TECH HELP EDITOR
Base vehicle expert
Q Is my three-way fridge running correctly when on 12V?
We have a Thetford three-way fridge, which works well on all three energy sources. We have new leisure batteries (two 110Ah) and a new vehicle battery. We also have a good-sized solar panel on the roof and all seem to be working as they should. Our vehicle is a 2012 Pilote G600 based on a Fiat Ducato.
We have noticed, however, that the current taken by the fridge when on 12V causes the charging voltage to the vehicle battery to drop fairly alarmingly. With the engine running but the fridge on gas, all the batteries charge at over 13V as indicated on our display. If the fridge is allowed to go to 12V with the engine running, the charging voltage to the main battery drops into the amber zone at 12V Should this be the case?
We can run the fridge on gas when driving (a crash protection valve is fitted), but surely that shouldn't be necessary.
On the last vehicle service the alternator was checked and found to be working as expected.
Tim Griffiths
A Your fridge, when running on 12V from the vehicle alternator, will take something like 15A. This is relatively small when you will have typically a 100A-rated alternator to provide the power to charge the battery.
You should not need to be running the fridge on gas while travelling anyway.
I believe that you need to closely inspect the connectors, fuses and fuseholders that are inline with the charging supply to your leisure battery bank and
