Fridge cutting out

Hi

I've got a Waeco cf40 fridge and I went to put in the the back of the patrol today to cool it down to chuck the lunch in for a picnic. When I plugged it in and turned it on the display said it was at 20 degrees but after about a minute or not even the fridge cut out then after a minute of it being off it turned back on and did the same thing again. So I connected the fridge to the house power to cool it down first then once it was at about 2 degrees I connected it to the car and it worked good for the the hours drive and while we were away.

My question is, does this mean that the wiring from the battery to my rear cig socket for the fridge is not big enough and is loosing too much power on the way.

The socket was already in the car when I purchased it too.

I'm not the best with auto electrical stuff so Thanks in advance.

Make sure ALL your connections are good ,
CIG sockets are bound to fail ,
either use a twist lock Baintech, or 50amp anderson
Make sure the wire is adequate to carry the load to the rear of your Patrol too

Hopefully some of the more experience elec guys will be able to point you in the right direction, but Id be having at look the gauge / thickness of the wiring used, as well as the quality of the earth connection - good practice to run an earth from the battery negative to the fridge to get a good quality earth.

What type of socket connection do you have? Whilst looking into things it'd good idea to replace with an engel / merit / Anderson plug. The standard 12v ciggie plugs are known to fail


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by cass_cass94

Hi

I've got a Waeco cf40 fridge and I went to put in the the back of the patrol today to cool it down to chuck the lunch in for a picnic. When I plugged it in and turned it on the display said it was at 20 degrees but after about a minute or not even the fridge cut out then after a minute of it being off it turned back on and did the same thing again. So I connected the fridge to the house power to cool it down first then once it was at about 2 degrees I connected it to the car and it worked good for the the hours drive and while we were away.

My question is, does this mean that the wiring from the battery to my rear cig socket for the fridge is not big enough and is loosing too much power on the way.

The socket was already in the car when I purchased it too.

I'm not the best with auto electrical stuff so Thanks in advance.

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Will almost certainly be a voltage drop issue.
Pulling down from a high temp is when the fridge wants the most power which is when it is the most susceptible.

You could check that the low voltage cut or battery monitor or whatever they call it on the fridge is set to the lowest value if that is selectable (pretty sure that the CF40's have a choice but could be wrong).
My Waeco 80 had a choice of low, med, high... you want it on low

Apart from that you will need to make sure that the wire gauge and connections from Battery to Socket on the vehicle are suitable.
Finally the plug, easily the best plug is the engel style twin pin screw on style (more correctly known as "posifit").
Next best is Anderson or Merit and least preferable is the good old Ciggy Plug
There are others but they are the most common

Cheers the evil twin.

Yea the cf40 does have the low med and high choices. So I'll make sure it's on low. And what gauge/thickness wire should it be over that distance. Also I agree that the cig style sockets are not the best. But I'll proba leave it on for the trip I'm doing in early January and change it after that.

Also is it a good idea to chill the fridge down on mains power before plugging it into the car so it doesn't put so much pressure on the battery. Or does it not matter too much.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cass_cass94

Cheers the evil twin. Yea the cf40 does have the low med and high choices. So I'll make sure it's on low. And what gauge/thickness wire should it be over that distance. Also I agree that the cig style sockets are not the best. But I'll proba leave it on for the trip I'm doing in early January and change it after that. Also is it a good idea to chill the fridge down on mains power before plugging it into the car so it doesn't put so much pressure on the battery. Or does it not matter too much.

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always run the fridge on 240v bight before a trip for sure.

I had 6mm cable which caused the exact problem you have.

I now have 2 b&s which is overkill but I have never had a problem running ridiculous amounts of accessories off the rear sockets.

So would 8mm or more be enough to stop the voltage drop over that distance?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cass_cass94

So would 8mm or more be enough to stop the voltage drop over that distance?

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Probably... without seeing how the vehicle is wired.
The heavier (within reason) the better.
Many people will run heavy cable to an Anderson on the rear bumper for Trailers/Camping/etc and feed a short run back from that usually to the rear panel over the jack.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cass_cass94

So would 8mm or more be enough to stop the voltage drop over that distance?

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As ET said its hard to give an exact answer but from my set up with 6mm cable worked fine even starting the fridge from scratch in summer but adding any other accessory to that would cut the fridge out so at a guess I would say you would be fine...but, consider what other accessories you may want to run from the back one day too.

I was having the sameish problem and found it to be the fuse was not fitted all that well.
Just happened to grab the wire from the battery to the fuse and it was hot.
Looked at the fuse and holder and all looked fine until you pulled the fuse out and found slight charring.
I use to get three to four days fridge life at 1 degree but not lately.
Found this problem and fixed it, changed the fuse and holder, made sure it was in correctly , all the way and tight.
Now the fridge has lasted 4days no charging.

8mm or 8B&S (about the same) is perfect. Just don't go and put in an in-line fuse holder that runs 4mm cable to spoil it all....

Grab one of these to match your cabling, then make sure the joins are done well - I used joining lugs and a proper crimper.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MAXI-BLAD...0AAMXQgoBRheXp

6mm will work for a short run and you can get the same type of in-line fuse holders with 6mm cabling. 6mm auto cable is not the same as 6B&S though.

If you want to know more about it, there are some good articles on ExploreOz:

http://www.exploroz.com/Vehicle/Electrics/Solar.aspx

Have a think where you put the plug too.
You dont want it getting knocked and disconnecting.
I used a thermal fuse near the battery for my Fridge
power source,

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-x-20A-1...AAAOSwNSxU779T
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BUSSMAN-C...IAAMXQVT9TDS0e

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cass_cass94

Hi

I've got a Waeco cf40 fridge and I went to put in the the back of the patrol today to cool it down to chuck the lunch in for a picnic. When I plugged it in and turned it on the display said it was at 20 degrees but after about a minute or not even the fridge cut out then after a minute of it being off it turned back on and did the same thing again. So I connected the fridge to the house power to cool it down first then once it was at about 2 degrees I connected it to the car and it worked good for the the hours drive and while we were away.

My question is, does this mean that the wiring from the battery to my rear cig socket for the fridge is not big enough and is loosing too much power on the way.

The socket was already in the car when I purchased it too.

I'm not the best with auto electrical stuff so Thanks in advance.

---

My CF80 did the same thing one morning when i checked it, the error light was flickering until I ran the car. Here's the explanation from Waeco:

What are the battery protection levels?

There are three set-able battery protection levels;
"Hi" equates to 11.8 volts (High cut-out)
"Ned" equates to 11.2 volts (Medium cut-out)
"Lo" equates to 10.1 volts (Low cut-out)

These are the voltages sensed at the refrigerator under load at which the compressor will shut down to protect your vehicle battery.
If you have a small battery in a smaller vehicle, you should select high so that you are able to restart your vehicle easily.
If you have a larger vehicle and larger battery capacity you should select the medium setting.
If you have a dual battery set up and the secondary battery is able to be isolated from the starter battery you should select the Low setting.

What do the "error" flashes mean?

If the power LED is flashing once every five seconds this means that the refrigerator is sensing low voltage. The battery needs to be recharged or the wiring in the vehicle may be inadequate, or, you need to adjust the battery protection level to a lower setting.
The error LED flashing means;
Twice every 5 seconds: The fan has a problem. Is something jamming the fan blade such as a pencil poked through the vent by a child? If not, the fan may be faulty and you should contact an authorised service centre.
Thrice every five seconds: Power may have been interrupted at a critical stage of the refrigeration cycle. Switch off for ten minutes then restart the refrigerator. If problem persists, contact an authorised service centre.
Four times every five seconds: Compressor struggling to achieve speed. Switch off, wait 10 minutes then attempt restart. If problem persists contact an authorised service centre.
Five times every five seconds: The unit is overheating. Check that the vents are not blocked by other equipment in the vehicle. It is easy for example to toss a sleeping bag in the back of your wagon and it could roll against the vent causing an overheat situation. The vents should be kept clear at all times.

What is the emergency Switch for?

The emergency switch should be left in the "Normal use" position at all times, except if you cannot get the refrigerator to switch on for some reason. Switching to "Emergency override" feeds power straight to the compressor so that you do not lose your foodstuff. The thermostat control is overridden when emergency override is selected and the compressor will run constantly which may cause fresh food to become frozen.
Manual turning on and off will be necessary to prevent that until service is arranged.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by foggs

My CF80 did the same thing one morning when i checked it, the error light was flickering until I ran the car. Here's the explanation from Waeco:

What are the battery protection levels?

There are three set-able battery protection levels;
"Hi" equates to 11.8 volts (High cut-out)
"Ned" equates to 11.2 volts (Medium cut-out)
"Lo" equates to 10.1 volts (Low cut-out)

These are the voltages sensed at the refrigerator under load at which the compressor will shut down to protect your vehicle battery.
If you have a small battery in a smaller vehicle, you should select high so that you are able to restart your vehicle easily.
If you have a larger vehicle and larger battery capacity you should select the medium setting.
If you have a dual battery set up and the secondary battery is able to be isolated from the starter battery you should select the Low setting.

What do the "error" flashes mean?

If the power LED is flashing once every five seconds this means that the refrigerator is sensing low voltage. The battery needs to be recharged or the wiring in the vehicle may be inadequate, or, you need to adjust the battery protection level to a lower setting.
The error LED flashing means;
Twice every 5 seconds: The fan has a problem. Is something jamming the fan blade such as a pencil poked through the vent by a child? If not, the fan may be faulty and you should contact an authorised service centre.
Thrice every five seconds: Power may have been interrupted at a critical stage of the refrigeration cycle. Switch off for ten minutes then restart the refrigerator. If problem persists, contact an authorised service centre.
Four times every five seconds: Compressor struggling to achieve speed. Switch off, wait 10 minutes then attempt restart. If problem persists contact an authorised service centre.
Five times every five seconds: The unit is overheating. Check that the vents are not blocked by other equipment in the vehicle. It is easy for example to toss a sleeping bag in the back of your wagon and it could roll against the vent causing an overheat situation. The vents should be kept clear at all times.

What is the emergency Switch for?

The emergency switch should be left in the "Normal use" position at all times, except if you cannot get the refrigerator to switch on for some reason. Switching to "Emergency override" feeds power straight to the compressor so that you do not lose your foodstuff. The thermostat control is overridden when emergency override is selected and the compressor will run constantly which may cause fresh food to become frozen.
Manual turning on and off will be necessary to prevent that until service is arranged.

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That is some bloody good info from weaco. .

But as to the OP I'm with the rest of em..
I've personally run 10mm cable which is safely rated at 60 A.
I also run an inline manual reset 50A circuit breaker.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...212502&alt=web

Never had an issue since switching to this from 6mm twin core. And I run a body earth return.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cass_cass94

Cheers the evil twin.

Yea the cf40 does have the low med and high choices. So I'll make sure it's on low. And what gauge/thickness wire should it be over that distance. Also I agree that the cig style sockets are not the best. But I'll proba leave it on for the trip I'm doing in early January and change it after that.

Also is it a good idea to chill the fridge down on mains power before plugging it into the car so it doesn't put so much pressure on the battery. Or does it not matter too much.

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If you have to continue with that socket, make sure the plug is pushed well home into the socket. Often the spring loaded pin in the centre of ciggi plugs only just touches the centre connection or "bounces" making a high resistance joint.

Just looked at the original post date - I guess its either sorted or not by now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 4bye4

Just looked at the original post date - I guess its either sorted or not by now.

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Good to bump some now and again if others are suffering a similar problem.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BAINTECH-...0AAOSwuMFUZaaI

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BAINTECH-...QAAOSwuMFUiRAb

Just had an experience along these lines with a mate of mine and his 40 lt Waeco. We installed his dual battery setup and all was good, fridge worked fine. Then a few weeks later we wired in a volt meter to monitor his auxiliary battery and the fridge started cutting out when the car had been off for a little while (even though the battery still showed 12.16 volts which I confirmed with the multimeter at the battery and the plug in the back). I checked for voltage drop and this was almost nil. We set his fridge to the lowest setting and it improved the situation, and to fix once and for all we ran a fresh fused wire run (proper 8mm) and ditched the merit plug and fitted Anderson plugs. Since doing that, he has had no issues (touch wood)!

Can't blame the fridge since it was fine before we wired something else off the cable from the auxiliary battery and fine once a clean cable run was fitted, although we've done the same wiring in other situations, the only explanation I can guess at is that the battery protection system in the Waecos is very sensitive and was 'seeing' more voltage drop than I was measuring? Anyway, maybe this info might be helpful to someone if they're having a similar issue :-)


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