Furrion 12v Refrigerator Runs Excessively?

[timh0042]

There have been a few different issues with poor behavior of the new Furrion 12v DC refrigerators:

https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...ever-shuts-off
https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...new-xls-22-mle (which also mentions not even a light coming on for one user)

Our model is: FCR10DCGTA-BR

In our case, we had our first trip this last weekend and we experienced something more along the lines of freezing and never shutting off. I tried my best to time things, but didn't want to take away too much from the family trip either. In my estimation, the fridge would run for about 90 seconds, then idle for about 90 seconds. Rinse, repeat. This was with the temperature setting about "mid-way". Food was freezing (left over pulled pork turned into a porkcicle!). Admittedly, we didn't have a full refrigerator since it was just a short weekend trip, but I don't think that should make a huge difference. A couple of other observations, in no particular order of what was tried at which point of the trip... Did try turning the temp down to "off-grid" or even the lowest possible setting with no obvious change in behavior. On occasion I thought I heard the 90 second cycles also include brief (30 seconds or less) cycling too. Noticed frost on the back wall of the refrigerator. Whenever the refrigerator is running, the converter (I think that's what it must have been) seemed to be working overtime since the power distribution center cooling fan was running as well. The outside temperature was in the upper 40° F to low 50° F range, so not terribly cold or hot. This was observed while plugged in to 30 Amp service. We were not opening the door excessively as we mostly just pulled food at meal times. Maybe a beverage pulled here and there, but not every 5 minutes.

I haven't had time to do any type of in-depth troubleshooting, but we're back home, so I could probably find some time to dig in and see what's going on. What suggestions do folks have on how to proceed? In particular, should I start with a conversation with my dealer, GD? Our next trip is a few weeks away, so I've got a little time, but sure would be nice to have this sorted.

Cheers and thanks for your input.

[howson]

timh0042 -- the Furrion refrigerators are not building much of a stellar reputation. Furrion is notorious for not having replacement parts available, either--if something's wrong the entire appliance is replaced.

My .02? Contact your dealer first then also follow-up with a call to Grand Design Customer Service and get a case number established. You might need to act as the intermediary between the dealership and Grand Design to move along the process of securing a replacement.

If you find the dealer can't or won't get to you in our lifetime (sorry--sarcasm) the options are DIY (GD may ship you the replacement unit directly) or have a mobile tech look at it / replace the unit. Note the mobile tech option usually involves direct payment from your pocket then getting you seeking reimbursement from GD. (I have a lot of mobile repair contacts and the majority that I talk to refuse to deal with OEMs or warranty companies--too much hassle and time on their part. Much easier for the owner to get reimbursement.) Make sure and get pre-approval before going the mobile tech route. Keep in mind you'll at minimum pay the "service fee" (that brings the tech to you).

Please post when this is resolved with the process it took to get a working unit.

Howard

[timh0042]

Response from the dealer (no surprise here):

I think that the thought regarding the cycling, is simply the fan turning on/off. I'm thinking that the thermistor/thermostat itself may be failing tricking the fridge to think it is not at the desired temp. Or it could possibly be the controller failing not communicating properly.

Ultimately needing diag.

So now to get on the service calendar... And I'll reach out to GD as well.

[howson]

timh0042 -- an accurate and informed response from the dealer IMHO. That at least should give you some confidence that whomever you spoke to has a clue.

[timh0042]

Well, this has been "fun" to investigate...

I was able to get an appointment with the dealer, and it's within my lifetime! Been a busy week, so just now working to connect with GD customer service.

But here's the fun stuff... I pulled out the thermometer I use for BBQ and decided to put one probe in the freezer and one in the refrigerator and then do some information gathering. I started this experiment on Wednesday evening thinking I'd let it chill overnight and then get out a stopwatch and start timing the cycles... Spoiler... I think the whole thing died.

A picture is worth so much more than all my words:

Refrigerator Test day 1.pdf
The "Top" is the freezer, "Middle" is the refrigerator. The data gets choppy at the end since wifi connection in the trailer is sketchy.

Bottom line is that the freezer quickly went to 0° F very quickly, which is great. The refrigerator lagged a bit, but then you can see it went to below freezing as well. That may be adjustable, but with the control knob set at midpoint, it seems too cold to me.

The interesting part is then what happened the next day... I went to put a container of water into the fridge to see if it would freeze and noticed the temps rising! The compressor wasn't running at all anymore.

Here is the next data collection:
Refrigerator Test day 2.pdf
With my wifi working better, the graph is nice and smooth... And follows the ambient temperature of the environment.

Additional notes...
The light comes on when I open the door.
The inline 30amp fuse passes continuity test.
Battery shows 13.10 V.

At this point I'm just documenting my experience, but IF anyone has any ideas on what more I could examine/troubleshoot, I'm all ears. I'm hoping I can coordinate with GD to expedite repair with the dealer.

Cheers!

[howson]

timh0042 -- I agree the compressor has either failed or is not getting power.

Awesome that you tracked and graphed the results--I also think you've found the right forum.

[tswartz1]

timh0042 --- Watch your fridge interior light for a couple minutes to see if it flickers three times pauses about 30 seconds and flickers again three times. That is where mine ended up. Here is a link to the thread. https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...new-xls-22-mle I've been preapproved by Furrion for a replacement on 4/17 . I'm waiting for my new one but things appear to be stalled.

[timh0042]

tswartz1 I just checked the light and I don't see any flicker. Thanks for the tip.

I also think you've found the right forum.

Yeah, probably .

[timh0042]

Update... TL/DR: No obvious conclusion.

For reference, here are a couple of snaps from the Furrion Arctic Refrigerator Manual:





We dropped our rig at the dealer and they had it for a week. The short answer was (paraphrased) "Don't turn the knob so cold". Really?! When hooked to shore power, I need to run in off-grid mode so I don't freeze my refrigerator? So at this point, the dealer/service is a bust.

Over Memorial Day weekend we took a trip and had mixed results on refrigerator use. Initially it seemed to be working well when I set the control knob to the "Mid" position Thursday night before we left on Friday. Loading up groceries on Friday and the temperature seemed reasonable, great! (Next trip I'm going to take my BBQ thermometer to better monitor temps, this trip I was using my infrared thermometer). When we arrived at our destination again, temps seemed fine. My daughter put some water in the ice cube trays and it froze... Some time later (on Saturday) it seemed the fridge was no longer cooling (not hearing the compressor/fans). Checked temps and food was NOT cold, ice had melted! I turned the fridge off and then back on a minute or so later and then it started working again. Ultimately ended up with the knob set to Mid+1 dot towards Max and that seemed to be working for the remainder of the weekend.

I was trying not to get too consumed with monitoring the fridge, so some of the details are sketchy, but the bottom line is I'm still not confident in the fridge. I've seen some other threads pop-up here since my original report, so I'm continuing to monitor what's going on. I may pull the fridge and check the fuse along with it's connections (I saw another report of loose connection).

[timh0042]

Just going to circle back here with an update...

Dropped off the rig for further diagnostics and now I'm waiting for approval to have the refrigerator replaced. The story is that the fridge is clearly running intermittently, there are fan issues and corrosion on some of the copper parts!?

So here's hoping we can get approval and a replacement in a timely fashion. Alas, it won't help us for our upcoming trips :-(, so we'll just have to keep an eye on how it's operating.

[Toy4Rick]

For me, our Furion fridge runs 90% of the time, shuts off for maybe 2-3 mins, runs for another hour, freezes most things. First time to the dealer they said no issue found, running normally. Next trip same thing, Took it back to the dealer, another tech started by pulling the fridge and found the back was pretty dented up, stopped right there and ordered a new fridge.

I've been told 6 weeks plus by both the dealer and Furion directly, I didn't even try talking to GD

Good luck

[timh0042]

I've been told 6 weeks plus by both the dealer and Furion directly, I didn't even try talking to GD

Good luck

Thanks. At least I have resolution in sight, even if it’s delayed.

[rwnoltin]

timh0042 Tim - thanks for posting this detailed thread! We recently bought a new Grand Design that has the same Furrion 12v refrigerator as yours and on our first trip out we had exactly the same symptoms as you described in your first post (frost/freezing on the back of the refrigerator, temperature control made no difference, cycling repeatedly). Going to schedule a service appointment with the dealer next.

[timh0042]

Going to schedule a service appointment with the dealer next.

I'm cautiously optimistic that this will be resolved soon. I dropped off our rig at the dealer yesterday to have the refrigerator replaced. I was going to wait to post an update once I could get it home and verify, but thought I'd at least update the progress status for now.

[Paul frog]

timh0042
Just an FYI to join in. We purchased a new 295RL fifth wheel a month ago, had it out one weekend, second weekend we went out a day early to turn fridge on and no power to it at all, meaning light didn't even come on. Started googling and found the fuse issues. In frustration started closing the slide and then stopped it just to check again and behold... it started working. So obviously not the fuse ! Left it on, loaded our stuff and next day without moving anything, no power again. Loaded the coolers and went anyway. Got to the park, fridge worked again and worked for the two days we were there. Went out yesterday to turn on for a 5 day labor day weekend and yep, no fridge again. Going to drop it off at the dealer after the labor day weekend.
At this point given all I have read, I won't be satisfied unless we get a completely new fridge, or better yet, upgrade me back to the electric/propane !!