15 35F fridge question.

Digger29 · 08-15-2015, 09:21 AM

So we're having our driveway widened for our RV and I put it over in a neighbors huge driveway for a cpl days while they did the job. Well I just went to get it and put it back in the driveway and start to load it for it for our first wk long trip in it and the fridge is warm and it appears to have been that way for a while. The freezer was still pretty cold because the pizzas & burgers were still almost frozen but all the ice cream was completely melted. I checked it when I parked it over there & it said auto and the lights were on it so I didn't think anything of it. My wife said she put the fridge on auto on Wed when I moved it over there and it was saying LP. Has anyone had this problem and we are missing something here. Thumbing through the manual right now. It's Vista 35F with a side by side NorCold unit. Thanks everyone, Mike

Skip426 · 08-15-2015, 09:55 AM

If you were plugged in at the neighbours house and lost shore power , the coach batteries power could have dropped to the point where the fridge shut down. When you started the engine the alternator brought the batteries up and the fridge restarted, and will take a while to re-cool.

Ice cream will melt in a heart beat, and is the hardest thing to keep in an RV fridge.
Before you plug the coach in at home, after the engine is off, check the voltage at the coach batteries, if low, that may provide the clue to what happened.

Digger29 · 08-15-2015, 10:33 AM

I wasn't plugged in over there. I thought when the switch on the fridge is on auto and is saying LP that the fridge is running off of the propane. It's our first RV and obviously we have a lot to learn.

grtharris · 08-15-2015, 10:39 AM

Digger29, The fridge will only attempt to light a few times when going to gas. If there is air in the lines it will fail and shut down. Some times it takes a couple of the times to purge the lines. Have someone start the fridge without shore power and listen outside you should hear the spark popping and then the gas ignite.

Digger29 · 08-15-2015, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grtharris

Digger29, The fridge will only attempt to light a few times when going to gas. If there is air in the lines it will fail and shut down. Some times it takes a couple of the times to purge the lines. Have someone start the fridge without shore power and listen outside you should hear the spark popping and then the gas ignite.

Hmmm, interesting. I'll check on that when my wife gets home. Thank you. The light was on when I opened the door to it.

Mike and Cha · 08-15-2015, 10:55 AM

Digger29, we have the same fridge. When it switches over to propane you can stand outside next to the side fridge access vent and hear the propane burning. Two things what number did you have it set at and was the place you moved it to level. If you moved your MH and did not level it the fridge may not work to its best potential and could result in what happened to you. When we are cooling it down for a trip we set it at 8, and once we travel for a day or two we have to turn it down to 6 or 7. I have a thermometer in both compartments, the fridge is usually around 35 degrees, and the freezer gets down to about 10-15 degrees.

SuperGewl · 08-16-2015, 05:09 PM

You said it was not plugged in to shore power while at the neighbors house, did you open the battery disconnect switches? If you did then the fridge shut down because it requires 12vdc to operate along with the propane. Also depending on how depleted the batteries were, if you did not open the battery disconnects, they house batteries may have run down and the fridge shut off.

Digger29 · 08-17-2015, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperGewl

You said it was not plugged in to shore power while at the neighbors house, did you open the battery disconnect switches? If you did then the fridge shut down because it requires 12vdc to operate along with the propane. Also depending on how depleted the batteries were, if you did not open the battery disconnects, they house batteries may have run down and the fridge shut off.

Thanks for all the reply's everyone. It's our first RV and we've definitely got a lot to learn. The rig is brand new and has 1400 miles on it and has been plugged in at our house since the day we got it so how would the house batteries get run down? I race MX and was gone all weekend & my wife kept checking and the fridge temp is back down to 35 and the freezer is at 15 so hopefully we're good to go because we're leaving for a wk this morning. It took from 11am on Saturday morning until late yesterday to get back to those temps but its been in the 90's everyday here in Ma and very high humidity and I'm pretty sure that didn't help at all. Now I'm getting unable to level error on the leveling system but we're stopping at the place we bought it to fill up the propane and I'm going to see if they can take a quick look at it. The rig certainly seems level because I put a level in the fridge and it's almost perfect so I'm wondering if it just needs to be reset or something.

grtharris · 08-17-2015, 08:52 AM

Digger29, put the fridge in propane mode and double check that the burner is working before you start you trip. I didn't check mine after disconnecting from shore power and leaving on our last trip and sure enough it had faulted out. Turning power off resets the system. When we leave a camp site during my walk around I always listen for the gas burning.

Digger29 · 08-17-2015, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grtharris

Digger29, put the fridge in propane mode and double check that the burner is working before you start you trip. I didn't check mine after disconnecting from shore power and leaving on our last trip and sure enough it had faulted out. Turning power off resets the system. When we leave a camp site during my walk around I always listen for the gas burning.

On it Thx Grant

Patrol 65 · 08-21-2015, 09:14 AM

Was the motorhome level in the driveway? The refrigerator can not be on a steep incline if it is a gas absorption type.

wa8yxm · 08-21-2015, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digger29

I wasn't plugged in over there. I thought when the switch on the fridge is on auto and is saying LP that the fridge is running off of the propane. It's our first RV and obviously we have a lot to learn.

Your Fridge uses both Propane or A/C to power the cooling unit and 12 volt DC to control what's happening.

On Propane when cold is called for a COMPUTER that runs on 12 volts sends power to a valve to turn on the gas and then to the ignightor to make sparks (It is called a direct spark ignition) then senses power from a sensor (0.48 volts) to insure gas is burning and not building up to a bad level. also any fans eat 12 volts.. very slowly.

Same for your water heater, air conditioners and several other devices.

If you shut off the batteries when you exited.. You shut off EVERYTHING for the most part.

rodeoragdoll · 11-12-2015, 03:52 PM

We're having just the opposite issue, it runs on the propane but when plugged into electric, it will not work...so confused

SuperGewl · 11-13-2015, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodeoragdoll

We're having just the opposite issue, it runs on the propane but when plugged into electric, it will not work...so confused

Is the fridge set to AUTO? Is the outlet that it's plugged into working?