A couple newbie questions about the fridge/lights

RcTurbo

Hi, just bought my first Dutchman. My very first camper ever, to be honest. It is USED and while the guy I bought it from said everything works, it has left me scratching my head. So here are my general questions:

1. Should the electricity, including the fridge, be able to run off the DC battery? Mine does not, and it's got a full charge on the battery. Is that normal?
2. When I push the DC button on the fridge, nothing happens. But when I use the propane setting, the green light will come on, though it will not stay on. So that tells me the fridge works...somehow? Also, last night the fridge started humming randomly (it was on AC) and I let it run for an hour but it never cooled down at all. Then it shut off and never made another noise no matter what setting I had it on. (I had the AC connected to my garage)
3. If I press the DC button on the fridge, the heating vent turns on. I cannot turn it off in any way until I turn off the DC button on the fridge. Is that normal?
4. Do those buttons on the fridge control everything? Or just the fridge? 

Basically, if the Dutchman is plugged into my garage, the lights and waterpump and electrical sockets work fine. I'm just confused about the fridge (which I can't get to work) and how the overall wiring is set up. It's making me a little nutty.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks! 

Denny16

Welcome aboard.

The fridge setting switches control the fridge.  That said, this is an old trailer, and the fridge may be not working properly.  The AC/DC circuits are controlled from the AC/DC converter box where the circuit breakers are located.  You could try doing some searches on Dutchman TaB electrical...

I took my used TaB to a RV Trailer Service center to have the gas and electrical systems checked out by a service technician.  They have the equipment to quickly to a basic safet checks, electrical check and propane gas system check, including gas leaks.  This usually includes checking the appliances (stove and refrig) to see if they are in good working order.
cheers

Sharon_is_SAM

@RcTurbo - 
1.  It sounds like you have a 3 way frig and it should work on AC, DC, and LPG and your other appliances should also work off the battery except the air conditioner if you have one.  That only runs via shorepower.  You may also have an AC only outlet in your a TaB.

2.  Sounds like the frig is getting power.  The frig, lights, pump are typically wired for DC and use power from the converter.  So it sounds like the converter is intact.  Is the frig the only thing that will not run off battery?

3.  Not sure what you mean by heating vent.  How about some pictures.

4.  Find your fuse/breaker box and see if you can identify which appliances are on what circuits.

Did the seller demonstrate how the frig worked?

AirBoss

Quick note in the event this is a 3-way fridge (12V DC, 110V AC and Propane). If you are attempting to run on propane, make sure the rig is level. These 3-ways in years past were notorious for being very finicky about being level. Still are to some degree. 

Plug in to shore power (A/C) and let it run overnight. It's possible the one hour you let it run just wasn't long enough. I had a older 3-way that needed a LOT of lead time! 

Not familiar with the Dutchman but be aware, on many older RV's there are a few lights that are 110V AC only. They are not wired to run off 12V. 

Enjoy the journey!  

RcTurbo

Sharon_is_SAM said:

@RcTurbo - 
1.  It sounds like you have a 3 way frig and it should work on AC, DC, and LPG and your other appliances should also work off the battery except the air conditioner if you have one.  That only runs via shorepower.  You may also have an AC only outlet in your a TaB.

2.  Sounds like the frig is getting power.  The frig, lights, pump are typically wired for DC and use power from the converter.  So it sounds like the converter is intact.  Is the frig the only thing that will not run off battery?

3.  Not sure what you mean by heating vent.  How about some pictures.

4.  Find your fuse/breaker box and see if you can identify which appliances are on what circuits.

Did the seller demonstrate how the frig worked?

Thanks! I will post some pics later today. The seller said something about fixing all the electrical and now I feel like the units are all wacky. He showed us the lights working and stuff via the AC hookup, but he never turned the fridge on. He just said it worked and I took him at his word. Caveat emptor, I know. But I didn't realize how much those fridge buttons would affect everything else. 

It does not have an air conditioner but it does have a heating vent with duct work and a thermostat on the wall. I will post a pic of it. Like I said, I can't turn it off from the thermostat, even though there's an off button on it. It's either on or off depending on the buttons I have pushed on the fridge. 

So, basically, this Dutchman should run off the DC battery...but it doesn't. So I need to tackle that somehow. 

RcTurbo

Here are some pics...I double-checked the thermostat and it says it's a furnace heater. It runs hot air when the propane is off, which leads me to think it's electric. (I don't know much about electrical stuff, unfortunately.) The brown vent under the table is where the heat comes out. I cannot turn it off/on from the thermostat, I have to turn on/off the DC power n the fridge. Which is annoying since every time I try to check things on DC power the trailer starts to heat up. Anyway, any other help is appreciated. Starting to think I may need to hire an electrician. 



 

Denny16

You might want to add a battery cutoff switch on the red wire coming from the battery to the trailer.  Also add a battery box cover over your battery to protect the battery terminals from shorting out.  Nice clean looking trailer BTW.
cheers

XenanMe

When you say “the brown vent under the table” do you mean the brown square box labelled WFCO in your last picture?  All the vents you show in the pictures are white.  The brown box labelled WFCO is your converter and fuse panel.  Just want to confirm that the vent you are referring to is actually a vent.

Sharon_is_SAM

@Mouseketab - we need your help here.

@RcTurbo - not sure what the seller did to the wiring, but I really don’t think the Norcold frig controls should have any bearing on the Atwood furnace.  I would think the Atwood runs off AC shorepower only and should be on it’s own circuit.  Open up that box under the bench and take a picture.  That may help.  Just push the top of the panel and it will open.

Sharon_is_SAM

What is the white outlet box next to the fuse box?

Mouseketab

Sharon_is_SAM said:

What is the white outlet box next to the fuse box? That white box is the propane sensor.

Mouseketab

The Atwood furnace "should" run off propane with a small amount of battery needed for the thermostat.

The brown box toward the front under the table IS the converter. If it is heating up when plugged in, perhaps there is an issue. The converter fan will run periodically if your battery is charging.

I have NO CLUE on the fridge. I have a 12V fridge only. I believe the heat registers are the white vents on the back of the bench seat.

Mouseketab

After rereading everything. It sounds like you are hooked up to shore power. When you are turning your fridge on DC, the battery draw from the fridge is causing the converter to kick in the fan to cool itself as it is charging your battery.

The heat it is creating MAY be the heat coming off from the fridge to countertop. Many folks have installed some type of supplemental fan under the counter to vent the heat outside.

Once again, if you turn on the heater thermostat, it does pull some 12V power, so once again may cause the converter fan to run.

I am almost positive that the heater is propane. Try turning on your gas and turning on the heater and see if the furnace fires up.

That fridge is really designed to run on propane without shore power, or electric when on shore power. The only time the DC should be used on the fridge is if you are driving and have a charge line from your vehicle to the camper.

johnr

That setup under the table and the fridge looks similar to my 2008 DM.

@Sharon_is_SAM The white box next to the converter would be the lp gas detector.

@RcTurbo ,
The wire mesh vent at the end of the table should be a vent for the gas heater, which works off the lp tank and uses 12v to light, no shore power needed.

My fridge works off all three power sources, as expected, when level, but does require a long time to cool on shore power, as previously mentioned. I do not try cooling the fridge on lp or DC.

If the heat is coming from the converter, the WFCO mentioned where fuses are also located, that is likely because it is working. It will also make a humming noise when trying to get my battery up to charge, if I let it get low, which may be happening as you try to cool the fridge.

I 'd suggest cooling the fridge on shore power overnight (already mentioned above) then switching to DC to see if it can maintain. 

Unless someone did some wild rewiring, the fridge settings should have no effect on other appliances. It may be your converter is working harder when the fridge is on DC, thus heating up and making a humming noise.

Does the heat come from the converter or the heat vent (next to the round vents at the far end of the table?

Sharon_is_SAM

@RcTurbo is the heat coming from the white vents, #1 or #2 in the picture?