Fridge cutting out

[FNQGU]

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

[threedogs]

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

[foggs]

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.

[BigRAWesty]

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.

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.

[4bye4]

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.

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.

[4bye4]

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

[threedogs]

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

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

[Patrol'n]

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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