Fridge dead but making progress.. Advice needed

[mickster]

Hello,

We have a Thetford N112 fridge that has been totally dead for some time.

I removed the fridge yesterday and replaced the rear power board.

It now lights up but I can't test it fully as there is a small leak on the gas compression fitting...where I have reconnected the fridge.

Do those fittings have any kind of gasket or will it just need to be nipped down tighter?

Also when fitting the new board I have tied the 12 ish individual white wires that go to the lcd display away from the heat shield on the burner assembly.... To the S piping on the rear of the fridge...does this get hot?

Finally on the front door panel the veneer insert that is the door card keeps dropping to the floor... An Internet search shows me that my fridge is missing the bottom horizontal gray panel that holds this in place..any ideas?

Thanks in advance

Mick

 

[Niall_McIntosh]

I strongly suggest that you leave the gas fitting to someone with the appropriate gas qualifications.

 

[Damian]

there is a small leak on the gas compression fitting

If there is a gas leak you MUST turn off the gas at the isolation valve and get a LPG qualified engineer to fix it.

Having to ask if there is a gasket says that you do not know enough about how dangerous LPG can be.

Just for information, they do not have a "gasket" but do have an olive, also the nut is not as strong as it may seem, and too much pressure will split it.

As far as LPG is concerned, if you do not know exactly what you are doing, GET SOMEONE who does !!!!

To the S piping on the rear of the fridge...does this get hot?

YES it gets very hot which is why the wiring was NOT tied to it .

 

[mickster]

Hello Guys and Thanks for the advice.

To offset any concerns I have a gas certified technician coming over soon to do some other work on the caravan. This will be before we use the caravan.

The Gas is turned off and isolated at the gas bottle and the valve tap also for the fridge.

I'm simply doing as much as I can before this Tech comes.

How about the other fridge related questions.
Can you offer any advice...

Surely there must be members on this forum that have fixed there own fridge.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mickster,

It depends on what's wrong with the fridge. If the control circuit has failed , then its usually replace the control circuit, If there is a problem with the LPG side, then its a job for someone who knows the product inside out, if the refrigeration gas circuit has failed then its almost certainly scrap.

Unless you are fully electronics competent its not worth even trying to repair faulty circuit boards and as you have found tampering with gas connections can lead to some real safety problem. Think this is about you and your families safety.

Much the same applies to caravan water and space heaters.

 

[mickster]

Hello and thanks.

The fridge is now (I think) working after I replaced the bottom power board.

Previously it was totally dead and now it powers up and let's me cycle through 12v/ac/gas etc..

I haven't tested it fully because of the slight gas leak.

My background is electronics but I couldn't suss out what was wrong with the power circuit board as I had no circuit diagram.. Hence the reason for replacing it.

Cheers

Mick

 

[Dustydog]

There are some specialist firms who can test and repair PCBs, Apuljack being one of them. It seems to me PCBs are ridiculously expensive yet so cheap to manufacture! My gas engineer son tells me the average PCB in a boiler is £200 plus. Fitting a new one is a risk as an undiagnosed fault can blow the PCB immediately. £200 down the drain! Thus sometimes diy doesn’t pay 😥😥😥

 

[Buckman]

Hello and thanks.
My background is electronics but I couldn't suss out what was wrong with the power circuit board as I had no circuit diagram.. Hence the reason for replacing it.
Cheers
Mick

Many PCBs now have the lettering removed off the IC or you cannot read the bands on the resistors so makes it doubly or impossible hard to repair a PCB even if you have the correct skilss or qualifications.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Many PCBs now have the lettering removed off the IC or you cannot read the bands on the resistors so makes it doubly or impossible hard to repair a PCB even if you have the correct skilss or qualifications.

With any luck the UK will adopt the right to repair approach which forces manufacturers not to lock designs in a way that prevents repairs.

 

[Damian]

I have a gas certified technician coming over soon to do some other work on the caravan

Is this technician LPG certified, if only Natural Gas then he cannot work on the gas system.

Surely there must be members on this forum that have fixed there own fridge.

I fix them for part of my living as a NCC Approved Workshop but will NOT advise anyone who is not fully conversant with LPG and never on the Internet.