Help - fridge won't work on tow bar
Just bought a new Xplore 304 & a new Jeep Cherokee to tow it. Fridge won't work on the tow bar (just bleeps etc.) & 12v supply is not shutting down on tow bar either as we are told it should. Caravan supplier has checked fridge on his machine that mimics a tow bar and works ok. Tow bar fitter says he has fitted it correctly but puzzled & says to bring back tomorrow. We are new to caravanning, can anyone help us please?!
Hugh & Emer
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I'm not an expert in this field but did get some advice from our own approved service centre.
i asked about this as it would seem our fridge worked on one car but not the other, he said the 12v on newer vans and tow cars kick in a little different, but it works ok on the main town car we use so not too bothered. The other thing is it should only work while the car engine is running not just when connected.
any error code on the fridge panel if it has one, or beep code according the the manual.
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Not sure if this helps but on my Freelander 2 with genuine Land Rover parts 13 pin euro socket fitted. the constant 12v is just that, constant, the fridge supply is only present with the engine running.
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Not sure if you are thinking that the fridge will run on 12v in the caravan when stationary. It wont. If it did it would drain a 12 volt battery in no time flat.
My caravan fridge wont run on 12 volt when connected to the car as he 12 volt element does not appear to work. That is according to service engineer. I would not have known as I never switch to 12 volt when towing. I set off with fridge chilled at home where I store and as the fridge is a very efficient cool box I have no need to power it during travel.
If the fridge does not work when car connected that is a different matter. However in such a situation it will only operate when car engine is running and then it used to be when at a certain number of engine revs. I think that cars have got 'smarter' now and that engines may need to be under load also. With the engine running, lights etc on, and a reasonable amount of revs the fridge might operate when connected to tow. Takes one person in car and one in caravan to check.
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There is a "problem" with the latest Euro 6 standard diesel engines and the way they charge the car battery, that may be what you are experiencing.
More information can be found at: https://caravanchronicles.com/2017/07/21/is-a-euro-6-engine-killing-your-leisure-battery/
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We have the exact same problem. We changed our car to a Jeep Cherokee (2015) earlier this year. The fridge wasn't staying on during travelling but we thought it was a problem with the caravan as the tow bar was fitted by our usual reliable fitter. Whilst we'd been going on short journeys it wasn't a problem, however we were travelling to London a couple of weeks ago and was slightly worried about a 4 hour drive. Fate intervened and our car was involved in a crash so we were supplied with a hire car, a Landrover Discovery 4. Wasn't keen on the whole as a towcar, but strangely the fridge worked whilst towing! On return from London, went back to the towbar supplier for testing - nothing wrong, all working fine. Our next move is to get the caravan checked again!
At a loss really as we can't understand it - reading the OP, it would appear that there may be a problem with Jeep. Any thoughts?
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I think this is happening with our new VW Touareg, the battery never seems to have enough power in it to operate the mover properly after towing.
We also have a problem with the car "taking over" the caravan electrics when we stop for lunch. Initially it seems to work and we can select van electrics, but as soon as we try to actually use any 12v power, like the hob ignition, it turns it off and gives a red light on the car supply, which should also be available to use.
The only way to get any 12v at all is to un plug the 13 pin connection, which is a pain. Have had it twice back to the towbar fitters, they insist it is working as it should and the problem must be with the van. It worked fine befire we changed car in February.
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I think this is happening with our new VW Touareg, the battery never seems to have enough power in it to operate the mover properly after towing.
That sounds a problem to me if, like me, you need the mover to site at home. I suppose one solution would be a battery isolator switch. Not the best choice though.
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My VW CC has always run the caravan fridge (dometic)when towing, now have a brand new c/van with a Thetford fridge and no joy getting the fridge to connect.
Independently, the fridge runs fine on the dealers test rig and the towbar is providing 14v to pin 10 when tested at the towbar fitter, any ideas please?
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Can I ask how you are deciding that the fridge is nor working? The reason I ask is that we had a Thetford fridge in one of our caravans and I thought it wasn't working because the 12v light didn't illuminate when first connected to the car. What I discovered was that on tick over it wouldn't work but at higher revs it did. Not sure if thats any help?
David
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