I have a Bessacarr e765 and the 12v part of the 3way fridge has stopped working. I have checked the inline fuse,replaced the relay. I know 12v only works while the engine is running but i get no red light on the switch, if the heater has failed would that effect the red light from showing?, is there another fuse the Ducato main fuses that could have failed resulting in a loss of power to the inline fuse?.
We are leaving for Spain on Friday so dont have time to put it in the shop for repair,as a last resort has anyone used the gas when driving either deliberate or by accident for a long time.
You should not travel with fridge ON, think of the safety aspects in case of an accident! Try and get it to work or even ring around an engineer to come out to you or you travel to him, explain that its an emergency. But no way travel with it ON.
i have driven with the gas on , although its not a good idea to , generally the flame will blow out as its only a small flame ,, best thing would be to freeze a bottle of water , then buy bags of ice as and when you can en route , and fill the bottle with ice , you may have to slice the top off , or take some tubs with lids ,, as soon as you stop light the gas ,, do you not have any mobile engineers in your area ?
OK here's the answer to all your problems which i use every year simply because the 12v system is pants, period. Get yourself a 400 watt inverter and attach it to the vehicle battery (mine is under the passenger footwell which is accessible from inside the cab so its ideal)
run a short 240v extension lead down the van to the fridge.
if the fridge freezer is like mine it will have a plug and socket beneath it in a small cupboard. Simply plug the fridge/freezer into the inverter and the problem is not only solved but its also going to work like it does on site.
If your fridge is hard wired like my last one was then simply cut the mains cable at a convenient location and fit a 240v plug to the end going to the fridge and a socket to the end going to the fuse box (make sure you have enough slack to carry this out) and then it will work as above.
The only thing you have to be careful with is when you stop, say for a break or the like. You must turn off the inverter (they have a switch fitted) or you will quickly drain the battery, motorhomes can be hard to bump start When you get to your site just unplug the inverter and set the fridge back to how the manufacturer intended.
We travel to the South of France running the fridge freezer on 240v, freezer maintains -23
I use a Draper 400 watt inverter, most larger type inverters come with a cigarette lighter connection and battery lead connection. Use the battery leads as you will blow the fuse on the lighter system as its only 20 amps.
Oh and if your fridge is an auto power find type then set it to mains i.e. turn off the auto as it keeps looking for 12v when the engine is running?
Oh again lol make sure the fridge is at its working temperature before you set off. The inverter will still cool it down to temperature but its just common sense.
Good luck and enjoy the hols
------------- "All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy."
going on from above, connect the inverter to the leisure battery, that way if you do leave it on whilst stopped all you will do is drain the leisure battery, this will quickly re-charge as soon as you start the engine. But its a very good idea from Addbuyer and should see you through your problem
travelling with gas on is ok, if your fridge has the metal shroud around the ignitor, if not then the flame will eventually burn the plastic shroud and catch fire setting it alight. with the metal one no issues at all. I know from first hand experience!!! Also modern vehicles have safety cut out switches for the gas in case of an accident, so on inpact this cuts the gas. if its an older vehicle then this i doubt will be fitted
Hi Andy-M, I tried the leisure battery route first because of the same reasoning you suggest but the leisure battery charging system is a trickle feed and therefore didn't charge quick enough. You really need the vehicle alternator to run this method successfully.
When i had a caravan i used two 85 amp leisure batteries to run the same set up. They gave approx 2.75 hours of running time each before they needed recharging which was fine to get us down to our first overnight stop just above Leon (420 miles) but the site power was very poor, a 10amp supply but it wasn't enough to recharge the batteries fully overnight ready for the next days journey.
As i said i use this method all the time, not just as a temp solution. The 12v system is used to maintain the fridge temp at the time of setting off (not to lower the temp further) but i have owned 5 caravans and non of the 12v systems have worked to any reasonable degree.
I have never tried the gas route, i would never relax and enjoy the journey lol. However isn't that what our forefathers used before the 12v system was invented
------------- "All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy."
Hi, I noticed that you said you changed the fuse and RELAY that is normally the fault, have you run the engine and checked the 12 volt feed to the fridge which is normally accessed via the lower external fridge vent when removed, only your light not showing could just be the bulb/diode. Also have you checked there is a 12 volt supply to the coil side of the relay when the engine is running.
As for running with the gas on I'm not sure it will work unless you bypass the relay and then even if you do manage to get it going be careful in petrol stations as even with a shield around the flame they aren't flash proof with the petrol fumes.
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Topic: 12v Fridge
When you get to your site just unplug the inverter and set the fridge back to how the manufacturer intended. 
