TheSamba.com Forums
 
  View original topic: vw- camper fridge troubleshooting
kac_dc@hotmail.com Thu Sep 12, 2002 5:24 pm

We just purchased our first camper- one among many problems is the refigerator. It will not kick on from any power source. Any suggestions for troubleshooting would be GREATLY appreciated. - CK

Cash Up Front Sun Sep 15, 2002 7:01 pm

it's probably an ammonia cooling system (not freon). i've had a lot of trouble as well and was told to just use it as an icebox because the ammonia mixture is a dangerous thing to fool around with. source was a cooling guy. he suggested to keep it plugged in A/C for a few days. also suggested to drive down a bumpy road to get the ammonia mixture mixed up (sounds stupid, but true). hope that helps, although it didn't help me.

jeremymary@yahoo.com Wed Sep 18, 2002 2:33 pm

Same problem in my '78 Westy Deluxe. Is there a way to convert this to freon???

tinyacres Wed Sep 18, 2002 9:36 pm

CK: You have to visit:
http://www.type2.com/

go to "Library", technical articles, "R" for refrigerator, and lastly "Westfalia Refrigerator troubleshooting". The article "Dometice Refrigerator Repair" is excellent too. I just bought a '78 P27, and my refrigerator did have a burned out fuse on the electrical converter, and the 12 v aux battery needed to be replaced. Now it works fine and mainains a 50 degree difference between the inside temp of the Bus and the inside of the refrigerator. Good Luck!

farmer_noel@hotmail.com Sat Sep 21, 2002 2:03 pm

The troubleshooting article is excellent. The usual problem is they run on DC, but not AC. There is a fuse inside the convertor located under your back seat. When plugged into AC you have to switch on the circut breaker. There is also a fuse in the control panel. If the fuses are good and it still is not lighting up the panel, you have a short somewhere. Follow the test procedures in the article. Once you get it going, run it on AC on a regular basis. The more you use it the better it will work. Mine now makes ice in 3 hours on AC. In extremely hot weather it helps to put a small fan at the lower air intake to circulate more air through the system.

farmer_noel@hotmail.com Sun Sep 22, 2002 7:31 am

One more thing to check....

Is your camper light over the stove working?

If not, then it is the fuse located near the aux battery. It is in line with a holder on the wire going to the fridge etc.



Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group