Fuse board burnt out

kalamitty55
kalamitty55 Forum Participant Posts: 82
edited March 2019 in Caravans #1

it all started when I had to have my fridge replaced under warranty, bought van 2nd hand. a swift conquerer 480. the fridge didn't work on 12v but good on 240v and gas, when fitting it they said thetford had altered the wire colours, so they had a bit of trouble sorting it, any way week away great time, next trip it seemed as though there was no power from the towbar for fridge and 12v, couldn't find any fuses blown even behind the panels in the car. so we managed to use a cool box for milk etc.  then put van away for winter, so this week checking van and took car to a towbar fitters who eventually found two fuses hidden that had blown so he relocated them and checked the socket everything was working, so got the car home connected upto van with engine running and the 20amp fuse inline from the leisure battery had blown, so replaced it, it didn't blow straight away but fumes and a burnt smell was coming from the fuse board and all power to control panel was lost.  so disconnected the car and then had to look for a firm that could repair the damaged board,  found one in wales but when I sent pics he said it would have to go back to Italy ( manufactured there) for repair. I then found a firm called appuljack engineering who could rebuild it and that's where it is at the moment,  they said the amount of trouble they get caused by fridges and batterys, it seems that when fitting my fridge somehow the wires are wrong, so i'm not going to use it as a 12v from now on. be easier to fit a plug in cool box in the boot of the car.

Comments

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,671 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #2

    That is a poor experience, but at least you can power the fridge OK on site.  

    Many people do not bother with powering the fridge when on the move, the insulation in the fridge is pretty good and if you are only doing a shortish journey it will not really matter.

    The fridge should only work on 12v when plugged into the car with the engine running, if yours has been wired to act differently then that is wrong.

    It is powered by the car, not via the van battery.

  • Oneputt
    Oneputt Club Member Posts: 9,145 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #3

    Yes agree with K, when we go over there a frozen bottle of milk keeps the fridge temp down for at least 48 hours

  • ocsid
    ocsid Forum Participant Posts: 1,395
    1000 Comments
    edited March 2019 #4

    Sounds like the van's wiring needs looking at by someone who knows what they are doing not the one who replaced the fridge!

    Otherwise, it seems likely another rebuild of the control panel is a high probability, though now you know who can do this.

    I think you have a legitimate claim against the dealer who did the fridge replacement, but insist they get in a contractor knowledgeable to do this on the grounds they had not that skill originally. You probably have a legitimate claim under the Consumer Rights Act, if they prevaricate talk to the local CAB about this if you want to push things.

  • kalamitty55
    kalamitty55 Forum Participant Posts: 82
    edited March 2019 #5

    yes its not the car wired wrong, as they tested it and the fridge pin worked once engine was putting out volts, I am not bothering claiming or getting it rewired as it works on sites, our daughter lives 5 hours away hence trying to get it to work, but I will buy a 12/240v cool box and put that in the car till get on site and cool it down by 240 mains before setting off.

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