Refrigerator and Furnace fan won't come on

[fdechaine]

Howdy

I have a 2009 26RKS and we just got back from camping. Before we left the campground, I noticed that the refrigerator "auto" light was off when it should not have been. Once I got home I tried to turn on the Dometic refrigerator using electric or gas and nothing happened. I checked all the fuses in the fuse box and they all seem good. I was suspicious that it might be a dc fan problem since it did not work in the gas mode so I turned on the gas furnace and the fan did not start either. So, neither appliance works and I suspect a fuse but I haven't a clue where to look.

The DC Lights work fine

I hope someone can point me in the right direction as I have another camping trip is 8 days

Thanks

 

[hoefler]

Check your battery voltage, it could be low. If the convertor blew a fuse or breaker, it would not be charging the battery. The lights may seem to work, but there may not be enough amperage left to run anything more than a light bulb.

 

[jnbhobe]

I agree with hoefler, sounds like your 12v battery is dead or bad.

 

[wdk450]

Fdechaine:
The refrigerator uses 12 volts DC from the trailer battery for its logic board that lights the panel lights and decides if gas or electric power is appropriate. The thermostat and blower for the furnace use 12 volts DC power, too. The refrig and furnace should have seperate 12 volt supply wires from the 12 volt fuse panel (you did check the DC fuse panel, and not the AC circuit breaker panel?). The only possible shared wire I can think of might be a ground wire. This is probably going to take some troubleshooting with a voltmeter.

 

[Rickhansen]

I checked all the fuses in the fuse box and they all seem good. The DC Lights work fine.

First, I'm not clear how/why you went from refrigerator controls, to fans, to the furnace.

Second, how did you check the fuses?

I think you will need a multimeter to check the fuses, and start trouble shooting in a logical manner. Right now, I don't have any information to begin to help you. The furnace fan and refrigerator are two separate DC circuits, I'm quite sure.

Sorry.

 

[fdechaine]

Regarding checking the fuses .... I unplugged the ac power cord, unhooked the batteries and then went to the converter and took each fuse out separately and checked to make sure I did not have an open circuit. There are 9 - 15a plugin fuses and 2 -
40amp plug in fuses .. All showed that they were good.

I am going to check the batteries now to see what I get for voltage .. that seems to be the common denominator

 

[JohnDar]

Depending on the refer model, there are also 3A and 5A glass fuses in the module that may have blown. The refer fan also has a 5A inline glass fuse of it's own.

 

[fdechaine]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions ...

I checked the battery voltage and it is fine. I unplugged AC power and I was able to put out the slide and bring back in. I assume that this puts enough of a load on the battery to verify it is ok

Regarding the refer circuit board fuses .. I will check these next if I can figure out how to take the cover off. Tried it once (only one screw) and I couldn't remove the cover over the circuit board. I look at it again tomorrow when I have fresh eyes.

Thanks again for the suggestions

 

[JohnDar]

Your's may be different, but in mine, the inline fuse can be seen in this photo. The other two fuses are in the black module and the cover should pry off if you release the holding tabs.

View attachment 19594

 

[fdechaine]

Thanks JohnDar
Your picture helps a lot and it does look very similar to mine. I did not see the inline fuse but will check closer

 

[wdk450]

Don't you have a panel with a bunch of automotive-type fuses somewhere near the AC circuit breaker panel? This is where the 12 volt fuses for the individual components mainly are. Some devices, like the refrigerator, have redundant fuses on them. Some of the newer fuse panels have LEDs that are supposed to light when a fuse blows.

Regarding checking the fuses .... I unplugged the ac power cord, unhooked the batteries and then went to the converter and took each fuse out separately and checked to make sure I did not have an open circuit. There are 9 - 15a plugin fuses and 2 -
40amp plug in fuses .. All showed that they were good.

I am going to check the batteries now to see what I get for voltage .. that seems to be the common denominator

 

[fdechaine]

Don't you have a panel with a bunch of automotive-type fuses somewhere near the AC circuit breaker panel? This is where the 12 volt fuses for the individual components mainly are. Some devices, like the refrigerator, have redundant fuses on them. Some of the newer fuse panels have LEDs that are supposed to light when a fuse blows.

yep, mine has the little red led lights and none show a fault. I still checked the fuses anyways to make sure.I do not have a fuse marked as refrig fan or furnace fan. However, there is one marked as plain fan and it controls the stove fan and the bathroom fan. I am going to troubleshoot each device separately and see where it leads me. I am still somewhat sceptical that I would have both the furnace and refrig stop working around the same time but maybe focusing on one will get me results quickerThanks again .. I will let you know what I find out

 

[donr827]

When I was doing the walk through on my new trailer the furnace would not come on. The 12 volt blade fuse was blown but the red led light did not come on. Mechanic used a multi meter to check the fuse and found it blown.
Don

 

[jimtoo]

Do not trust the red LED lights on the 12v fuse panel. If a fuse is blown, it must have a load on the circuit before the LED will light. No load on the circuit,, no LED will be on. If there is a LED on and you check voltage on the fuse, it will show battery voltage on feed side...12.5v... on the load side it will show 11.3 or so volts if you are using a digital voltmeter that is back feeding through the LED. Best to remove the fuse and check with sight or OHM meter.

Jim M

 

[donr827]

On mine even with a load the led did not come on. Like Jim said check the fuse with a meter.
Don

 

[fdechaine]

Good news and bad news .. Results of troubleshooting

The furnace works fine . it was a @#$!@# on my part. The temp on the thermostat was set too low. Once I corrected that, the blower fan works.

The bad news is that I still don't have a working reefer. The inline fuse and two circuit board fuses are ok so the problem must be with the circuit board. I tried to verify if 12vdc or 120ac was reaching the board but I am not sure where to test. Since all AC components are working, I have to assume that power is getting to the board but going nowhere. Ditto with the DC. I've reached the limit of my capabilities on this one and will need to bring it in for service; something I am not looking forward to doing.

One good thing that came out of all of this is that I went back to the dc panel and verified which fuses did what. The factory documentation on the panel was mostly wrong so now I know which fuse does what with one exception. I suspect that this on is the Reefer fan but since it doesn't work, I cannot verify it.

 

[jnbhobe]

It should not be hard to verify 12v with a test light there are only two power sources one 12v and one 120v going the fridge and the 120v is a regular recepticle.

 

[Rickhansen]

Also, bear in mind that refrigerator condenser fan does not run continuously. It cycles based on on the temperature of the condenser via a "clicks-on" disc type thermostat.

 

[jimtoo]

One other thing to check is make sure the GFI is not tripped. Your fridge outlet may be connected to it also due to water intrusion possibility.

Jim M

 

[wdk450]

FDECHAINE: The responders can help you better if you identify what Make and model number your refrig is. Then whoever has the same working unit can take measurements for you.

Good news and bad news .. Results of troubleshootingThe furnace works fine . it was a @#$!@# on my part. The temp on the thermostat was set too low. Once I corrected that, the blower fan works.The bad news is that I still don't have a working reefer. The inline fuse and two circuit board fuses are ok so the problem must be with the circuit board. I tried to verify if 12vdc or 120ac was reaching the board but I am not sure where to test. Since all AC components are working, I have to assume that power is getting to the board but going nowhere. Ditto with the DC. I've reached the limit of my capabilities on this one and will need to bring it in for service; something I am not looking forward to doing.One good thing that came out of all of this is that I went back to the dc panel and verified which fuses did what. The factory documentation on the panel was mostly wrong so now I know which fuse does what with one exception. I suspect that this on is the Reefer fan but since it doesn't work, I cannot verify it.