New Problem with Fridge...HELP!!!!!

[northwad]

Ok-

My DW and I went on our FIRST trip in the PU this weekend to GoRGOEUS Amicolala Falls in N. Georgia.   We had perfect weather and it was a GREAT time except for one problem with the replaced dorm fridge.

Some of you may remember I was having problems with my Dometic fridge and decided to replace it with a "dorm style fridge."  Before ripping out the old one, I checked the outlet supplied for the fridge in the PU to make sure it had power running to it- and sure enough it was fine.   Sooooo, out came the dometic, in went the new dorm style, plugged it in and voila' I felt the cool air coming out.  The one thing I did not do was to run it for several hours before leaving home to make sure it cooled all the way down, MY MISTAKE!

So, we left Tallahassee on Saturday Morning, drove 6 hours to  the site..set up, plugged in and waited for the fridge to do its thing.  Well by Sunday night..still not cold!!! ARGGGGHHHHHH...the fan was on, the interior light was on and it was only semi cool inside the fridge...(the outside temps were in the high 70's during the day and 50's at night in a shaded sight so that was NOT the problem.)

I then got the bright idea that maybe it was the outlet in the PU and plugged it straight into the power outlet at the campsite hook up.....and it worked PERFECT!!!!

Is there something wrong with my PU outlet or am I missing something here?  Is my Outlet not equpped for a dorm fridge and if so, will all campsites with hook ups have those "extra" outlets at the hook up itself?


Thanks for the help....I truly do not know what I would do without this site!!!!

Dave

[AustinBoston]

Well by Sunday night..still not cold!!! ARGGGGHHHHHH...the fan was on, the interior light was on and it was only semi cool inside the fridge...

I then got the bright idea that maybe it was the outlet in the PU and plugged it straight into the power outlet at the campsite hook up.....and it worked PERFECT!!!!

Is there something wrong with my PU outlet or am I missing something here?

You are not missing anything.  There should be 120 volts (technically, anything from 110 volts to 125 volts is acceptable, but in practice less than 115 volts is evidence of trouble) when nothing is plugged into the outlet.  When you plug in the fridge, it should not go below 110 volts.  BUT - if it drops more than 2-3 volts from where it started, there is probably a wiring problem with either campground's post or your pop-up.  This should not be ignored - the bad connection or damaged wire heats up every time it is used, and will eventually fail in an unpleasant way.

But - There should be some kind of vent on the outside of the dorm fridge itself.  It may have a blower, or it may have coils on the back.  It is important to not block those coils or vent from free air circulation.  Is it possible you unblocked the back of the fridge when you moved the plug?  The reason I suspect this is the real problem is that motors overheat when they don't get enough voltage.  The fridge would have tried to draw more and more current and either overheated or tripped a circuit breaker that you would have had to reset.

Is my Outlet not equpped for a dorm fridge and if so, will all campsites with hook ups have those "extra" outlets at the hook up itself?

The fridge outlet in your pop-up should be easily able to handle a dorm fridge.  A dorm fridge should draw less power than the old fridge did when in 120 volt mode.

Austin

[northwad]

AustinBoston-

Thamks for the help-...the access area is on th side of the fridge and not being blocked... but as soon as I plugged it into the camground provided outlet it worked...so I'm guessiung its the PU's wiring that is the problem....Is that an expensive fix or something an ametuer DIYer can do?

[wavery]

AustinBoston-

Thamks for the help-...the access area is on th side of the fridge and not being blocked... but as soon as I plugged it into the camground provided outlet it worked...so I'm guessiung its the PU's wiring that is the problem....Is that an expensive fix or something an ametuer DIYer can do?

Most of those "Dorm" fridges need air circulation. It they don't have air space around them, they may not work properly. In fact, you could burn up the compressor.

[mike4947]

Since it worked off the campground outlet there's obviously no clearance/ventilation issues.
But, I'd suggest buying a multimeter. JMHO but it's a must have for any one owning an RV of any type. You can find them for as low as $5 from places like Harbor Freight and they come with instructions on how to use them for different purposes.
Most likely you have a loose connection in the fridge outlet or another one in the daisy chain. All your outlets are tapped of the 15 amp breaker in the converter and the first outlet is most likely a GFCI outlet that will protect all the other outlets.
You can use the multimeter to check voltage at various points to find out where the problem is.

[pershingd]

I missed reading about your original issue with the fridge, but this may be why the original fridge had problems.

I hate having to track down electrical problems. I had one side of an old TT go completely dead once and I wound up running new wiring for that side while we were at a campground. I got some funny looks, but it worked.

My guess would be that the outlet either has a bad connection or is defective. Can't begin to tell you how many outlets I've replaced because they gave up the ghost.

David

[AustinBoston]

My guess would be that the outlet either has a bad connection or is defective. Can't begin to tell you how many outlets I've replaced because they gave up the ghost.

That certanly fits the "easiest/cheapest" rule.  When diagnosis is difficult, start with the easiest or cheapest thing to replace.

Austin