Quote: Originally posted by jonnmedds on 20/4/2013
Sorry, but as Lunarvenus said, the fridge needs a battery that supplies 14v. mine wasn't.
I should certainly hope not - no car or leisure battery will supply 14v
What lunarvenus was referring to was the fact that, in most towing circuits, the supply to the fridge is not switched on until the car's charging circuit has risen to 14v, which it will when the engine is running.
This has nothing to do with the leisure battery in the caravan, it is the alternator in the towing vehicle that supplies the fridge. You can remove your leisure battery completely and the fridge will still work when towing.
I took my FC on its first outing last weekend and discovered that the fridge didn't appear to be running as I expected it would. I went to a lot of trouble to get the towbar wiring correct, including testing the split charge relay. I'm confused to whether I need the trailer switch set to "van" or "car". Neither seemed to work. Any Ideas?
Quote: Originally posted by Trance-Elbow on 24/4/2013
Does that mean that the Car/Van switch is just for the power gauge?
It's principle purpose is to switch the unit's 12 volt circuits between a self-contained leisure battery, and the car battery via the 12S or 13-pin connector left connected on-site.
As most caravans and campers are now fitted with good quality leisure batteries it is unusual to want to use the towing vehicle for a 12v supply (with the risk of flattening its battery), so this function is largely redundant.
In conjunction with a 'habitation relay' in the control unit it may also serve to completly disconnect the unit's 12v circuits when towing (for safety reasons) and apply the permanent 12v supply from the towing socket to the unit's leisure battery to charge it.
Another point to remember is that the 3-way fridges do not perform as effectively on 12v as on mains electricity or gas. If you've only been towing for a relatively short distance it may not be apparent that the fridge has been operating.
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Topic: Fridge not working when travelling
