2017 View 24V 3-way refrigerator power source question

[michaelposey]

Sorry ahead of time for the long post, but I wanted to give as much detail as possible. I have question about how our 3-way refrigerator is working (or not) after a recent update.


The recent update:
We had our original AGM batteries swapped out with 2 SunFunKits 315A lithium, the original 1000W inverter swapped out with a Renogy 3000W inverter, and added a Renogy DC to DC charge controller.


What works:
When plugged into shore power, the refrigerator runs via electric / shore power as expected.

The issues:
When trying to run off battery (inverter off), the refrigerator won’t run off battery and defaults to run off propane. It works fine on propane, but gives an error code 6 (12V DC power or supply voltage fault) when I try to run on battery.


Now, if I turn the inverter on, it will run off of electric (the power plug icon which should be shore power). Since I am still not plugged into shore power in this scenario, it seems like refrigerator sees the inverter/battery source as shore power. It runs, but this seems odd. If I try to run on the battery icon, I again get the error code 6.

Any ideas on what wiring issues may be causing this behavior or what to test?

Perhaps related, another new issue we have since the new battery/inverter/dc charge controller is that the diesel generator won’t start. It gives a short circuit error. This never happened in the original configuration. There is nothing wrong with the generator itself, but since the new setup, it can’t get the boost from the battery to get started. It makes a noise for a few seconds like it will start up, but then gives a fault. No breakers are tripped on the main circuit panel.



Thanks for any creative thoughts you may have.

 

[Eagle5]

Greeting Michael,
I see that you have a 2017 Winnebago View 24V. It looks like you hired someone to do this work for you; is that correct? If so, have you asked them about your anomalies? What scares me about these Lithium swap-outs is the increased gauge requirements of the wiring and the amperage capacity of the related 12 VDC components.
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

 

[Morich]

One first thought about the AC going tot he frig? Not familiar with how the monitor may think, though.
What I am guessing you are seeing when on shore power or generator is likely to be the same as when getting that 110AC from the batteries feeding the inverter that is then passing 110AC to the frig.
The frig "brain" is not selective enough to knw when it is getting shore or generator power versus what it is getting from the alternator "making " that 110AC!
That part sounds good as we want the inverter to be putting out power good enough that the items using it can't tell the difference!
This is close to the basic idea but where the wires
connect is a guess?

Whether the frig is actually getting power from the cord , genrator or what the inverter is "making, it can't tell the difference and may default to the wrong answer?
Inverter normally will send the cord or generator AC on, but if none there is switches to what it gets from the batteries to send on as AC!
So we want to turn the inverter off when not needing it as it still draws power from the batteries, even when that power is not used! BUT if we leave the inverter turned off and we are not getting power from cord or generator, there will be no AC to the firig!
Consider the inverter as an alternate to be used when we need AC power and have none from other sources like cord or generator?
The second issue of frig not running on battery after the changes, sounds like not connected correctly.
On a three way frig, the 12VOLT direct from batteries should not have been involved with the AC side of the wiring!

 

[Seymour2Lane]

Hello,
If your fridge is a Norcold 3150...
Does it run on 12V DC when the engine is running?
The Norcold 3150 will not run on DC unless the engine is running to prevent battery drain.
On our 2016 View 24V with a Norcold 3150 fridge it also will not automatically switch from LPG to 12V when set to auto. You have to manually switch from AC or LPG to 12V with the engine running.
Hope this helps. Regards, Mike

 

[michaelposey]

Greeting Michael,
I see that you have a 2017 Winnebago View 24V. It looks like you hired someone to do this work for you; is that correct? If so, have you asked them about your anomalies? What scares me about these Lithium swap-outs is the increased gauge requirements of the wiring and the amperage capacity of the related 12 VDC components.
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

I did have someone put this in. He is very knowledgeable about cars and electronics, but the RV aspect was a bit over his head. Trying to get a handle on what might be going on and also searching for an RV expert in my area (Pittsburgh area).

 

[michaelposey]

One first thought about the AC going tot he frig? Not familiar with how the monitor may think, though.
What I am guessing you are seeing when on shore power or generator is likely to be the same as when getting that 110AC from the batteries feeding the inverter that is then passing 110AC to the frig.
The frig "brain" is not selective enough to knw when it is getting shore or generator power versus what it is getting from the alternator "making " that 110AC!
That part sounds good as we want the inverter to be putting out power good enough that the items using it can't tell the difference!
This is close to the basic idea but where the wires
connect is a guess?
View attachment 2459203
Whether the frig is actually getting power from the cord , genrator or what the inverter is "making, it can't tell the difference and may default to the wrong answer?
Inverter normally will send the cord or generator AC on, but if none there is switches to what it gets from the batteries to send on as AC!
So we want to turn the inverter off when not needing it as it still draws power from the batteries, even when that power is not used! BUT if we leave the inverter turned off and we are not getting power from cord or generator, there will be no AC to the firig!
Consider the inverter as an alternate to be used when we need AC power and have none from other sources like cord or generator?
The second issue of frig not running on battery after the changes, sounds like not connected correctly.
On a three way frig, the 12VOLT direct from batteries should not have been involved with the AC side of the wiring!

Thank you for the explanations and information! We will have the connection from the battery to the fridge (12V direct from batteries) checked out. It sounds like that connection is incorrect.

 

[michaelposey]

Hello,
If your fridge is a Norcold 3150...
Does it run on 12V DC when the engine is running?
The Norcold 3150 will not run on DC unless the engine is running to prevent battery drain.
On our 2016 View 24V with a Norcold 3150 fridge it also will not automatically switch from LPG to 12V when set to auto. You have to manually switch from AC or LPG to 12V with the engine running.
Hope this helps. Regards, Mike

Thanks, Mike! I can’t recall if I tried to see what happens when the engine is running. I will try that and the manual switch.