Fridge compressor

[EuphoriaHunter34]

Hi there,

First time poster (however I suspect this will be the first of many posts asking for help!)

I have a Waeco/Adler/Barbour fridge on the boat, not sure the model number of the unit, but I've attached photos. It's one of those where there is a cooling plate in the fridge and a compressor and fan in the stern (in the lazaratte?).

When we came back to the boat after not being on it for 4 months, we found the fridge wasn't working. On closer inspection the 5A fuse had blown in the PC board on the compressor unit. So I replaced it and the fridge started working again. Great, problem solved.

However, after 5 days the fridge was getting progressively warmer. So I checked the fuses again and this time the 15A fuse had blown.

I replaced it and watched to see what would happen. Basically the unit starts up, the compressor starts making a noise, which gets a bit louder and faster, then shuts off and on the PC board the LED blinks once. I've also never seen the compressor fan run.

After a couple of minutes this whole process starts again. We've also noticed that the cabin lights have been flickering every now again, which turns out coincide with the compressor shutting down.

The PC board says that it could be a number of things and this fantastic website says that it's almost certainly low voltage:

http://www.alliedseawindii.org/kbase/equipment/galley/refrigeration/adlerbarber.html

However, we're a bit clueless on how to proceed from here. Are the batteries dying? They are 3 year old marine gel batteries.

Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks,
Marc

 

[EuphoriaHunter34]

Quick update:

Checked the voltage of our batteries, they were all fine, showing just over 12V

Checked the wiring, couldn't see any loose connections/corrosion (photos attached)

 

[kloudie1]

Check the volts as the compressor tries to kick on. Checking at panel and on the post of the battery itself. If volts at post (not clamp) drops lots, batt is probably done. If post volts don't drop much but panel volts do, it is a bad connection. Check when compressor is trying to run.
Welcome aboard!

 

[Stu Jackson]

kloudie's right.

You can learn a lot here, too:

http://www.kollmann-marine.com/

 

[Bill Roosa]

99.44% of all electrical problems on boat are corroded or bad connections

 

[EuphoriaHunter34]

Thanks for the advice guys!

When I got home from work today I discovered the LED was blinking 5 times, which I believe is overheating.

So turned it off and I removed the compressor from its location hidden in the back of the boat to check for loose connections. I couldn't see any loose connections, but I discovered that the radiator was covered in a thick layer of dust, so I brushed and hoovered it away and turned the unit back on. It's now been running happily for around 30 minutes (previous best was about 20 seconds).

I'll update again if this was what was causing the problem!

 

[Dan_Y]

Mine gave me the low voltage code and it turned out (as Bill, kloudie and Stu said) to be corrosion of the wire ...at the 12v power where it is clamped in the terminal block. The corrosion seem to have created a little I^2R heating because the terminal block looked to have become really hot once. I clipped a 1/2" off the cable, cleaned the connector, put on a little dielectrics grease and has been fine for 6 years now. It is good quality boat cable, so I have always been a bit mystified by that one.

 

[Stu Jackson]

.........but I discovered that the radiator was covered in a thick layer of dust, so I brushed and hoovered it away and turned the unit back on. It's now been running happily for around 30 minutes (previous best was about 20 seconds).

I'll update again if this was what was causing the problem!

Great news. That "radiator" is actually called the condenser coil. It rejects the heat from the compressor. The "thing' inside the fridge box is called the evaporator.

 

[EuphoriaHunter34]

Ha! Good to know!

So it's been running for a couple of hours now, but the compressor is very hot and the fan is yet to kick in to cool it down.

Is this normal? Or does the fan only come on in extreme circumstances?

Starting to think the fan is broken...

 

[Stu Jackson]

Ha! Good to know!

So it's been running for a couple of hours now, but the compressor is very hot and the fan is yet to kick in to cool it down.

Is this normal? Or does the fan only come on in extreme circumstances?

Starting to think the fan is broken...

The fan should run all the time. Read Kollman's website and you can find out how to check the fan. The easiest way I know is to disconnect it and run 12V to it. Ours has a small plug on it, IIRC. I found a 4 inch Radio Shack fan works, $25 instead of $50 for one from a fridge guy.

 

[EuphoriaHunter34]

Great, thanks again.

I'll check out the website for details.

For now I've got an external fan blowing air over the condenser (aka radiator!) which will get it though the night with no overheating. Hopefully.

 

[EuphoriaHunter34]

Quick update for anyone who experiences this issue in the future.

The problem was that the fan was broken. I replaced it with a $20 radio shack 12VDC fan and we're back in business.

For reference we experienced 1, 3 and 5 blinks on the LED during this process, so I'm not sure how helpful that thing is!

Thanks again for all your help on the forum, much appreciated!

 

[kloudie1]

Thinking the module was probably giving you the correct info.. When the fan stops, the discharge pressure of the compressor climbs very high and overheats things.. as a result compressor will shut down then after it cools a bit, it will attempt a re-start.Attempted restarting with high pressure will draw a lot more current, resulting in low volts and short cycling.. all intimately connected.. I think ya got the prime cause fixed, so the other error codes will not recur.. fixed for less than one "Boat Buck" .. Good Job !