Fridge issues ( refrigerator ) not working

[*VWFamily*]

First of all, I have spent the last two days reading the forums. I have been trouble shooting a non working fridge in a 78 bus. She had been working great for years and now does not heat up the coils. Checked the fuses, both of them. Heating element is getting power but does not heat up. Can you just replace the heating element? Can the heating element go bad? Thanks

[busdaddy]

Welcome, yes the heater can go bad, if you are sure it's getting power and have tested it for resistance and found none find an old school RV shop, a 12V fridge heater is pretty common. Does yours have 2 elements? as in one 12V and one 110V?
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[*VWFamily*]

First, thanks for getting back to me. The fridge is 12v and 110v. The heating element looks like it has two wires coming out of it. The heating unit itself feels like it may be cylinder and fit into a round housing. Does it just slide out if I need to replace it? How do I check for resistance?

Thanks

[busdaddy]

Have a look at this: http://www.type2.com/bartnik/tech.htm (scroll down to Westfalia).
The heater is indeed a metal cylinder about the size of a small cigar, it's clamped in and does slide out, for testing you'll have to check for resistance between the 2 wires (or each voltages wire and the common if it has 3 wires) with an OHM meter or test light and power source. The heater has to be disconnected from the fridge wiring for this test.
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[*VWFamily*]

Thanks for the reply. What value resistance am I looking for? If it is the heater, how to I get it out and replace it and where do I get another one? It seems to me that it would slide out. I hope i dont have to pull the fridge from the bus. Thanks for the link, it helped me find the problem yesterday.

[*VWFamily*]

Still no luck.

[Westfabulous]

How are you running this fridge? Are you using shore power or are you trying to run it from the accessory battery?

If you are using the battery, don't. Hook it up to shore power and let it run overnight. Make sure that the temperature dial is set to maximum. Make sure the control panel is properly set for fridge operation. Visually inspect your piping for rust and or leaks.

These old buggers are finicky, and I find that mine needs to be woken up about once a year. I leave it plugged in for at least 24 hours and sometimes more. Sometimes parking on a graded driveway will help the ammonia refrigerant to move (nose down).

If you haven't already, start with this and report back.
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[*VWFamily*]

I have done that, but it seems my heater element has gone cu-put. Let me ask u, when you turn on ur fridge does it start to heat up right away or does it take a day to heat up.

Thanks

[Westfabulous]

[*VWFamily*]

Thanks man. It would seem that if I left it overnight it should have warmed up. Ill try to find another heating element. Do u know how it comes out of the housing.

Thanks

[busdaddy]

It should feel warm near the heater in a few minutes, disconnect the heater and check it for infinite OHMs or connect the fridge to a battery charger with a meter on it and see if the load increases when you turn it to cool.
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[Westfabulous]

[*VWFamily*]

Great, I think you said that I can buy one at an RV shop if I need a new one. R they pretty standard when it comes to size.

[busdaddy]

I think so, take the dead one with you to compare.
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[pittwagen]

I have the earlier style fridge from a 74. It hadn't run in years and started to heat soon as I plugged it in. Took a while for all the goop in the tubes to get back into sync but once it did it works very well.

Don't know if this element would work or not but it might be worth contacting the Bus Depot to see what they say.

http://www.busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=255070508C

FYI.

[*VWFamily*]

Awesome, I did not know they still had those. Thanks

[Karzapart55]

How did you determine that you had power to the element?

[*VWFamily*]

I used one of those test lights. I ordered a multimeter so I can get into the problem deeper.

[*VWFamily*]

I have tested the power to the fridge and have 13+ volts all the way to the heating element but it still does not heat up. I tested the element directly to a battery and it heated up right away so the element is OK, did an ohms test also. I found a picture of the wiring right below the thermostat and mine is not the same as that one. Is the picture correct? If not, how is the wiring suppose to be. If you have a picture that would b great.

Thanks

Here is the forum I fond the pic.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=398563&highlight=refrigerator

[RatCamper]