I took my fridge out today and was wondering the best way to test it. Do I just connect a couple of leads to the Leisure battery and see if it 'blows up' ? Not really sure if I ever will use it other than as a cold box but you never know. Here's a pic of the back. I was also thinking about using the Battery condition gauge on the Westy panel (if it works) to keep a track of the Leisure battery condition. Does anyone know how it I should wire it ? Here's a couple of pics. I'll probably leave it in th enew side panel when I make it in order to keep some 'authenticity'. Ta for your thoughts and replies.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1975_campmobile.php http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1975_campmobile_refrigerator.php These may help I would only reuse the control panel to switch 12v it would be a bit doggy useing it for 230v
Cheers @matty . I was only going to use the panel as a battery tester really and was just wondering how to wire it up. What do you think . Just run a wire from the live on the leisure battery to the black wire on the battery condition switch and an earth to the white on the other side of the gauge ? All other wires would be disconnected.
To test the fridge all you need to do is connect 12v to it, leave it for a couple of hours and see if it's gone cold inside. Apparently if they don't work (or to get them working better!) you can try turning them upside down over night and then trying them again the next day.
First thing to do is turn it upside down and listen for the ammonia sloshing around, if it doesn't then it's pretty much game over. People have said tapping the black pipes may break the crystals up that form if not used for a long time. Second is to test the heating element by applying 12v to it and it should heat up in 5 min A leisure battery will be drained quick with the fridge attached you may damage it! It will take about 20 to 30mins for the element in the box to get cold if it's good. I used a 12v power supply that was greater than 5amps as that is the heating element rating. If it doesn't cool then try turning it upside down and leave it for a few days the turn it up the right way for a few days turn on and hope for the best.
@PeaSoup and @Greenwesty , thanks guys. That was exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. Now I just need a 12v supply. Could I use a battery charger to provide the supply ?
I'll let someone else advise you as to whether you "should" use a battery charger as a power supply. If it were me though and the charger had a higher than 5 amp rating I would use it
Right here's one for you guys... see if you can answer? I have a 1974 Westfalia Continenal and it has a Electrolux fridge in it under the sink, here's the question, is it a fridge or a cool box? I can work it out it has a ice cube tray in the top of it but I can't work out how it turns on if it is a fridge. :-\
Like @PeaSoup & @Greenwesty says the charger should be more than 5 amps. In fact your fridge will draw 5.4 amps so best connect it to a battery and then the battery to the charger. Keep an eye on the battery voltage. 12.6 is full, 12.2 is 50% discharged.
If it looks like this image, with a big vent on the side of the cabinet then it operates from where I've circled in red. The cool-boxes have no vents or metal evaporator plates in them. If not, post a pic
Cheers man... Nope it doesn't have a vent so it must just be a coolbox then. Next question how do I cool it then? Do I fill the ice cube try up freeze it then put it in the coolbox?
Battery gauge worked and the fridge worked. Now I need to think about whether to leave it in and put mains hook up in some how. At least it works though.
I had the same set up n my bus when i bought it back from the states. There are transformers available from caravan suppliers that can be swapped dirctly with the 110 to 12 transformer under the back seat. Then you just bring the hook up set up to uk standard by replacing ALL the old 110v wires for 240v capable cable, and with a little searching i found an RCD box which fits in the hole under the rear seat and that keeps things safe. The biggest hassle was sorting the hole in the side of the bus so it could take a UK socket, or block it off and hide one somewhere. The westy fridges work really well on hook up, and just use the battery whilst driving, we have found if we pre cool at home, then we dont even leave the fridge on while we are driving.
Here's our hook-up. Bought a NEMA 6-15 outlet with corresponding plug from the US which is rated up to 250V. The OG housing needed a little filing to suit, but it's all good. Less than £20 delivered for both.
