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Sat Oct 13, 2012 12:36 pm

Was just cleaning out the garage and found this not sure where i got it,stuff just acumulates over the years out there.
? is what is it i know its some sort of timer charger for a fridge but whats the porper name for it thank you for your help
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Sat Oct 13, 2012 1:01 pm

It's just referred to as a "Control Panel" in the '78 Westy service manual. It selects the power source for the refrigerator and controls (via timer) charging of the aux. battery. I don't know yet what range of years it applies to (you might look at the backside to see if there's a date stamp) but it's at least '76-79.

Plan to sell it?

Sat Oct 13, 2012 3:29 pm

Can you please post a picture of the backside? I know mine is wired in incorrectly and I would like to see a color photo of one that is hopefully not tampered with. Thank you.

Sat Oct 13, 2012 4:57 pm

read the whole thread

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=453294

Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:03 pm

Thanks. I actually think I have that thread saved. I forgot about it. It's been such a cold Fall that I think I will be sending my bus into hibernation soon. Last year I drove it all the way into December. I guess the fridge repair will have to wait until Spring.

Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:09 pm

aopisa wrote: Thanks. I actually think I have that thread saved. I forgot about it. It's been such a cold Fall that I think I will be sending my bus into hibernation soon. Last year I drove it all the way into December. I guess the fridge repair will have to wait until Spring.

? Winter is the perfect time for Bus repairs/maintenance!

Sun Oct 14, 2012 11:32 am

ccpalmer wrote: aopisa wrote: Thanks. I actually think I have that thread saved. I forgot about it. It's been such a cold Fall that I think I will be sending my bus into hibernation soon. Last year I drove it all the way into December. I guess the fridge repair will have to wait until Spring.

? Winter is the perfect time for Bus repairs/maintenance!

You can call me a wimp, but I don't enjoy working in average temperatures in the teens to 20's.

Sun Oct 14, 2012 11:53 am

aopisa wrote: ccpalmer wrote: aopisa wrote: Thanks. I actually think I have that thread saved. I forgot about it. It's been such a cold Fall that I think I will be sending my bus into hibernation soon. Last year I drove it all the way into December. I guess the fridge repair will have to wait until Spring.

? Winter is the perfect time for Bus repairs/maintenance!

You can call me a wimp, but I don't enjoy working in average temperatures in the teens to 20's.

I have the same quandary. All summer it's like "I'll enjoy the Bus now and work on it over the winter!" In the winter it's like "Too cold out; I'd much rather work on the Bus in warm weather..."

This year was great with that early spring... my Bus got a new front end out of it! :D

Sun Oct 14, 2012 5:08 pm

thanks for the info,,,im not sure about selling it not really sure what to sell it for!!!!im kinda of a hoarder lol on my vw parts but if the money sounds good i might get rid of it

Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:32 am

It's pretty archaic now. Inexpensive electronic regulated chargers that are small enough for pemanent hidden installation negates the need for a "charger timer", and most of those small auto-chargers detect battery condition far better than a simple voltmeter does. The rest of the stuff on that board just routes power from the external 110v connector and can be just as well done by a few toggles that are clearly marked.

Nevertheless it does have that 'original' appeal and could be modified to become a central control location for all things electrical that have to do with the camper function of busses.

In mine that big hole will be used for some other purpose if I keep that cabinet when I get around to reconfiguring that area of my bus that is behind the cab. I'm busy with the cab right now.

Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:50 am

speaking of auto-battery tenders...there was a guy who had one wired up to charge any time he plugged it in...does anyone have any info on that? recommended parts ect? i can handle the wiring, but what kind of parts ect?

Thanks!

Mon Oct 15, 2012 12:35 pm

I've got two of them, different brands, one in a dodge truck and the other in a Porsche replicar. I can't get you brand names right now, Stuart, but they're small (about 6"x7") and commonly available. I got the one in the truck last year through Amazon so search on something like "onboard 12 volt chargers" or the like.

They both work as advertised and cut back automatically from their max of about 6 amps to a trickle when they see a full battery. They run cool too - the one in the little porschelike is laid right against the battery with no melting or smells.

I should be able to give you one namebrand within a couple of hours - the other's out of town just now.

Stuart, the charger in the replicar is just a 1.5 amp trickler made by Shumakuaer or however you spell that common maker of low tech chargers. It's just wired +/- to the battery and has a 110 cord to pull out of the car and plug in. The one in the truck is fancier (more expensive), more involved hardwire as I remember. I'll get that name when I can if you still want.

Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:42 pm

ill do a bit of searching on amazon and the like. im looking to hook it up so i can plug in the stock shore power plug, and it automatically charges the batteries, and i can still run whatever from the plugs. :)

Thanks!!

Fri Mar 22, 2013 12:34 am

These refrigerator threads have been great. I've got a problem, though, and I'm looking for help.
When I have my fridge panel connected to city power and the fridge is "on", if I turn on the timer dial to charge the auxiliary battery, the converter fuse under the Z bed immediately pops. Does anybody know what's going on?
There may be a clue in that when I press the battery check button, the needle moves from low to even lower, even though I've checked the battery with an independant meter and it shows that its got about a 60% charge. Also, a friend and I recents replaced the old battery with a new deep cycle marine battery. I'm pretty certain we installed it correctly.
Is there some sort of reverse polarity going on? I need to know where to start.
Thank you

Fri Mar 22, 2013 2:12 pm

sounds like a short somewhere in the system....start with the switch and work outwards.

Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:50 pm

brownie wrote: Was just cleaning out the garage and found this not sure where i got it,stuff just acumulates over the years out there.
? is what is it i know its some sort of timer charger for a fridge but whats the porper name for it thank you for your help
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Hello friend..Please as possible..Need help to repair my power supply for the refregirator.....Whos know a place to buy a parts or a New Power Supply for my West 1977

THank you so much for All..........

Thu Feb 06, 2014 10:55 pm

I don't know anyone specifically selling parts for the power supply or control panel. Some of the usual used VW parts places like BusCo or BustedBus may occasionally have Westys they're parting out and sometimes this stuff gets posted here in the classifieds.

What is the problem you're trying to repair? Did you know that not only there is a fuse in the control panel, but some models also have a fuse inside the power supply (transformer) itself. Also, there are diodes in the power supply that can go bad. These can be replaced with modern equivalents. A schematic of the power supply and control panel can be found in the Technical section here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1978westymanual.php

If you own and know how to use a multimeter, I can probably help you diagnose the problem.

Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:02 pm

eche_bus wrote: I don't know anyone specifically selling parts for the power supply or control panel. Some of the usual used VW parts places like BusCo or BustedBus may occasionally have Westys they're parting out and sometimes this stuff gets posted here in the classifieds.

What is the problem you're trying to repair? Did you know that not only there is a fuse in the control panel, but some models also have a fuse inside the power supply (transformer) itself. Also, there are diodes in the power supply that can go bad. These can be replaced with modern equivalents. A schematic of the power supply and control panel can be found in the Technical section here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1978westymanual.php

If you own and know how to use a multimeter, I can probably help you diagnose the problem.

Hello Friend.Thank you very much for your help....

Tonight I do another Test with a Power Supply Ham Radio 20 amps 13.8 volts.

I check the original power supply and I saw the Voltage drop to 5 Volts when I opened the switch button on....Nothing come,,,I dont hear nothing from the refregirator....Let me know if I hear some noise come from the refregortpr when I open the powers supply,,,,,,,,,,Or if the refregirator is bad....What is my next Testing if my current voltage is ok with a New power supply.......

Let me know.......Thank you very much again...

Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:12 pm

The fridge makes no noise, the way to determine if it's operating is feel the tube coming out of the top of the metal wrapped insulated area, it should get very warm after ~1/2 hour. Test the heaters with an OHM meter for resistance, they are located at the bottom of that insulated section and have 2 cloth wrapped wires each (usually white) leading to them. If they fail your local RV repair shop will have spares as many different Dometic fridges use the same units.

Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:35 pm

celestine -I'm not entirely clear from your reply as to whether the output voltage from your original power supply was normal (13V or so) before you turned on your refrigerator. If it was, and your voltage then dropped to only 5V, you could have one of several problems:

1. There is a very poor connection or contact somewhere between the supply and the refrigerator causing a voltage drop when the large refrigerator current is drawn. With the refrigerator turned on, measure voltage right at the output of the power supply. If it is normal there, but low at the refrigerator, trace through the path and find the bad connection. The schematic in the repair manual is your guide.

2. The power supply is bad, likely a failed diode but this should show up as a lower than normal voltage at the output of the supply even when the refrigerator is turned off.

3. The refrigerator is drawing considerable excess current. I believe the normal resistance and current is shown in the repair manual. You can use your meter to measure this and compare to normal.

The repair manual also has a troubleshooting guide for the refrigerator.
FYI - there are differences between Canadian and US models.