Not working on gas or electric - kept plugged in all of the time so not lying dormant at anytime. Any ideas fridge is 2012.
Not digital model.
Thanks. Paul
Not digital model.
Thanks. Paul
Thetford fridge not working
- Thread starter Pauliil1948
- Start date
Does the condenser (the big black coil at the back) get hot ... particularly towards the top ?
If it does, but the fridge itself does not get cold, then most probably it has lost refrigerant (ammonia), although this is rather unusual in a fridge only 6 years old which previously worked well. Sometimes it can be due to an air-lock developing, and you may have success with the old trick of turning the fridge upside-down for 24hrs. However in my experience this is often just a short term fix ....and of course is a lot of effort with a built-in fridge.
Sadly, when absorption fridges fail in this way there is not really any economical way of repairing them.
If it does, but the fridge itself does not get cold, then most probably it has lost refrigerant (ammonia), although this is rather unusual in a fridge only 6 years old which previously worked well. Sometimes it can be due to an air-lock developing, and you may have success with the old trick of turning the fridge upside-down for 24hrs. However in my experience this is often just a short term fix ....and of course is a lot of effort with a built-in fridge.
Sadly, when absorption fridges fail in this way there is not really any economical way of repairing them.
Damian
Moderator
- Mar 14, 2005
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If you have heat at the chimney, where the gas burner is located and the electric elements are, but no heat transferring to the cooling matrix (which should be very hot on the right hand side at the top, slightly cooler on the left hand top and gradually reducing the lower you go) then the cooling matrix has failed and with Thetford fridges that means a new fridge.
hi tried it on gas 12volt and mains don't think the gas was has ignited ,tried it a few times the indicator dose not go green and the chimney isn't warn , nor is the condenser,everything stone cold,thanks.Damian-Moderator said:
What is the price of a new fridge , is it possible it could be the heating element, I don't know just someone just suggested that , iam no expert with fridges,thanks again guys ,
Sadly this is unlikely. There are three different ways of generating the heat; the mains element, the 12v element and the gas burner. You say the first two are not working and it would unusual in any case for both elements to die together.
The usual first-principles test is running on gas, which is a simple burner. Are you 100% sure the gas is lighting and staying lit? If so, and it still isn't working then as said above it's unfortunately likely to mean a new fridge.
If you can't get the gas to stay lit, then there might be other avenues worth exploring.
Both my initial response, and Damians, assumed that you DID have a source of heat working. It now seems that you do not, in which case of course the fridge will not get cold.
Can you confirm that your fridge is an older style manual type with a selector switch to select 12v/230v/gas, and a press-button piezo igniter to light the gas while holding in an adjustment knob; also a little meter where the pointer moves to the green sector when the gas lights? Has the fridge worked properly on gas recently ..... or are you only now trying it on gas because it stopped working on 230v?
It is entirely possible that the 230v element has failed ..... but it could equally be another electrical problem such as a fuse, MCB, or even the thermostat. (It is by no means unknown for a switched- socket where the fridge plugs in to get accidentally knocked off!). If you know how to use a multimeter it is easy to check the heating element etc with the fridge disconnected by measuring the resistance. A new element is relatively cheap and easy to install.
I would forget about working on 12v for now. The way normally wired, the fridge will only work on 12v when the car engine is actually running, and you would have to wait a long time before noticing the heat. There are also numerous other potential problems with the wiring which could confuse the issue.
Can you confirm that your fridge is an older style manual type with a selector switch to select 12v/230v/gas, and a press-button piezo igniter to light the gas while holding in an adjustment knob; also a little meter where the pointer moves to the green sector when the gas lights? Has the fridge worked properly on gas recently ..... or are you only now trying it on gas because it stopped working on 230v?
It is entirely possible that the 230v element has failed ..... but it could equally be another electrical problem such as a fuse, MCB, or even the thermostat. (It is by no means unknown for a switched- socket where the fridge plugs in to get accidentally knocked off!). If you know how to use a multimeter it is easy to check the heating element etc with the fridge disconnected by measuring the resistance. A new element is relatively cheap and easy to install.
I would forget about working on 12v for now. The way normally wired, the fridge will only work on 12v when the car engine is actually running, and you would have to wait a long time before noticing the heat. There are also numerous other potential problems with the wiring which could confuse the issue.
Hi vic ,yes it is the model you describe,and wee have never had to use it on gas till now ,I never knew that the button pressed in till you said ,that would explain why I couldn't get it to light it is now been on for a couple of hours and is working fine, there is power both 12v and 240volt at the plugs at the rear of the fridge, but no heat or anything , does this mean it could be the heating element,many thanks.
Hi vic , yes it is the older type, it is the first time I have tried it on gas ,I did not know that the button pressed in I thought it was just a high or low setting for the fridge,I held it in and it light and is now been on for a few hours and is working fine on gas,yes I have a meter and can check the element if I know where to look , the fridge has got mains power at the plug at the back of the fridge,thanks for all your help guys ,
Pleased that you have sorted it on gas!
The electric elements are thin metal tubes tucked in under the glasswool-insulated heating tube directly above the gas burner. You can normally access this easily after removing the external ventilation grills. If you can measure resistance, the 230v element should be something like 350 ohms. The 12v element will be just a few ohms, so will appear to be nearly a short circuit if OK.
The external grills have catches to release them. On mine each has two slide catches near the top which you slide towards the middle to release. There are variations, but they all work in a similar way.
The electric elements are thin metal tubes tucked in under the glasswool-insulated heating tube directly above the gas burner. You can normally access this easily after removing the external ventilation grills. If you can measure resistance, the 230v element should be something like 350 ohms. The 12v element will be just a few ohms, so will appear to be nearly a short circuit if OK.
The external grills have catches to release them. On mine each has two slide catches near the top which you slide towards the middle to release. There are variations, but they all work in a similar way.
Hi vic I have checked both elements and the 12v one is ok but the 230 v one is not ,so I have ordered one and should have it in by Thursday,fingers crossed all should be good , will report back thanks
Hi guys ,seem to have another problem with my fridge,put new element in and was working fine for a couple weeks,now it's stopped , so it is warm where the chimney is and not anywhere else with the 240volt , now I have lite the gas it's getting cold again,not sure what that means now , any help much appreciated.
Well, you say it was working OK on 230v after you replaced the element, but it is not now. You also say that it is still working OK on gas. It is reasonable to conclude therefore that your 230v element is not now providing enough heat.
The first thing we need to know is whether the element is actually consuming the power needed to produce the required heat (about 130w). The element itself could have an intermittent fault (unlikely); the thermostat could be faulty; or there could be a high resistance somewhere in the circuit which is either intermittent or has occurred since the fridge was last working OK on 230v.
The easiest way to analyse this is with a cheap plug-in power monitor if you have one.....you can just leave it for a few hours and see if the power consumed (Wh) is as you would expect. Alternatively you could monitor the current with a multimeter, but would need to keep a close eye on it to spot an intermittent problem.
If the element is in fact consuming the power you would expect, then it is probably not making good enough thermal contact with the refrigerant pipe in the heat stack. (I can't think why this might have changed since you replaced the element though)
The first thing we need to know is whether the element is actually consuming the power needed to produce the required heat (about 130w). The element itself could have an intermittent fault (unlikely); the thermostat could be faulty; or there could be a high resistance somewhere in the circuit which is either intermittent or has occurred since the fridge was last working OK on 230v.
The easiest way to analyse this is with a cheap plug-in power monitor if you have one.....you can just leave it for a few hours and see if the power consumed (Wh) is as you would expect. Alternatively you could monitor the current with a multimeter, but would need to keep a close eye on it to spot an intermittent problem.
If the element is in fact consuming the power you would expect, then it is probably not making good enough thermal contact with the refrigerant pipe in the heat stack. (I can't think why this might have changed since you replaced the element though)
Hi all, I'm installing a thetford N3112E fridge from scratch into my hobby caravan, have the display working on 12v, 240v mains connected but won't work on 240v, after setting up programme to run on 240v the display keeps flashing on and off, fridge runs on gas, the caravan is sited on a seasonal pitch and the fridge needs to be on mains only,,thanks in advance
- Mar 14, 2005
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G1d said:
Having looked up the user manual online.
https://www.thetford-europe.com/product/n3112-automatic/#
one of the fault indications is "All lights blinking" the instructions are
"Switch the refrigerator off and on again. If the problems still exists, contact a service centre."
The installation manual does state that the electronics requires a low power 12dc connection. So if you need to run it on 230V ac you must also have a 12V dc power supply operating.
I have 12v low current supply, this powers the display, I can select the desired programme 'mains' 240v, I go to select the desired temperature and the display starts flashing, can you confirm that the circuit board is faulty or is the fuse blown, when I cut the gas feed when running on gas, the display starts flashing
- Mar 14, 2005
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G1d said:
I must first point out fridges were not my speciality, and though I know how they work, and I could test them for correct operation and combustion, I am not familiar with the individual ways more recent manufacturers construct them or make them work. which is why I refereed to the manufactures instructions. There are other contributes on this forum who may have greater knowledge of the current products in this field.
In this specific case, the only reference to flashing lights in teh instructions, I gave in my last reply.
I'm sorry I can't confirm if the circuit bard or fuse is faulty based on the information you have supplied. I could only hope to do that if I could test the system in person. However when unexpected light patterns appear on controllers it is usually an indication the controller its self may be faulty.
Perhaps its time to follow the instructions and seek help from a service centre.
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