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Westsidebob's avatar
Westsidebob
Explorer
May 01, 2018

Fridge only works on gas

We recently moved our RV to some land we just bought. There was a garage only on the property with electricity. I plugged the rv in to power in the garage and smoked the inverter I assume. I had neglected to check the ground power, it was wired up for 220. We got the wiring straigntened out and are now working well off of shore power. The only thing that is not working is the fridge, it will only run off of gas. Everything else works. When I let the smoke out of the inverter, it was a bunch of smoke. Any ideas on why my fridge will not work on shore power without gas? I've been rv'ing for a few years but no virtually nothing about the electrical system. Thanks for any info.
  • turbojimmy's avatar
    turbojimmy
    Explorer
    May 01, 2018
    Westsidebob wrote:
    Thanks so much! I was under the impression that some of the lights, and the bathroom fan worked off of the battery. I guess I'm mistaken in this, since everything still works and my battery is not being charged?


    Most of the lights, if not all of them, will run off the battery. Bathroom fan too. It will all continue to operate off of the battery until it's dead. It will die eventually because it's not being charged so use it wisely. Furnaces are the biggest draw, followed by the fridge if it has a 12V option. Hopefully you have LED lighting because the old incandescent bulbs suck down a lot of juice too.

    If someone has a conventional battery charger that you can use, you can hook that up until you can replace the converter.
  • Westsidebob's avatar
    Westsidebob
    Explorer
    May 01, 2018
    Thanks so much! I was under the impression that some of the lights, and the bathroom fan worked off of the battery. I guess I'm mistaken in this, since everything still works and my battery is not being charged?
  • Fleet_Man's avatar
    Fleet_Man
    Explorer
    May 01, 2018
    A charger/converter failure on our MH acted just like what you are experiencing. Unit replaced and problem solved. Service a Manager at our dealership correctly diagnosed the problem based on the description alone.
  • turbojimmy's avatar
    turbojimmy
    Explorer
    May 01, 2018
    Westsidebob wrote:
    Thank you very much for the info, I will check the fuse on the fridge, I can get to it from the outside, or do I have to pull it? So it was the inverter that I fried, the smoke came out of the fuse area, a lot of smoke. So if the converter is fried all it affects is the charging of the battery?


    You fried the converter, not the inverter. Yes, all it affects is battery charging.

    The 5A fuse will be accessible through the access door on the side of the rig. UNPLUG THE FRIDGE FIRST. It will be under a cover where all the wires go in.
  • Westsidebob's avatar
    Westsidebob
    Explorer
    May 01, 2018
    Thank you very much for the info, I will check the fuse on the fridge, I can get to it from the outside, or do I have to pull it? So it was the inverter that I fried, the smoke came out of the fuse area, a lot of smoke. So if the converter is fried all it affects is the charging of the battery?
  • DutchmenSport's avatar
    DutchmenSport
    Explorer
    May 01, 2018
    Wow! I've always been one for having items in the camper that were capable of multi tasking ... like using a hatchet for chopping wood, or as a hammer for driving tent peg. But your "invention" is way beyond my wildest ideas!

    Wow! On gas, it's a refrigerator... On electric is a smoker! Just think what you could do with that. .... smoked sausage, smoked salmon, smoked BBQ .... :B
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    May 01, 2018
    As mentioned...AC Fuse on fridge control board

    The fridge control board seems to have survived as it still allows propane functions and control/display functions

    There is a AC Fuse (typically 5A glass fuse) for the AC heater element.
    Check if fuse is blown...test/measure for AC Voltage on both sides of fuse
    Repalce fuse...try on AC. Still not working---replace element
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    May 01, 2018
    Are you sure it didn't fry the converter?
    I don't know how it could possibly survive 220VAC.
  • MrWizard's avatar
    MrWizard
    Moderator
    May 01, 2018
    Might have blown the 120v fuse for the heating element
    The fuse is on the control board on the back of the fridge

    Burned out heating element

    Damaged control board
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    May 01, 2018
    I no a little bit. You probably mean converter. I guess 220 would smoke your refer.

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