:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
The first thing that I would do is check all the DC connections. My boat uses fuses, I have had corrosion on the contacts, both on the fuse and in the box.

I have heard, but not sure, that theses are 115V fridges that there put inverters into them, so the can run on both DC & AC. The inverters will start to fail and cause this problem. I would call the makes help desk & see what they have to say on this.
Author:  wkearney99 [ Mon May 21, 2012 11:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
Depends on the make/model of the fridge (it really help to post useful details like that).

As Paul suggests, some of the fridges are basically just AC units with a DC-AC inverter on their power supply. If that portion of the power supply dies then it won't work without AC. Most of the time these boards cane be replaced without a lot of work. Start by looking up that fridge and finding out what parts are available for it. That'll tell you whether there's a separate power supply. Removing the fridge is easy enough, just tedious as there's a lot of screws around the frame. Most boards have connectors for the various boards making them likewise easy to replace.

It sounds like you have voltage at the fridge since the light works. But when you say it "runs", what do you mean? Are you hearing a fan or are you hearing a compressor? If you hear the compressor and it's not cooling then it may be a more complicated. But if it's just a fan then that too is likely just 12v.
Author:  noexcuses [ Mon May 21, 2012 2:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
I had similar problem with 298 Vista, check the gauge of the wire and the size of the circuit breaker. If your fridge is a Nova Kool like mine they will shut off when the voltage hits 11v. In my particular case the wire was 14awg which according to the Nova Kool manual will only allow you to run 8 feet with a 3% voltage drop, that is mighty short since there is five feet of excess wire just to allow you to pull the fridge out of the cabinet. I estimate that my run was at least 25 feet, which means you need at least 10awg wire. I rewired with a 15-20 foot run with 8awg just to be on the safe side, I also changed the circuit breaker since it was undersized according to the manual and Nova Kool technical support. While the circuit breaker wasn't tripping, the Nova Kool technician says that undersized circuit breakers will also cause unwanted voltage drop as well. If you have a Nova Kool, the manual for 1998 - 2005 is linked below. I would also recommend calling their technical support, they were very helpful for troubleshooting.

http://www.novakool.com/support/nov98-j ... anuels.htm
Author:  Alan_G_298Vista [ Mon May 21, 2012 6:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
noexcuses wrote:
I had similar problem with 298 Vista, check the gauge of the wire and the size of the circuit breaker. If your fridge is a Nova Kool like mine they will shut off when the voltage hits 11v. In my particular case the wire was 14awg which according to the Nova Kool manual will only allow you to run 8 feet with a 3% voltage drop, that is mighty short since there is five feet of excess wire just to allow you to pull the fridge out of the cabinet. I estimate that my run was at least 25 feet, which means you need at least 10awg wire. I rewired with a 15-20 foot run with 8awg just to be on the safe side, I also changed the circuit breaker since it was undersized according to the manual and Nova Kool technical support. While the circuit breaker wasn't tripping, the Nova Kool technician says that undersized circuit breakers will also cause unwanted voltage drop as well. If you have a Nova Kool, the manual for 1998 - 2005 is linked below. I would also recommend calling their technical support, they were very helpful for troubleshooting.

http://www.novakool.com/support/nov98-j ... anuels.htm

I've also got the Nova Kool fridge on my 298 and wired it directly to the systems battery bank with 8wg wire and an inline 20A fuse. I didn't go through the panel at all to prevent the least amount of voltage drop possible. I also did the jumper trick recommended from the Nova Kool site to allow the fridge to keep running down to 9.6 volts which is very handy if you do a ton of anchoring out like we do. Our fridge is working just wonderful now.

Image
Author:  Paul I. [ Mon May 21, 2012 7:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
Do a voltage check with the it running to see what the drop is.
Author:  firecadet613 [ Thu Jun 21, 2012 9:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
Had a bit of an issue with my cockpit Waeco fridge.

Light was on, but she wasn't cooling. Woke up this morning and the light was off, so I pulled it out. Plug was bent and halfway out of the socket. Plugged it in the upper, instead of the lower plug, and all is fine. I'll know for sure in a few days when I get back to the boat.
Author:  wkearney99 [ Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
Sorta figured out mine, it won't run on AC any more. Just operates on DC. Got in behind it (by pulling the drawers out) and verified the plug is getting AC power. So apparently the AC/DC board on the fridge has crapped out. Grrr....
Author:  GTBecker [ Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:40 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Refrigerator Mystery
wkearney99 wrote:
... Just operates on DC.


Odd; I'd expect the opposite would be more likely. Aren't these refrigerators inherently AC machines that have a DC-to-AC inverter for DC running? Your experience suggests that there is an AC-to-DC converter instead.

Or are they truly dual-motor compressors that will run natively on either supply?
Author:  wkearney99 [ Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
I would have assumed the same. I can't recall. I had to get this fixed a while ago, but for a coolant leak. I did add a 12v fan to it to better cool it (which helped). I don't recall how the power supply was setup. Looks like I'll become familiar again...
Author:  gulls@play [ Mon Jul 01, 2013 12:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
Last weekend we tried to get the fridge out to check to see if the wiring was insufficient as a few people suggested. The wires were so tight we couldn't pull it out enough to really see behind it. Is there some trick to getting it out or another way to access it? THanks,
Author:  noexcuses [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:18 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
I'm not familiar with the layout with the 288 to help with access, but you should be able to check the incoming wire into the circuit breaker at the electrical panel.

Also, make sure you check the size of the fridge circuit breaker. Here is an excerpt from the Nova Kool manual:

"The circuit breaker must be a 20 amp capacity on the DC side and a 5 amp capacity on the (optional) AC side. Failure to size the wire or breaker correctly (too small) may cause a premature shut down of the refrigerator by the Battery Protection Device."

The circuit breaker that Four Winns installed was a 10 amp on my 298.
Author:  wkearney99 [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
Perhaps someone with a 288 can chime in with the specifics, but are there any drawers next to it? If so, pull out the drawers to get a look-see alongside the fridge. On our 348 you can do that and get a very long reach up to the AC plug for it. Would that help get better access to the wiring? Or to whatever's keeping it from extending enough to allow removing the fridge?
Author:  noexcuses [ Wed Jul 03, 2013 1:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Refridgerator Mystery
For what it's worth, I checked the electrical schematics for the 2004 288 Vista which shows 14 gauge wire. One reccommendation that I have before you buy a couple long strands of expensive marine wire and go through the trouble of fishing the wire is to hook the fridge directly to a battery using a short run of wire to see if the problem is solved.
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