fridge

rasbury

and yours did too but mine had fancier pictures!

rasbury

ok, so my main help on this topic has, well, moved on I suppose so hopefully someone can point me...so got it pulled out and in my little work shop and >banned> had a nice simple check list to see what was working and what is not, I think. So, have a fully charged spare battery and used jumpers to power it. Fan comes on, compressor feels like it jumps but does not run. Fan runs for maybe two mins., stops and then the cycle repeats. I do not see any wires going to the compressor, must connect through the back of the control unit- have power in, fan is running and feels like the compressor tries  to start but can't. Another test offered in the info from<baned> is to take off the thermostat wires from the controller and jump those connections which should run the compressor at low speed, would not seem to be needed as it does seem to get power...what's my next move? Also, how is it supposed to drain?

PS- fridge has not worked since purchased last year....

Handymans342

Fridge drains in the bilge I think? 
Follow the wires from the plug on the compressor and check for DC volts and post what you read. 

Handymans342

Did you get an LED bulb like I did? 

frenchship

What make and model do you have ?

rasbury

I will post tonight the make and model....I did try the jumper pulling the thermostat wires from the controller and same result so either I have a problem with the controller or the compressor....I found in another thread a more detailed approach although I think what I've done so far eliminates the power supply, the thermostat and the resistor on the thermostat.....I saw from this new source that indeed there would be a plug on the back side of the compressor and wires from the control box and also a couple of tests for the compressor itself. I hope to take a look at that tonight....I hope it's not the compressor as it sounds like if it is off to the shop it goes for I'd guess at least one boat buck.....if it's the controller I see those for a couple hundred which is a little better as I can do that myself. When I test the compressor and the voltage to the compressor I will report back.....thanks all!

rasbury

I posted an update last night but don't see it-not sure what happened. The model I have is a Tundra BD35F. I removed the control box and indeed coming out of the side of it is a 3 prong plug. I'm not to sure how to check it however, it's not like a household 3 prong where the bottom one is ground is it? I put a meter to it but could not get any volts out of it. One of the other threads I followed had a couple of test for the compressor I did not quite get either. One was to test to see if the motor was grounded but did not explain how to test it. I used the housing as ground and put a meter to each pin to see if I had continuity and if that was the way to do it, that was OK. The other test which I for sure did not get was to check each pin for resistance and if they are all about the same, the compressor is good. I did not understand at all how to perform that test so kind of stuck......can anyone help me evaluate if it's the compressor or the controller?  I have been doing this all with a battery- I tried to plug it in at my shop and it would not run at all when I plugged it into the house....on the plus side, the light now comes on in the fridge so that was a small step forward! So what I have is on battery only, the fan runs for about two minutes, the compressor kind of jumps like it wants to start, the fan will cut off and restarts, compressor jumps and the fan runs for about two minutes and then recycles again.

Handymans342

Replace the controller Ras

frenchship

Here some Infos on troubleshooting.
http://www.isotherm-parts.com/PDF/service_notes/Danfoss-Troubleshooting.pdf
http://www.fixmyfridge.co.uk/

rasbury

Thanks French....that's what I have been using up to this point. I hope it's the controller and guess I'll go looking for a deal on one somewhere...I looked quickly the other day and looked like 200 bucks was what I was seeing......will update when I find one and see what I have going on then!

Thanks

checkmate

Checking compressor . 1--one lead on a good ground and go to each pin (3). It shouldn't show continuity. 2-- Between each pin it should show continuity. I wouldnt go buy a $200 controller. I would guess relay and overload that hooks onto the compressor could possibly be wrong. Sounds like its trying to start (compressor)and kicking out. It will keep trying this about every 1 to 2 minutes. And you will hear usually two clicks. It that's the case then relay overload bad. Haven't had to work on mine yet or any marine appliances but I own a appliance store and fix appliances everyday. I'm assuming its same concept.

Handymans342

The controller has an overheat relay which is almost always the culprit. The controller thinks the compressor is overheating when in fact it isnt even running. 

rasbury

Checkmate/Handyman....first, on checking the compressor itself, what is a good ground? I put the ground on the housing of the compressor itself as if I understood the test, I'm checking to see if the motor is grounded out. Somewhere else I should put that lead? The 2nd test I will now perform, thank you very much! Is the overheat relay part of the controller that would not be able to be repaired? I did not look very closely, but, when I pulled the controller, the side of it is open and the three prong plug on three wires is there and plugs in- I don't recall where anything could be between the plug and the compressor and the pins go right into the compressor....there are two blade type fuses in the power supply and when I first tore into this, one of those was bad....I think it was the 5 amp and the other is a 10 amp. Have no idea exactly what those fuses protect. I'll do a little searching online and see if I can find that overheat relay....thanks!

rasbury

well, don't see anything anywhere so it must be internal to the controller? Makes sense as it cuts off the fan and re cycles the way it's doing, something is tripping...

checkmate

I good ground is usually a non painted surface. Compressors are painted black so don't use that as a grounding point. I find a screw or go from non painted frame of unit and check each pin. Don't know much about the controller having a overheat relay. I only work on residential appliances and they don't have this. But if its the relay overload that connects to compressor that is bad let me know and I can direct u to a cheap universal part that will usually work.

rasbury

thanks checkmate...it's kind of funny that we all have our little area of expertise! I don't see any mention of any relays, at least external to the controller and unfortunately I think I'm stuck with a new one so far....no one rebuilds them it seems and I guess not enough volume for the knock off companies to get involved...low on my list and we just use it for storage anyway but sure would like to have the option of using it on weekend or extended trips....we'll see. I will re check the compressor as well, thanks for the info!

Handymans342

The relay is non serviceable. You could hook the red lead of the meter into the compressor plug, black wire to ground and check DC voltage to all 3 slots on the plug when you trun on the fridge. Man, I could have had this thing running by now Ras!. 

Handymans342

Remember, The compressor is 12/24 volt I believe. 

frodo13056

Sounds like it is in need of a freon re-charge. Compressors do have a high and low cutoff switch setup and if the compressor is kicking on and shutting down right away,  it seems like either low freon or a bad pressure switch. 

Handymans342

Refrigerators do not have high and low pressure cut outs Fro. Only AC units. 

rasbury

c'mon down handy! I found a used one for 50 bucks I'm trying to get, hate to spend 200 bucks on something for occasional use plus I have some other must do's that are a couple boat bucks....if I can fix it, even for a while for 50 bucks...otherwise, how would you have this fixed other than a new one? I'm a good tinker type person but not a mechanic or refrigerator expert by any means.... 

rasbury

and yes it is 12/24 V

rasbury

I ordered and received yesterday a new controller....plugged it in and I'm in business, thanks for all the assistance. I hope this controller last a while, 200 bucks was the cheapest one I could find in stock.

luckydog

Ras, You Done So Much, With So Little, For So Long, That Now You Can Do Anything With Nothing at all

Now put the beer in LOL

Handymans342

I TOLD YOU RAS 3 MONTHS AGO!

Cableguy Greg

Handymans342 said:

I TOLD YOU RAS 3 MONTHS AGO!

75 posts later and it is fixed!

rasbury

Hey, if I had a crap load of money and could take it to the shop and say "fix it", I wouldn't be here! Plus, I like to tinker and I am working on things I have no real idea of how they work, sometimes just know enough to be dangerous and sometimes screw it up worse than when I started- but I learn. Electrical being one of them for sure. I had a hard time spending 200 bucks when I was not thoroughly convinced that was the problem, especially when I do not know if I'm checking things right...missing a fuse I was not aware of...you know...but it's awesome to open the door and see a light come on and cool air! Does not take much to get me excited! 

Cableguy Greg

We were just messing with you. I agree about being 100% sure about the correct problem before spending the money. I chased ignition problems around for months on my 232 before I replaced the ignition module. That ended up being the problem, but I was gun shy because the part was $700 dealer cost. I replaced plugs, wires, cap, rotor, battery wires and more before I pulled the trigger on the part. I ended up with almost one boat buck chasing the issue along with the aggravation of not knowing if the boat would run when I went to use it on the weekend. I am glad to read that cold beer is in your future. Hopefully the weather stays decent up North so the rest of us can enjoy those cold beers on our boats as well.

Handymans342

Ras, dont buy a boat if you dont have a boat load of money LOL

rasbury

no boat load here...I put it up for sale the day I bought it, figure by the time I find a buyer I'll be done with it!