Shoreline Fridge Problem

[john6767]

We has the "usual" Shoreline 12V fridge and it seems to be playing up a bit with the red LED flashing, the started a couple of months ago. The normal reason for this is that the voltage is low and it never used to do that except when we genuinely had a low battery voltage issue, but now it seems to do it much of the time, perhaps flashing a dozen times and then stopping for a bit. I have no reason to believe that the fridge is not working correctly, it is cold and I have heard it running is the middle of the night, despite the light flashing during the evening.

 

I checked on the smartgauge on Sunday morning and it was 70 some percent charge and 12.40 volts. On Saturday the fridge light as flashing perhaps 30 mins after we has stopped and the voltage was something like 13.6 on the smartguage.

 

I not not certain if the fridge light flashes at all when the engine is running, that is something I need to check.

 

I also need to check out if there are any connection issues at the switch board and the isolator switch by the fridge, and I will attempt to measure the voltage at the switch by the fridge when the light is flashing.

 

I am also going to try and get the fridge out, not easy as they seem to have built the kitchen round it, to see if the back is all covered in dust and muck etc.

 

I don't know how thick the supply wire is, and I could run a new set of wires possibly, but as it has only just started doing this, it seems unlikely to be the actual wires I think.

 

Any other thoughts on what this could be?

[Nickhlx]

Batteries ageing and losing capacity ? Possibly a cell going down ?

 

Nick

Edited July 11, 2016 by Nickhlx

[MtB]

I suggest you measure the 'battery voltage' at the fridge terminals while the flashing error is present.

 

A further thought is there are several different error messages, distinguished by the pattern of flashing (one flash per second, a group of two flashes once per second, three flashes once per second, etc). One flash per second is low voltage at the fridge terminals IIRC.

[john6767]

Batteries ageing and losing capacity ? Possibly a cell going down ?

 

Nick

Batteries are 12 months old, doesn't 12.4v in the morning suggest that it is not a battery issue?

 

 

I suggest you measure the 'battery voltage' at the fridge terminals while the flashing error is present.

 

A further thought is there are several different error messages, distinguished by the pattern of flashing (one flash per second, a group of two flashes once per second, three flashes once per second, etc). One flash per second is low voltage at the fridge terminals IIRC.

Yes, I need to check the voltage at the fridge end and check out the cable run for issues. The flashing I think is consistent, but is does not do it continuously, which seems strange given that the fridge seems to be working fine.

 

There is some interesting stuff in the Shoreline field notes document about adding a jumper to reduce the require operating voltage, anyone done that?

[MtB]

What flashing pattern are you getting?

[john6767]

What flashing pattern are you getting?

It seems to be about a dozen single flashes, so it could just be that the single flash low voltage only does for so long then it stops. Voltage has to be the issue I think and there must be a bit of a dodgy connection developed some where, but given the fridge works I am now wondering about the "nuisance tripping" the field notes talks about and that has just taken it into that realm, rather than in to it fails to run realm.

 

I am not at the boat now, so will go back and do some more checking later in the week

Edited July 11, 2016 by john6767

[OldGoat]

Penguin refrigeration have an useful document here:-

http://www.penguinfrigo.co.uk/assets/assets/BD35%20BD50%20Fault%20Diagnosis.pdf

 

Too long to summarise the codes.

[MartinC]

We had a similar problem. In the end we moved the fridge to give more air circulation at the back and the flashing stopped.

[MtB]

It seems to be about a dozen single flashes, so it could just be that the single flash low voltage only does for so long then it stops. Voltage has to be the issue I think and there must be a bit of a dodgy connection developed some where, but given the fridge works I am now wondering about the "nuisance tripping" the field notes talks about and that has just taken it into that realm, rather than in to it fails to run realm.

 

I am not at the boat now, so will go back and do some more checking later in the week

 

 

Your comment about the fridge working still makes sense, given the flashing isn't present all the time. When it's gone, the fridge works and it will stay cool for a number of hours.

 

A further thought. When my fridge gave the low voltage error (prior to getting the SmartGauge!) the fridge turned itself off as the battery voltage fell to the trigger voltage, then with less load, the battery voltage would recover in about a minute. So the fridge would start up again, and the battery voltage would collapse over about 30 seconds and the fridge would turn OFF again.

 

This cycle usually set itself up at about 5am and the constant on/off/on/off of the fridge would wake me up. Does yours do this? If not, it's probably not a genuinely flat battery.

[john6767]

Penguin refrigeration have an useful document here:-

http://www.penguinfrigo.co.uk/assets/assets/BD35%20BD50%20Fault%20Diagnosis.pdf

 

Too long to summarise the codes.

Thanks, all good info.

 

We had a similar problem. In the end we moved the fridge to give more air circulation at the back and the flashing stopped.

That is good to know, thanks. One of my thoughts is that it is all clogged up with dog hair, and the dog deposits tons of hair everywhere else!

 

 

 

 

Your comment about the fridge working still makes sense, given the flashing isn't present all the time. When it's gone, the fridge works and it will stay cool for a number of hours.

 

A further thought. When my fridge gave the low voltage error (prior to getting the SmartGauge!) the fridge turned itself off as the battery voltage fell to the trigger voltage, then with less load, the battery voltage would recover in about a minute. So the fridge would start up again, and the battery voltage would collapse over about 30 seconds and the fridge would turn OFF again.

 

This cycle usually set itself up at about 5am and the constant on/off/on/off of the fridge would wake me up. Does yours do this? If not, it's probably not a genuinely flat battery.

I don't know if is does that, I know I heard it running sometime it the middle of the night, and that in the mornings the smartgauge was showing 12.4V at the batteries. I also know it was flashing on Saturday evening 30 mins after we stopped, and the batteries at 100%. I may have been flashing with the engine running too, I don't know that for certain yet.

 

So looks like my plan is to pull the fridge out (not easy) and clean out any crap from the back, and get a meter on it and see what I can suss out.

[tizzy]

We have just had this very same problem with the fridge flashing even when we were on a shoreline and battery charger. We tried EVERYTHING including putting a vent in the worktop to improve airflow etc. OH is good with this sort of thing and nothing worked in the end we threw in the towel and have just bought a 240v fridge for about a quarter of the price. We are lucky because our inverter will run it and our boat is either in a Marina on shoreline or the boat is moving and charging the batteries.

[Tony Brooks]

Thanks, all good info.

 

That is good to know, thanks. One of my thoughts is that it is all clogged up with dog hair, and the dog deposits tons of hair everywhere else!

 

 

I don't know if is does that, I know I heard it running sometime it the middle of the night, and that in the mornings the smartgauge was showing 12.4V at the batteries. I also know it was flashing on Saturday evening 30 mins after we stopped, and the batteries at 100%. I may have been flashing with the engine running too, I don't know that for certain yet.

 

So looks like my plan is to pull the fridge out (not easy) and clean out any crap from the back, and get a meter on it and see what I can suss out.

 

 

I have not noticed the actual flash code being defined so i think the first thing to do is to read the flash code (how many flashes between longer pauses) and find out what that tells you.

 

If its sets of three then a voltmeter at the back of the fridge is unlikely to tell you much at all, especially with the 12.4 battery voltage. The three flash code meaning low voltage is caused by the starting surge and that is over too fast for most digital meters to respond to. You would need an oscilloscope to see what the voltage falls to on starting.

[john6767]

Right, got to the boat today to look at this.

 

The supply and fridge cables as connected at a switch in a cupboard base that I now know is a 240V/45A double pole switch (perhaps an immersion heater switch). I opened it up to check the connections, and when I lifted the switch out the negative supply wire stayed behind, opps! Then the positive supply wire fell out as well. So I think that is going to be my issue!!!

 

I have shorted both the supply and fridge cables (as there was a lot of spare on both) by a couple of feet each for good measure, checked that the switch is zero resistance on both poles and remade the connections nice and tight. Hopefully that will be the end of the flashing light, but I will not know until we go out next in a couple of weeks time.

[WotEver]

Glad you're sorted nice and simple.

 

It does demonstrate why many of us advocate bootlace ferrules on stranded cable when it's being connected to switchgear/sockets etc designed for solid cable. If you don't then it can come loose, just like yours did.

 

To y