76 Westy Refrigerator Problem

usafny · Last edited by usafny on Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:09 pm; edited 1 time in total

hi all....i'm hoping someone can help me. i have looked at, i think every topic on this, but i can't really find the answer or pics. this is how mine is laid out and i'm wondering if there is anything wrong? my frig does not work, yet i've tested the wiring and everything seems to be getting a reading. can anyone help?

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all readings checked out

not sure if wiring is correct. should blue be to blue and black be to white? it would make sense that it should be that way.

there is nothing connected to the blue which i am puzzled by

can anyone please help? it's no biggy if i can't get it to work, but it would be nice to know why it won't.

thanks
t

1977_L63H_P27 · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:59 pm Post subject:

I don't know if this will help or not...

A PO of our bus had drawn this in a spare manual. Let me ask some questions about your fridge. How long did you run it before you decided it wasn't working? Did you have it hooked to shore power? The reason I ask is because they don't cool well off of battery power and, if you haven't ran it in a while, it can take hours (up to 24) for it to get cold. This type of fridge makes no sound when running as it simply uses a heating element to boil ammonia. Good luck!
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busdaddy · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:07 pm Post subject:

Does the heating element get warm? (feel the tube coming from the top of the grey cylinder), if it does you need to turn your fridge upside down for a few days.

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usafny · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:10 pm Post subject:

thanks, i have that write up as well. i'm running it on shore power. the heating element doesn't seem to be heating at all. all 3 fuses r good as well.

yesterday i played around w/ it for a while. the battery meter was working, but the refrigerator light wasn't. i put the timer on for a while and then hit the refrig on switch. the light came on so i turned the thermostat and then nothing worked. the light went out and the battery meter stopped working. i don't understand why if i'm getting readings on all the wiring. all the wiring looks real good and nothing smells burnt. it's very puzzling.

usafny · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:17 pm Post subject:

ok, totally weird....now my battery meter works, but the refrig light is still not on.

dunebuggy888 · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:17 pm Post subject:

hey i just got one just like it working but the fridge light never went on the bulb was broken but everything still worked also my wiring is a lil diffrent but il send you some pics t/m and you can compare and as far as the heating element my fridge gets frost on the inside but that never gets hot just something to think about
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78 vw westy

AB westy nut · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:38 pm Post subject:

Just a shot in the dark here but behind the panel, are there black strips of tape adhered to the inside of the body panel? I think these are to prevent the wiring and solder joints from contacting the metal body. On mine the tape strips had fallen off and the previous owner disconnected the fridge and removed the fuse in the panel presumably because it was shorting out. I replaced the tape strips with some cloth tape and voila, the fridge works perfectly. As mentioned above, it can take a number of hours to cool down but if the fins are warm at least you know it's working.
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1963 Ruby Red 356 Cabriolet
1976 Sage Green Westfalia Deluxe

hurst_dave · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:36 pm Post subject:

usafny · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:00 pm Post subject:

woohoo....it finally works. a friend came over and helped and after testing everything again the only problem was the red wire going into the converter really had to be plugged into the blue. weird, but the heating element got hot and the frig got cold just after 30min. the refrig light works and the battery meter. luv it.

so all the wiring is correct in the other pics except the red needs to go to the blue in this pic.

hope these pics help others in the future.
thanks for the responses. much appreciated
t

outrun1984 · Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:09 am Post subject: samee thing

Yeah I was tooling with mine when I got my bus..They do work but you need to let it sit for hours.!!! Once you get it running on a regular basis, get the battery charger relay so you can charge both batterys at the same time. Helps alot when driving long distance. I have the double relay and a 20W solar panel mounted to keep my whiskey cold...oh yeah and my butter, eggs. etc haha! If you need any more help I have all the original manuals for the Dometic fridge. I can scan them for you if you would like a copy. I also have a problem. Mine stopped charging on the shore power cord. the battery meter does not read..I think i messed up a fuse or something..Best to just rewire the whole thing. The fridge will work great if you put a little cold pack inthe very bottom just to lower the temp.

wxm1873 · Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 12:24 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the photos , i have finally managed to sort out my 79 Westy fridge using the guide and it's now working Very Happy

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1979 LHD Westfalia , Berlin Interior

Keith · Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:21 pm Post subject:

This thread is just what I needed . Thanks!!
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RuiterO · Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 6:56 am Post subject: Battary meter resistor

Hi, The battery meter on my control panel is not working because the resistor between the meter and the battery condition switch is not there anymore. Does anyone know what kind of resistor was used there?

eche_bus · Samba Member Joined: October 07, 2007 Posts: 1318

RuiterO - there was originally a zener diode, not a resistor between the meter and the switch. The zener serves to "subtract" approx. 10V from the battery voltage so that the meter will only see voltages in the range of 0-5V for a battery voltage range of 10-15V.

The diode you need is a 1N4740A, available from onlinecomponents.com as well as other sources. You MUST NOT use any other kind of diode, and it MUST be installed in the correct direction or you will ruin your meter. The end marked with a band must be soldered to the switch terminal. A schematic of your panel may be found here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1978westymanual/32.jpg
The diode is shown located between switch E4 & meter G.

RuiterO · Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 5:12 am Post subject: Thanks

Wow, unbelievable you know all this. Thanks very much.


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