Melbourne prestige fridge

[stephenripley]

I have 2021 Melbourne prestige and believe the fridge must be wired wrong. My understanding is the engine must be going and fridge will run in battery, then when you shut engine off it switches to propane. My fridge will run on battery with only ignition on (not running) and does not run on propane unless you manually choose this setting but the ignition is has to be on. I know that the for the propane option to work there needs to be some battery power but if you are out boondocking your battery would die if your ignition had to be left on. I know this is probably an issue for Jayco warranty but I live far from dealership so I would like to fix this myself. Has anyone had this issue or know what needs to be done?

[rockymountainRVer]

We have a 2021 Melbourne 24L. The the two way power fridge will run on propane (which I will not use when driving for safety concerns, but others on this forum do run on propane while driving). And it will run on 120VAC when plugged into shore power or when the generator is running. I only run it on 120VAC power. It will not run on 12VDC. We have found our fridge and freezer contents will be ok for 5-6 hours of driving time. But we augment the interior with
re-freezable ice packs and a battery operating cube fan (https://www.amazon.com/Beech-Lane-Mu...0792211&sr=8-2) I consulted a RV mobile mechanic about changing the fridge to a 3-way (12VDC, 120VAC, propane) and change the inverter out but it seemed problematic and expensive. So we have done very well with our methodology, as I only like to drive 6 hours max per day. Hope this helps.

[bluztoo]

My fridge stays on gas with coach battery dc available, regardless of engine status. Obviously if the engine is running then the coach battery is being charged by the alternator.

[rockymountainRVer]

Originally Posted by rockymountainRVer

We have a 2021 Melbourne 24L. The the two way power fridge will run on propane (which I will not use when driving for safety concerns, but others on this forum do run on propane while driving). And it will run on 120VAC when plugged into shore power or when the generator is running. I only run it on 120VAC power. It will not run on 12VDC. We have found our fridge and freezer contents will be ok for 5-6 hours of driving time. But we augment the interior with
re-freezable ice packs and a battery operating cube fan (https://www.amazon.com/Beech-Lane-Mu...0792211&sr=8-2) I consulted a RV mobile mechanic about changing the fridge to a 3-way (12VDC, 120VAC, propane) and change the inverter out but it seemed problematic and expensive. So we have done very well with our methodology, as I only like to drive 6 hours max per day. Hope this helps.

I will also add, we start up the generator when we stop for a break/lunch. Running the generator for 30-45 minutes will help the fridge as well.

[stephenripley]

Yes that is what it supposed to do, hence why I think it must be wired wrong. Do you know how to rectify this?

[bluztoo]

I remember reading some threads on the forum of some connections being reversed at installation.

[white2833]

I have a 2020 Melbourne Prestige with Norcold fridge (sounds like same model as yours). Here’s what I do (note… I leave it on A (auto)all the time to get this behavior):

-turn Mains on in the house. My house batteries recharge/keep charge just fine with engine alternator so no need of running it down
-I have a 180W GoPower solar panel on the roof to keep house battery with no engine running. Recommended! I also picked up the PSK200 Go Power portable solar kit for when I’m boondocking and have good sunlight to harvest.
-I turn my propane on when driving. Nothing uses propane until RV stops and engine turned off
-engine running, fridge switches to 12v DC battery
-engine off, fridge will switch to propane within seconds
-plug into 15 or 30A shore power, fridge will switch to AC within seconds (sometimes the breaker gets tripped so if fridge starts blinking then open converter access panel and reset top GFI breaker)
-generator running or not, irrelevant to fridge operation.

Don’t run out of propane in onboard tank as it runs the generator and is the final position for the fridge to run. We cook outside using an external 40lb tank to protect onboard propane. We typically tow a 2021 Jeep Wrangler so we can scoot out to get more portable propane tank. Less convenient to do this with onboard tank.

I did the jumper move on the converter to LI and replaced the crappy lead acid batteries with a 200Ah LiFePO battery. It’s awesome! Also, I have connected a Victron Energy BMV-712 smart battery monitor so I know exactly what is happening with battery consumption and charging, how long to run the generator to get to 100% charge, even what the temperature is inside the battery box.

This forum as been super helpful in getting me to this happy place. :-)