Fridge DC power source

[speedysprocket]

Hey, been struggling lately to restore DC power to the fridge in my 1994 3200SCR. I’m guess I blew a fuse somewhere while working on the fridge, but I can’t find where it might be. All the fuses I can under the helm are good.
There are also two or three separate fuse blocks under there, some glass fuses and some spade. Is this normal…?

[mmwjr]

Most likely the fuse panel with spade fuses was either added or a replacement panel. I believe the refrigerator has a fuse at its input power supply.

[speedysprocket]

Originally Posted by mmwjr

Most likely the fuse panel with spade fuses was either added or a replacement panel. I believe the refrigerator has a fuse at its input power supply.

I’ve had to cut the wires to remove the fridge from the boat. The black is still grounded, but the red one is dead.

[biggerseagar]

You should have a shore power receptacle with plug inside the cavity of where the frig is. That is your 110 side. Then the wires that you cut are the 12v side of your frig which should have a fuse on the red wire , hot side, line somewhere and it sounds like you are going to have to hunt for it because it's dead.

Have fun

Roger

[shrew]

If you've done this, then I apologize as it wasn't clear in the problem description.

As stated, the fridge usually has an AC pig tail (plug) plugged into an outlet in the back of the cabinet.

The DC is more than likely Red/Black. Put a Volt Meter on the DC circuit and see what you get. If nothing, I sometimes find an alternate DC source or run jumpers from a battery and test the Fridge Pos. and alternate Ground, then test Fridge Ground and alternate Pos. to see if the circuit is open on the hot or the ground side.

The breaker/fuse protects the circuit, not the device, so the breaker/fuse should be as close to the power source as possible. This is usually the fuse bus (underneath the dash).

If the fuse itself 'looks' good, then see if the issue is in the bus itself. If not, it's along the circuit somewhere.

If you're getting DC power to the fridge itself, then check for a breaker or fuse ON the fridge itself. If I recall I had a blade fuse on the back of my fridge. However, I can't remember if that was the old Norcold, of the Nova Kool I have now.

Good Luck.

[speedysprocket]

Shame on me. Looked harder and found a blown 10 amp fuse under the helm. All is good now.
And this had even more wires stuffed in there before I removed the old loran and radar wiring…

For what it’s worth, fridge quit working just over a year after having the boards rebuilt. Contacted him and he said compressor is probably shot. Randomly found the same vintage Norcold AC/DC fridge, just smaller, at that same time on Facebook. Had the same exact boards and compressor, just smaller ice box tray. Sure enough, my boards were still good and it was the compressor that was bad. I was able to swap the whole refrigeration assembly into the bigger fridge to get working again. So freezer is smaller now, but it works. AC tech buddy said he should be able to swap compressors and recharge it some day..

[mmwjr]

Glad you resolved the issue. Now get the cold ones chillin.

[shrew]

That pick is a nightmare. Time and patience would fix that in a days work. Half a day, if you could convince someone to stand there handing you things while you down there. The process of getting into and out of those awkward spaces 40 times for a project like that adds a lot of time to the project.

[Derby Time]

I believe the fridge original to that model was a Dometic Orig. The DC fuse on that unit is in the upper left as you are looking at the back. There is a small junction near there where the DC black and red wires come in. You can test for voltage right there. I have power there and fuse appears to be good, but still nothing on DC. Was running fine on AC, but now just clicking. I assume that means a compressor issue. Also getting a beep every few minutes or so. This started after pulling it out to remove microwave.

[Derby Time]

Sorry...trying to be helpful to others, but at the same time having issues myself. Don't want to come across as hijacking.

That DC fuse is automotive style glass, but seems a bit shorter. There is also another spade fuse on the left side of the larger aluminum component with cooling fins on it. The fuse is under a grey plastic cover at the bottom of where the wires connect.

[speedysprocket]

Originally Posted by Derby Time

Sorry...trying to be helpful to others, but at the same time having issues myself. Don't want to come across as hijacking.

That DC fuse is automotive style glass, but seems a bit shorter. There is also another spade fuse on the left side of the larger aluminum component with cooling fins on it. The fuse is under a grey plastic cover at the bottom of where the wires connect.

Sorry, I only know the Norcold fridges…

[Derby Time]

From what I've seen and heard both brands have used the Danfoss componants, so they have many of the same issues between the brands.

[speedysprocket]

Mine started where the compressor would only run a second, then off like 10, then on a second, and so on.
I sent the boards to be repaired and it worked for a year before doing the same thing again. Turns out the compressor went bad.

[geoffm70]

It was cutting out on battery power. Turned out to be bad/old wire from the fuse box under the helm.