Furrion 12v refrigerator not working

[DavidPLambert]

Hi Jimmy -

For future reference, I just pulled my camper (2022 Grand Design Transcend XPLOR 265BH) out of storage to prep for a trip this weekend. Same exact problem you describe here and never any problem previously, even after winterizing and then de-winterizing for a trip back in March. A friend of mine shared a link from this forum and it did the trick. In a nutshell, disconnect from any power, 30/50amp service, completely disconnect the battery and I also had to disconnect the solar panel on the top of my unit in order to cut power to the fridge. Just let it sit for 5 - 10 minutes and retrace your steps to reconnect. I took an extra step of putting a trickle charger on my battery even though it was running the tongue jack fine before I started this process. After reconnecting all the power, viola, the compressor kicked on and we were cold or freezing within the hour! There is supposed to be a safety feature in the fridge that will turn off the compressor if the battery source falls below 10.5v in order to protect the battery. I am guessing this may have been the cause but that even after connecting to my truck and 30amp service the reset of that safety switch didn't occur. Totally disconnecting the battery terminals and solar panel finally got the light in the fridge to turn off so I knew I had cut power to it. Very frustrating to troubleshoot but give this a try and let us know if it works for you too. There are others on this forum who could benefit too!

Original blog I learned this from: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...ut-not-cooling

Good luck!

David

[Jlawles2]

I think this is they type of fuse holder that is used by the MFG https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0813Q4S6P...NsaWNrPXRydWU= I prefer the blade style due to the ease of seeing if the fuse blown.

[Tom_2810BH_CO]

I have had two refridge failures. I decided to pull out the fridge and while removing the fridge when sliding it out, it came on? Assuming bad connection???

[Country Campers]

I have had two refridge failures. I decided to pull out the fridge and while removing the fridge when sliding it out, it came on? Assuming bad connection???

Yes sometimes it is just a bad connection. The wire "nuts" or crimps are less than stellar in my opinion. I hope you have a working fridge now.

Brian

[Rgg123]

I have a 2022 GD Reflection that has a Furion 8 cf 12v refrigerator. It worked well the first few months but recently was unable to reach an adequate temperature (I monitor via a remote electronic thermometer). I noticed that the freezer had a coating of ice from humidity in the RV. I also noticed the system trying to turn on - it would cycle for 10 seconds and turn off.

I emptied the freezer and cleaned the modest frost buildup. After a few hours the temperature returned to a normal range. My sense is that the temp sensors are located in the freezer walls and the frost resulted is an inaccurate sensing of the need to turn on. Anyone experiencing poor operation may want to look for frost buildup on the freezer walls - clean it off - and see if that solves your problem.

Also, as with any RV refrigerator, don’t pack It tight with food - the air circulation is poor and it will affect the operation. BTW, I have tried a battery operated fan to circulate the air with mixed results.

Good luck!

[howson]

I have a 2022 GD Reflection that has a Furion 8 cf 12v refrigerator. It worked well the first few months but recently was unable to reach an adequate temperature (I monitor via a remote electronic thermometer). I noticed that the freezer had a coating of ice from humidity in the RV. I also noticed the system trying to turn on - it would cycle for 10 seconds and turn off.

I emptied the freezer and cleaned the modest frost buildup. After a few hours the temperature returned to a normal range. My sense is that the temp sensors are located in the freezer walls and the frost resulted is an inaccurate sensing of the need to turn on. Anyone experiencing poor operation may want to look for frost buildup on the freezer walls - clean it off - and see if that solves your problem.

Also, as with any RV refrigerator, don’t pack It tight with food - the air circulation is poor and it will affect the operation. BTW, I have tried a battery operated fan to circulate the air with mixed results.

Good luck!

The fan to circulate air has historically been associated with "RV" refrigerators that use the absorption method of extracting heat from inside of the refrigerator. If the refrigerator can run on propane, it's an absorption refrigerator.

A 12V "RV" refrigerator uses a compressor (like a residential refrigerator that runs on 120vAC). A fan inside the unit to circulate air shouldn't be needed as the compressor inserts cold air into the unit. (There really is a distinct difference in how the two methods work!)

The note regarding the frost and sensor in the refrigerator, though, makes sense. Thanks for the tip!

Howard

[Rgg123]

The fan to circulate air has historically been associated with "RV" refrigerators that use the absorption method of extracting heat from inside of the refrigerator. If the refrigerator can run on propane, it's an absorption refrigerator.

A 12V "RV" refrigerator uses a compressor (like a residential refrigerator that runs on 120vAC). A fan inside the unit to circulate air shouldn't be needed as the compressor inserts cold air into the unit. (There really is a distinct difference in how the two methods work!)

The note regarding the frost and sensor in the refrigerator, though, makes sense. Thanks for the tip!

Howard

UPDATE: Well, the fridge worked well again….until it didn’t. It ran well for a few hours and then ceased cooling. My “frost” theory seems not to hold any bearing so now I am back to square 1. I am on shore power, so the batteries should not come into play. Very frustrating to have a new unit and have so many complaints of the same nature from numerous owners. Furion (and GD) need to figure it out. I was fortunate and did not lose too much food, as we have a second refrigerator in a coach house on our RV lot.

[ncitro]

UPDATE: Well, the fridge worked well again….until it didn’t. It ran well for a few hours and then ceased cooling. My “frost” theory seems not to hold any bearing so now I am back to square 1. I am on shore power, so the batteries should not come into play. Very frustrating to have a new unit and have so many complaints of the same nature from numerous owners. Furion (and GD) need to figure it out. I was fortunate and did not lose too much food, as we have a second refrigerator in a coach house on our RV lot.

Batteries still come in to play even on shore power. The converter should be able to keep up with the 12v load, but the system still relies on a maintained, well charged battery to operate correctly.

[Rgg123]

UPDATE 2: as for the battery, when I manually monitor it the level is never below 11 volts. I had not mentioned in my previous posts that I installed an electronic temperature gauge in the refrigerator in May. In reviewing the data (records every minute) I see a clear pattern of reaching an acceptable refrigerator temp only to warm over the following hours to the high 50 degrees. The “waves” are very evident over a period of several weeks. The temp only stays within an acceptable range for 4-6 hours and then warms to the 50’s for a average period of 8 hours. Woefully unacceptable.

The gauge also records the humidity but I see no correlation e between the humidity level inside the RV and the refrigerator temp. I also have a temperature gauge recording The temp of the inside air of the RV - again, I see no correlation.

I wrote an email, copying both GD and Furrion Customer Service, provided the data and asked that they research the problem and coordinate a response to me. I am hopeful they will find some answers but I am fearful that Furrion will claim it is within normal operating parameters. If that is the case then RV owners need not purchase a 12v refrigerator as that wide a temperature range is useless for RV use.

I will post another update when I hear from them.

[Country Campers]

Rgg123

Not that this will help your situation but a battery @ 11 volts is pretty well on the bad side. A deep cycle battery should not go below 50% state of charge which is 12.1 volts or damage can occur.

Brian

[Billm2000]

So I was having similar problems to those described here. Our Grey Wolf is just over 2 years old and our refrigerator has worked great. Then today, it had no power. Not even a light. I checked breakers, and fuses. Both okay. The voltage was 13.6V at the power distribution box. So I pulled the refrigerator and checked voltage on the back. Again 13.6V. I pulled the back panel and found the cylindrical fuse, checked it and it was fine. Checked the voltage inside the fuse holder and again 13.6V. Put everything back together and still nothing. So next I checked the voltage where the input power connects to the electronics unit in the refrigerator and it was only 2.5V! So in the fuse holder I had high resistance dropping the voltage. I thought about cleaning all of the connectors but instead, I cut out the fuse holder and put in a spade type fuse connector. Put it all back together and now everything is fine. Sorry, I should have been taking pictures but I think that when you get the back panel off, you will see the fuse. The - + power goes directly to the top two connectors on the electronics unit.

[howson]

Billm2000 -- interesting post, thank you for the information. Country Campers , is the unit you have similar? What I'd like to see is another individual with a problem refrigerator duplicate BillM2000's findings to establish if what he found is an issue across the line or if his was an isolated problem.

[Country Campers]

howson

My fridge did not have the glass round fuse, it has the blade type from factory.

Brian

[Rgg123]

ncitro My 12v refrigerator performance has not changed since my last post. Wild temperature swings and the freezer will not hold anything frozen. I will be upgrading to a BB Lithium Ion battery soon (for this and other reasons) maybe that will make a difference. Have you heard if an upgrade to LI will make a difference on how the Furrion 12v fridge will work? Appreciate your thoughts.

I have reported the issue to both GD and Furrion. I have a service appt in late October with General RV so I will see what they determine.

[ncitro]

Li batteries should not affect it other than giving you longer before the battery dies. As Brian suggested above, at 11v your battery would have been well past the usable range. Keep us updated on what you find out, have you called customer service as well?