12v on 2004 Nuovo

by DavidB Sat Oct 05, 2024 3:57 pm

Hi everyone, this is my first real post so a simple starter question. I have just bought a 2004 Nuovo and had a few nights away and put 500 miles on the clock. Most things are going well and happy with the purchase. So far I have had to run the fridge on gas, which works fine and seems pretty frugal. The 12v fridge light doesn’t come on when the engine is running. Surfing this site and talking to A/S agents, I am rethinking if it is worth trying to trace the 12v fault or just stick with gas and 240v when available. My understanding is that the 12v supply only keeps the fridge ticking over at best. Any advice would be appreciated.

by rgermain Sat Oct 05, 2024 4:02 pm

Still trying to get my head around electrics after 8+ years of our Duo.

by Bilbobaggins Sat Oct 05, 2024 4:08 pm

Just had similar fault fixed in my 2014 wxl, new 12v element, 240v element and PCB. Total bill with labour nearly £700. That would buy a lot of gas. However comon sense says don't drive with fridge on gas from safety perspective. While waiting g for repair we switched fridge off while driving and used gas or 240 as appropriate when parked up.

Alternative is to replace fridge with 12v condenser fridge and beef up solar a d electrics, has been done by a couple of members on here

by Paulmold Sat Oct 05, 2024 4:30 pm

A 2004 would have a simpler fridge with no digital readout panel. The 12v supply should be pretty easy to trace.

by Dave 418 Sat Oct 05, 2024 4:47 pm

Not the same motorhome but we had the same problem with the fridge in our Rienza . Behind the battery in ours is a rats nest of wires and a couple of relays.
Checking the wires to the relays the fridge started working. The old adage of hand and eye checks must have disturbed a bad conection.

by bikeralw Sat Oct 05, 2024 5:04 pm

My van had the same fault. Traced to the fuse and relay board, which on my van is screwed to a board at the rear of the battery under the drivers seat. Check the fuses and maybe change the relay, they only cost a few pounds.
One thing to try before anything else is to flick the switch on and off several times while the engine is running. This seems to wake up the switch contacts.
Al.

by rogerblack Sat Oct 05, 2024 9:37 pm

You say the 12V fridge light doesn't come on when driving but have you confirmed that the fridge itself isn't actually working? Reason I ask is that on both the red (12Vdc) and green (240Vac) we have had the light in the switch fail but the fridge was still working OK in both cases. I did eventually get around to replacing the switches just for the reassurance of working lights.

by DavidB Mon Oct 07, 2024 6:11 pm

Thanks for all the comments. I have clearly demonstrated my “newbie” status by not having really considered if operating the fridge on gas while moving was sensible. Is the risk limited to dangers inherent from a crash etc etc or are there other considerations?

I am going to remove the fridge from its housing and see what I can find. I have already checked the fuses under the driver’s seat and all are passing current.

Again thanks to everyone for advice.

by Roopert Mon Oct 07, 2024 9:17 pm

Probably the greatest supposed risk is when refuelling - the theory being that a major petrol spill at an adjacent pump (or at your pump in the unlikely event that the van has a petrol engine) could produce enough vapour in the air for the fridge jet to ignite it.

The risk of fire during an accident should be much reduced on recent vehicles because for quite a few years now they have fitted gas regulators which shut off the supply in the event of a heavy impact. I ~think~ our 2005 van had one from the factory, but I'm not sure when they were first introduced by A/S.

As Roger has already suggested, it may be wise to check to see if the fridge gets cold when run on 12V. The easiest practical way to do that is to drive around for a while and then remove the upper exterior vent and feel the top of the heat exchanger. Caution: when working, the top of the heat exchanger gets hot!

by Peter Brown Mon Oct 07, 2024 9:41 pm

DavidB wrote:Hi everyone, this is my first real post so a simple starter question. I have just bought a 2004 Nuovo and had a few nights away and put 500 miles on the clock. Most things are going well and happy with the purchase. So far I have had to run the fridge on gas, which works fine and seems pretty frugal. The 12v fridge light doesn’t come on when the engine is running. Surfing this site and talking to A/S agents, I am rethinking if it is worth trying to trace the 12v fault or just stick with gas and 240v when available. My understanding is that the 12v supply only keeps the fridge ticking over at best. Any advice would be appreciated.

I've had 1999, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2016 AS vans with Electrolux, Dometic and Thetford 3 way fridges. All fridges have performed equally on either of the three energy sources, with external temps up to 40°C and freezing food stuffs from scratch so the fridges can do the job if properly installed. There is a relay operated by the d+ output from the alternator that switches on the 12v to the fridge when the engine is running and during that time, the leisure and vehicle batteries are connected in parallel by the split charge relay. Your fridge should work effectively on 12v so it's worth investigating.

12v on 2004 Nuovo

12v on 2004 Nuovo

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