Fridge not working on 12 volts when towing
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It is not normally that not enough power is generated ,it is the "smart?" alternator reducing its output when it senses that the vehicle does not need any more, .and is not "aware" that the fridge is connected via the live supply (if connected at all) to check try driving with dipped headlights ,which will make the alternator generate more power all the time if it then works there is a piece of kit (as fitted to our sportage)towing electrics that does the same,
Ps I do not think the 13 pin electrics will cool a fridge as in the past with the two seven pin plugs (grey had fridge supply)
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This has been well documented in the past,without going over old ground again,you have to load the alternator,the easiest way is to switch headlights on.
I have a Euro 5 and my fridge is cool when we arrive at destination.So no fault on mine either.
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I suspect that KnausCol will be responding to this in due course because he and I have an issue with Knaus over this. They have taken the positive decision NOT to connect the fridge to 12v on their Starclass range to avoid the possibility of 'back-draining' either the car or leisure battery. Whereas on my 2018 model, the 12v supply from the car is connected to the PSU and all that is missing is the wiring from there to the fridge - on this year's model (according to my dealer), that supply isn't even connected to the PSU.
I wasn't aware of this problem and have been happily switching the fridge to 12v before setting off, assuming it was working. Then, I checked it with the car engine running and it showed that the 12v light on the fridge was still flashing, indicating no power to the fridge - even on high revs and with the lights on.
That said, we haven't had a problem with the fridge or freezer defrosting - even on a journey of 4 or 5 hours in the height of summer. We always have our fridge on EHU for two or three days before going anywhere and clearly it is well enough insulated to maintain its temperature during that period.
I have considered a battery to battery charger such as the Sterling Wildside but probably won't bother since we don't have a particular problem due to how we use the van. Might be a different matter for those considering extended journeys in hotter climates, though.
What I can't afford to do, is risk a flat leisure battery on arriving back at home because it would be impossible to get the van back on the drive without the motor mover.
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We always check the fridge prior to moving off but i have found that you sometimes need to give the car a few revs to get to power to the fridge, as pointed like the other member we always plug the caravan a few days before going away and run the fridge and battery charger this gives the poor car a little less to do
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Your question is a little ambiguous, do you mean the fridge not working due to the "smart alternator" fitted to some Euro 5/6 engine vehicles?
A Stirling battery to battery charger will not make the fridge work any better than it does for you now but a Stirling Wildside probably will.
I have fitted a Wildside to my caravan ,mainly because I wanted the correct charging profile for my lithium battery but as a bonus my fridge now gets the correct voltage and works when towing.
What make/model of caravan and vehicle do you have?
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I agree that would be the case if the wire was too small but that is down to using the wrong cable in the first place, the wire spec for both 7 and 13 charge/fridge circuits is the same. The problem is that there are a lot of inferior spec cables for sale out there.
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We have a Mitsubishi Outlander 2.2did and the caravan is a Bailey Unicorn Barcelona 2018 model we found that when we go long distance the freezer is thawing out now have purchased a Sterling Wildside to fit on to caravan so was just wanting any feedback on how they work
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They work very well (in my experience) prior to fitting it I had 11.1v at the fridge which meant it was never going to work. After fitting it I have the correct voltage to operate the fridge.
If you look on CaravanTalk a poster on there detailed how he fitted one to his Bailey Unicorn 3 Cadiz which may help you?
He fitted his near the 12v fusebox where as I did mine differently and made a new loom so I could fit it under the offside front bench (Swift caravan)
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I think also it depends whether the engines in question ase fiite to a tow car or a commercial vehicle based M/Cvan as it seems alternators on comercial vehicles have higher outputs also tend to have much shorter cable runs to the fridges
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It is easy to be misled by the appearance of the cable since in recent years automotive engineering has moved to Thin Wall Hard Multistrand Cable. The conductor section remains as previous but the wall thickness of the insulation is reduced and made from superior material. The performance of the cable is enhanced at high temperatute (20C higher temperature rating. The benefit of a reduced outside diameter is seen when multiple cables are grouped together and the mass of the harness is reduced.
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Sterling also call their "Wildside" a battery to battery charger, they have several different models depending on how much power you need.
I have fitted one to our caravan as the car ( 2016 VW Touareg, Euro 6 engine) was not supplying a high enough voltage to charge the caravan battery sufficiently for it to operate our mover for long enough when arriving on site or back home. We did do the turn on headlights bit.
I reckoned it probably was not doing much for the fridge either, but that is more difficult to detect on shorter trips. Certainly on longer summer runs the freezer was not as it used to be when we had a Euro 4 vehicle. Our fridge had always cooled well on 12v in the past.
The battery to battery charger increases the voltage so that the van battery charges properly and the fridge now cools.
The default setting is priority to battery charging, which is how I have left it, it automatically switches between charging the battery and running the fridge. I am very pleased with the result and the installation was straightforward. Some additional wires are required over that supplied by Sterling, but there is guidance in the instructions.
Our caravan is a Sterling Searcher 2008 model. I fitted the device close to where the cable enters the van, in a convenient and otherwise unused space under and slightly forward of the front chest of drawers.
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