Refrigerator

Duran1 · 12-13-2010, 03:43 PM

Hello Everyone,

I am new at camping and at this forum.
I have just recently bought a 2005 Jay Flight 27BH and love it.
Got a good deal on it and it is a lot of fun. We have taken it out camping about 4-5 times now. We keep it in an RV storage.

The day before I go camping, i go to the storage place and hook up the battery (put a new battery and always unhook it when not in use). I also turn on the refrigerator. The solid light indicates it is working properly. I wait around 30 min before i leave.
However, the next morning, the refrigerator is not cool and the light is blinking. It works fine when i go to a campsite and hook it up to an outlet. The only thing i can think of is the battery, it is probably not lasting all night long to power the refrigerator.
I just bought a $25 battery maintainer/charger and will see if that makes a difference.

Anyone has any ideas?

I am sorry if this sounds a bit off or redundant... i would appreciate any input.

cciparts · 12-13-2010, 04:00 PM

First off, did you purchase a deep cycle RV/Marine battery? Secondly, did you turn the propane bottles on? Is the unit sitting somewhat level in storage?

I know these sound like silly questions but they are a good starting point.

Duran1 · 12-13-2010, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cciparts

First off, did you purchase a deep cycle RV/Marine battery? Secondly, did you turn the propane bottles on? Is the unit sitting somewhat level in storage?

I know these sound like silly questions but they are a good starting point.

Hi Cciparts and thanks for your reply.

Trust me, i am open to any suggestions but i have done all of the above. I turn the propane bottles on and I even made sure they were both full and releasing gas. The unit is also sitting level in storage.

Regarding the battery, bought it from the RV dealer and it is a dep cycle one.
The maintainer is the one in the following link and i have it set on 2amp to give it a slow and full charge for a couple of days.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...9&blockType=L9

I havent tried it after using the maintainer, trying it this Thursday...

**Crabman** · 12-13-2010, 04:37 PM

It sounds like to me your frig is working on electric but not on gas since it works when plugged in but not on the battery. The battery will only run the frig on gas. When plugged in to shore power it will switch to electric in the auto mode.

hammerdown · 12-13-2010, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crabman

It sounds like to me your frig is working on electric but not on gas since it works when plugged in but not on the battery. The battery will only run the frig on gas. When plugged in to shore power it will switch to electric in the auto mode.

I agree you have a propane problem. Does the stove work?

kipper · 12-13-2010, 05:17 PM

If your trying to run it on gas , you have to bleed the air out of the line , it may take a few times . I light my cook top on my stove before I light the pilot in the fridge , and it still takes a few tries. You ' ll hear it when it lights . Hope this helps .

mikefos · 12-13-2010, 05:46 PM

I have to run my stove top burners for about 5 mins. to clear the gas lines. Then I try the fridge on gas and make sure I get a solid light for awhile. Got this tip from a fellow Jayco owner. Supposedly I should not have to do this w/ my stove so my service guy says so I took it in to get it looked at and will try it over New Years when we go camping again.

Mike

robert421960 · 12-13-2010, 07:06 PM

what they said and
stupid thought but
did you switch to auto on the fridge?

Duran1 · 12-13-2010, 08:43 PM

Thanks guys, and no Robert, my fridge has three settings, auto, gas and off. I switched it to gas. The only thing that makes me think its the battery is that when we are done camping and i unhook the power, i leave the gas on (for the refrigerator) and it works fine on the way back...it's weird, maybe the stove trick ,leaving it on for 5 min to clear the gas lines will work.

Thank you so much again everyone! I feel much better knowing there is help in this forum. I could take it to my dealer but he is around 40 miles away, its not like taking a car there if you catch my drift...

04jayflight · 12-13-2010, 09:37 PM

Good luck.....i hope you figure it out.Let us know.

**Crabman** · 12-13-2010, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duran1

Thanks guys, and no Robert, my fridge has three settings, auto, gas and off. I switched it to gas. The only thing that makes me think its the battery is that when we are done camping and i unhook the power, i leave the gas on (for the refrigerator) and it works fine on the way back...it's weird, maybe the stove trick ,leaving it on for 5 min to clear the gas lines will work.

Thank you so much again everyone! I feel much better knowing there is help in this forum. I could take it to my dealer but he is around 40 miles away, its not like taking a car there if you catch my drift...

If the frig is working on gas all the way home then the lines do not need clearing. It is lit. If a fully charged battery dies in one night with just the frig running to the point it will no longer run the frig on gas then either you have a bad battery or a short somewhere. The frig does not take much juice to run on gas,it does take some, but the gas does the work of cooling the unit not the battery. I suppose having the battery tested would eliminate one possibility. You do not have to haul it to the dealer for that, most auto parts stores will test a battery. I`m still thinking you have an issue with the gas portion of your frig, but not an expert by any means. These are only suggestions... Probably something minor. Good luck

cciparts · 12-16-2010, 09:10 AM

It actually sounds as if using it while camping purges the lines and allows it work. The battery is no longer effective after 10.2 volts. It is possible it's the battery and the converter is charging it enough to operate on the way home. You might try cleaning the burner tube as well. Spider webs and such can make things go haywire too.

rray32539 · 12-18-2010, 01:48 AM

I leave my refrigerator on AUTO.

Duran1 · 12-19-2010, 07:59 PM

Hi everyone,

Thanks to your advise, i got my refrigerator running again.
Luckily, it was a simple task of clearing the gas lines...
I was really worried it was something serious.

I took my family in our TT and had a great weekend at Pedernales Falls State Park in TX.

Thanks again for all your help, I'd be at the dealer right now if it werent for you all.

P.S.

I did have a little mishap, one of my black knobs that tightens our awning got stuck in the wrong thread...it just wont move.
Am i out of luck, is there anything i can do to fix it? i couldnt tell of an easy way of taking it out, rather than forcing it (which i am afraid will case the knob to break), this was our only downer (user error), all else works like its supposed to.

Denise · 12-19-2010, 08:42 PM

Relief! Glad to hear things are up and running again. Although I'm a little jealous right now.... we won't be camping anytime soon. Nice to hear you had a fun camping trip

Duran1 · 12-20-2010, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duran1

Hi everyone,

Thanks to your advice, i got my refrigerator running again.
Luckily, it was a simple task of clearing the gas lines...
I was really worried it was something serious.

I took my family in our TT and had a great weekend at Pedernales Falls State Park in TX.

Thanks again for all your help, I'd be at the dealer right now if it werent for you all.

P.S.

I did have a little mishap, one of my black knobs that tightens our awning got stuck in the wrong thread...it just wont move.
Am i out of luck, is there anything i can do to fix it? i couldnt tell of an easy way of taking it out, rather than forcing it (which i am afraid will cause the knob to break), this was our only downer (user error), all else works like its supposed to.

Can the awning stay secure (in closed position) with only one knob working?
I took a chance driving like that, but had no choice...anyone able to give any advise on how to fix the broken knob, id appreciate it.

cciparts · 12-20-2010, 11:34 AM

You may to purchase replacement knobs. The knobs and nuts (it's a kit) usually don't run more than $15.00. Your local dealer should have them. The CareFree Part Number is: 901022.

Duran1 · 12-20-2010, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cciparts

You may to purchase replacement knobs. The knobs and nuts (it's a kit) usually don't run more than $15.00. Your local dealer should have them. The CareFree Part Number is: 901022.

Thanks CCiparts, my main concern is installing them...i dont see how i'd be able to do this, maybe it is more common sense once i have it taken apart.
Thanks!

usmc616 · 12-24-2010, 11:31 PM

Only once have I had a fridge problem with a blinking light. My situation was we returned from a 5 day camping trip and left our fridge on when we parked it in our driveway. We were leaving in 2 days to go out camping again. Well the TT was not level and the next day we noticed the blinking light and the freezer defrosting. Once we arrived at our site and leveled the TT the fridge started working properly.

What I have learned, the fridge works on ac or gas. Either way the TT needs to be level. When using on gas or electric I leave mine set on auto ( once electric is removed it will automaticlly switch to gas as long as there is gas available). Never will the fridge run only on the battery while in electric mode.

Mopar1973Man · 12-25-2010, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usmc616

Only once have I had a fridge problem with a blinking light. My situation was we returned from a 5 day camping trip and left our fridge on when we parked it in our driveway. We were leaving in 2 days to go out camping again. Well the TT was not level and the next day we noticed the blinking light and the freezer defrosting. Once we arrived at our site and leveled the TT the fridge started working properly.

What I have learned, the fridge works on ac or gas. Either way the TT needs to be level. When using on gas or electric I leave mine set on auto ( once electric is removed it will automaticlly switch to gas as long as there is gas available). Never will the fridge run only on the battery while in electric mode.

Here is a good article about what you done...

http://www.gasrefrigeration.net/Why%20they%20fail.htm

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