# fridge not working while travelling



## davidhwk (Feb 28, 2016)

The 3 way fridge in our Fiat Ducato camper works fine except when we are driving along and it should work off the leisure battery. The red light on the fridge blinks about once a second, with a corresponding clicking from the electrics control box. Any ideas what's wrong?


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

davidhwk said:


> The 3 way fridge in our Fiat Ducato camper works fine except when we are driving along and it should work off the leisure battery. The red light on the fridge blinks about once a second, with a corresponding clicking from the electrics control box. Any ideas what's wrong?


It should work from the vehicle battery not the leisure.
Do you switch it over manually from the fridge itself or is it automatic?

Jan


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

It should be working direct off the vehicle battery/alternator, not the leisure battery.

And that should be controlled by a relay activated by the alternator when it starts charging.

The clicking may be the relay not working properly, either swap out the relay to see if that works or get an electrician who understands motorhome electrics to check it out for you.


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## davidhwk (Feb 28, 2016)

I switch over manually.


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## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

Another area to check are the fuses both at battery end and the power distribution unit.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

The clicking noise could well be it trying to light the gas - and if you have (correctly) switched the gas cylinders OFF it will not be able to light,so it has no gas and no 12v supply.

There are two fuses and relays under the scuttle above the engine in a black box on our Swift, I think that is not uncommon, the box containing those relays and fuses is behind the air filter well above the engine and not that easy to get at....

On ours one fuse does the fridge supply, the other does the automatic step recovery when the ignition is operated - as soon as the alternator is giving power the fridge takes what it needs direct from the alternator with the vehicle battery to smooth it..... the leisure battery is not in the circuit at all and indeed is isolated from drain at the same time - UK built MH are not permitted to have a 12v supply in the back whenn the engine is running -part of the registration system requirements for NCC registration I believe,

Dave


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## Kaytutt (Feb 5, 2013)

We had a similar problem recently, the relay under the bonnet had failed. I'll try and find my post and link it below


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## Kaytutt (Feb 5, 2013)

Hmmm, perhaps your problem is different to ours but here's the link to my post if its any help

http://forums.motorhomefacts.com/49-tech-mech-chat/166569-dometic-fridge-problems.html


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Another cause on 3 way manual selection is the selector itself it is the rotary type, the contacts inside are similar to the points in older cars and can become pitted, first time it happened to me I bought a new selector, it's happened twice now and I just strip and clean them with 800 grit wet/dry paper, they can also be redeemed for a while with aggressive switching between positions gas, ehu and 12v do ot over switch as the end stops will damage the knob on some, others will go 360.

They mostly look similar to this one, and split into two halves, take a picture of the cable positions from two angles as they hide eachother, then carefully release the tabs with the point of a knife or a tiny flat blade driver, or leave it alone if not confident in messing with switches, there are some tiny but weak springs inside, but I've not had any fly off so far.


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## Easyriders (May 16, 2011)

Yes, it's the vehicle battery that runs the 12V to the fridge when travelling. Ours failed a year or so ago, turned out to be a loose wire under the bonnet near the alternator. Bit of a pig to get at, but ok now.


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

davidhwk said:


> The 3 way fridge in our Fiat Ducato camper works fine except when we are driving along and it should work off the leisure battery. The red light on the fridge blinks about once a second, with a corresponding clicking from the electrics control box. Any ideas what's wrong?


On my Adria when the fridge failed to cool on 12v it was due to the 'final' relay which switches the volts to the 12v element. It is unlikely to be that on yours as on mine the fridge gave all the indications of working it just didn't cool. I suspect the problem with yours is that it is not getting the 12v from the cab battery circuit i.e the cab battery voltage when the engine is running.
It should be fairly simple to diagnose with the aid of a multimeter. what make/model of fridge is it?


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