3 way fridge

Seaswimmer

Just back from West of ireland where we had 8 days with no electricity. first time using the fridge on gas..When i arrived the fridge started on gas no problem. ie; switched on the gas at the bottle, switched on the gas switch on the fridge and turned, pressed and held in the rotary switch to light up. The switch flashed and clicked a few times presumably while the pilot light/electronic ignition lit and ignited the gas. The light then went out and the fridge worked fine all week. however now we are back home i cant get it to light. The switch does not flash when i turn it on. So my question is,

Is there a small battery somewhere in the fridge that drives the electronic ignition and if so where is it?. If not.....how does it work?? Off the leisure battery?? Even with the electricity on I cant get it to light. Any help appreciated..

peasant

Yes, older fridges have a battery (usually the normal AA type) in a little compartment down at the bottom front (fairly well hidden, you might have to search for a while)

Newer type fridges have a separate electronic ignition unit that could be hidden anywhere ...a loose wire or insufficient charge in the leisure battery could be the cause here.

dowtchaboy

Seaswimmer wrote: »

however now we are back home i cant get it to light. The switch does not flash when i turn it on. So my question is,

Is there a small battery somewhere in the fridge that drives the electronic ignition and if so where is it?. If not.....how does it work?? Off the leisure battery?? Even with the electricity on I cant get it to light. Any help appreciated..

If it worked all week it's hardly broken now! Couple of things: yes usually it works off the leisure battery - is this fully charged, and the master switch "on"? I think on mine if the leisure battery gets low say 10v - the reading lights will sorta work but the igniter on the fridge does not click. Also: if you turn it on but if the gas is switched off either nearby or maybe it has run out - the electronics will keep clicking for a while but will eventually give up.
Also: I think you have to push the gas knob in a Max position while lighting.
Finally - and it does not really sound like this is YOUR problem - are you by any chance parked on a sloping driveway? If the slope is too severe the gas WILL light but the cooling does not work at all.

Oops! Just spotted Peasant's reply - well, well - I never knew there was an AA battery in some models! My previous one had a piezo-electric igniter that I wore my thumb out on more than once..... That sound like it could be the answer to your problem! You got one last gasp out of the old AA battery and then the fridge was left running for the week....:)
Let us know how you got on, and model number of fridge, for the benefit of anyone who happens on this thread days or years from now!

Seaswimmer

Thanks for the replies. It has electronic ignition. (its written on the front) but the leisure battery is indeed discharged (and appears not to be charging). I will get the lesiure battery checked out during the week but i had the mains on for the last couple of days and the lesiure battery still shows dead so maybe it is time for a new one.

dowtchaboy

hmmm... before you spend any money - couple of questions:
Is the mains voltage reaching other parts of the van? For instance are the living section lights coming on OK etc? If not - check around for a MAINS circuit-breaker which may be in an odd place - not necessarily near the control panel - I found mine buried under a seat.

There are also ELCBs or fuses on the control panel (probably) - got any kids that might have been messing?

There may also be a switch or fuse on the mains to 12V power supply/charger box which may not necessarily be near the control panel - mine is snugly under the fridge.....
Even if the leisure battery has got a bit old, I would expect it to at least hold enough charge to run for a while after a charging, either from running the engine or from mains.

Check the cables at the batteries - both the leisure one and the engine starter battery - I had a problem recently with the leisure battery not charging and was pulling what's left of my hair out over it - and the answer was embarrassingly simple - a battery lead had slipped out of the crimped terminal but the gap was hidden under the heatshrink.
Good hunting!

Seaswimmer

Thanks for all your replies on this. looks like it was a bad battery all the time. We were away last weekend hooked up to electricity and woke up to a rotten egg smell in the morning. After much searching it turned out to be coming from the leaisure battery. The battery was also hissing and bubbling (internally) and very hot. We ran the fridge on gas (there was enough power to work the electronic ignition), knocked off the 220v and everything was fine. however on the way home we got the smell again as the engine was now charging the battery. We pulled in and disconnected the positive lead from the lesiure battery and got home ok. Interestingly the electrics work fine on mains only with the battery disconnected. i was always under the impression that the battery ran the 12v appliances and the mains recharged the battery. You live and learn......

dowtchaboy

Wow! I have never had a battery go THAT bad before! Any spillage of acid? Suggest you do a good flush out of all around the battery location with water, and maybe a solution of bicarbonate of soda (ie breadsoda) to neutralise it? There is no charge to recycle it by the way.

Have a search through the threads - there was one on the cost of leisure batteries a month or two ago. Keep an eye on Halfords for any superduper weekend specials or whatever - also try the Axa 15% discount if you have it. Leisure battery prices will stun you.......

When I replaced the leisure battery that came with my camper with a new one a lot of problems went away (until the aforementioned lead came loose...)

bugsntinas

sorry to hijack the thread but how does the leisure battery work?we have a 1982 transit camper the main battery is on one side of engine and the leisure on the other.i know the alternator charges the main then the leisure but how does it work in the van?i mean when the lights,fridge etc are used how does it know to use the liesure and not the main battery?i bet you never guessed but i'm new to this:D

paddyb

bugsntinas wrote: »

sorry to hijack the thread but how does the leisure battery work?we have a 1982 transit camper the main battery is on one side of engine and the leisure on the other.i know the alternator charges the main then the leisure but how does it work in the van?i mean when the lights,fridge etc are used how does it know to use the liesure and not the main battery?i bet you never guessed but i'm new to this:D

They will be connected to the leisure battery.

dowtchaboy

bugsntinas wrote: »

sorry to hijack the thread but how does the leisure battery work?we have a 1982 transit camper the main battery is on one side of engine and the leisure on the other.i know the alternator charges the main then the leisure but how does it work in the van?i mean when the lights,fridge etc are used how does it know to use the liesure and not the main battery?i bet you never guessed but i'm new to this:D

Exactly how it is done may vary depending on the age of the van. Most likely you will find that the positive lead from the engine battery goes to a relay which is controlled by a wire running from the alternator. When the engine has started and is running the voltage from the alternator switches on the relay, thus connecting the + of the engine to the + of the leisure battery hence charging the leisure battery. This means that (a) the leisure battery going flat does NOT flatten the engine (starter) battery and (b) when you turn the ignition on the only battery used to start the engine is the starter battery - this is usually good 'cos leisure batteries are not designed to give hefty currents for short periods. The lights and fridge etc are drawing current from the leisure battery and in a way also from the starter battery but only when the engine is running. Once the engine stops the relay clicks off. That's the system in my 94 Transit HEHN anyway. In recent designs there are much fancier systems for load sharing and charging etc.
Hope this helps.
PS: this also means the mains charger will power your lights and 12v stuff in the back but will NOT charge your starter battery.

jetgvc

Hi, I know this is an old thread, but this is a new problem for us. We have a Bustner A574 2002 MH. We recently tried the to ignite the gas for the fridge but without success; the leisure battery is always fully charged so that is not the problem. Any ideas.

dowtchaboy

jetgvc wrote: »

Hi, I know this is an old thread, but this is a new problem for us. We have a Bustner A574 2002 MH. We recently tried the to ignite the gas for the fridge but without success; the leisure battery is always fully charged so that is not the problem. Any ideas.

Are you new to campers? One quirk that catches newbies out is that if the van is on a slope the gas may actually light but the fridge never cools. (the cooling cycle relies on gravity for circulation as there is no pump). Think it needs to be within 6 degrees of horizontal to work.

Is the fridge working OK on mains and 12V?

I don't know what fridge is in your van - but assuming it is Dometic (was Kelvinator) I assume you set the switch to ON (usually press the top of the rocker switch in), you hear it clicking away as it attempts to light, and hold in the gas control pointing to max, until you hear the soft 'pop' as it lights, and keep holding it for maybe 20 seconds until it does NOT go off when you release the control knob. If the clicking starts again you know it has gone out.

You can get problems with rust or crap in the burner - can you access the back of the fridge? (usually through a hatch from the outside).

There is always (?) an inline switch to shut off the gas for each individual appliance - any chance your was switched off? (maybe you should check this first!). If you recently changed the gas bottle it can take a while for the gas to reach the fridge.

If none of this helps - I'm sure there will be someone more knowledgeable along soon!

jetgvc

Thanks Dowtchaboy, will try all that tomorrow. Not really new, but new to the gas bit of the fridge.

Aidan_M_M

can you hear the ignitor clicking?

jetgvc

Hi Aidan M M, thankfully we have solved the problem and now have the fridge working from gas. I think we were not holding the starter button long enough after ignition. It's not something we are likely to use very often, but I was anxious to ensure that it did work when we did need it. Thanks to all.