DieselBurps wrote:
I have a basic question I can not find the answer to.
I have a Dometic 2 way fridge (propane/120volt) in a 1985 Airstream. I can not get the fridge to run on either 120 volts or gas.
I do not have a battery at this time.(I am on shore power)
Do I need a battery to run the fridge even though I am hooked up to shore power?
Is the battery required in order to "complete the circuit"?
I assumed since I am on shore power the fridge should work either way even though I do not have a battery.
An important think to consider is what was (as in OEM), may not be what is (as in changes over the years). As a result, you'll need to do a bit of looking as it could be a simple fix.
Let me give you an example. My refrigerator needs 12 volts to operate the control functions. It needs standard AC power or propane to cool down. If you read the specs and owner manual and refrigerator manual, removing the battery would not cause an issue with the control function while on shore power as the converter supplies it. BUT, over the years an issue arose that required abandoning the converter 12 volt circuit to the refrigerator, water pump and furnace. In it's place is a fuse block connected to the coaches' battery setup.
What that means is when the battery is removed, I must still connect all the positive cable together and all the negative cables together in order to complete the circuit. My point is no amount of what the refrig supposed to do or what the converter supposed to do or what is this or that matters since its nothing but connecting two cables together to make the circuit. The manuals wont show that. In my case, all a person has to do is look at what was (battery in place with all terminals bridged together) when thigs worked compared to what is when stuff stopped working (cables not together without battery) to see it's just a modification over the last 25+ years.
