Fridge Help urgently needed..

[KenBongo]

Hi

We are new and have recently bought a Bongo with a Zig CF9 panel and Vitrifrigo fridge. When the panel is set to (left switch) off, Leisure Batt, Mains Off and (right switch) to 'Charger' the fridge works fine. However on H/U (and tested at home), when I connect the mains, switch (right switch) to ON, Mains (orange) to On and the (left switch) on - the fridge does not work.

I am probably being thick and maybe have the switches selected wrong..

Can someone PLEEESE help, as we are going away at the end of the week and need the fridge on Mains, but I am worried I will end up with a box of very runny cheese again!! ...


Many thanks

[francophile1947]

It would help if you gave the model number of the fridge.
Is it dual voltage? If so, have you selected the 230v option?

[KenBongo]

It is a Vitrifrigo C42L - 12/24v, no 230 v option.

[francophile1947]

Sorry, no idea There is an online CF9 manual here http://www.freewebs.com/12voltsdc/Zig%2 ... %20PDF.pdf

[briwy]

We've got the same setup (probably from the same supplier as we have just got this Bongo) and found the only way to turn the fridge off is with the switch actually in the fridge itself. Even with all Zig switches set to off and it still works whether on battery or hook up.

Somewhat surprised at this as I assumed the 12v would have to be switched on for the fridge to work otherwise the leisure battery could soon be flattened if the fridge is inadvertently left on.
As you are having problems getting it to work on hook up it makes me wonder if they are wired up correctly.
I'm going to take the Zig unit out and have a look to make sure that it is wired up according to the diagrams in the instructions so I would suggest you do the same. Make sure the hook up is unplugged first though. Other than that keep playing with the switches until it works.
Hope you get it sorted.

[apole]

I have a ZIG unit but my fridge is wired directly via a switch to the LB so nothing you set on the ZIG changes the fridge operation.

Andy

[briwy]

Just had a look at mine and it is wired up correctly according to the wiring diagram.

On mine the positive to the fridge is on terminal 12 and there is a link with a 25A fuse in from terminal 4 ( the positive to the leisure battery) to terminal 11.

As terminals 11 and 12 seem to be linked internally this means that the fridge is live all the time regardless of whether the 12v is switched on or not.
Removing the 15A fuse on the Mains panel bit disconnects the 12v to the fridge (rather confusing as this is on the Mains panel bit)
So not possible to turn off the supply to the fridge from the Zig unit.

Check the 3A fuse on the Mains panel as this is the main 240v fuse for the Zig. If this is blown then your leisure battery wont be charging from the mains. If its OK then you can hear the Zig unit humming a bit, presumably the transformer.

This still doesn't explain why your fridge doesn't work when hooked up though as it is 12v only and if wired as mine is then should be live all the time.

Incidentally, on mine there is not enough wire to allow the Zig to be pulled out when the four screws on the front are taken out.
I had to remove the worktop which is stuck down with clear silicon. Just ran a knife round the joint and carefully lifted up the worktop.
Hope all this helps.

[madmile]

Its difficult to comment on individual wiring in conversions as everyone does it slightly different, sometimes following instructions, sometimes not .
However, standard practice with a compressor fridge would be to wire it directly to the leisure battery via a fused connection (around 15A). You have an off switch in the fridge, so there should be no need for another, and convoluted wiring runs will increase the voltage drop which compressor fridges are particularly susceptible to.

[KenBongo]

We've checked all fuses and they are fine, it seems to only work properly when the vehicle is being driven! I have left it on today with the Zig switches as they should be for stationary, but not on site / mains with the 12v switch off and it appears to have not been on. The fridge is switched on inside and I have turned the dial to both 'A' settings etc.. to see if that works...doesn't seem to...I am still left with warm beer!

I have no clue in electronics, so taking the panel out and checking the wiring really wouldn't help

Getting frustrated now..

[Bisto_Blue]

I'm pretty sure we had the same thing with our CF9 Zig Unit, but it seemed to fix itself so I did not investigate further.

Symptoms were similar, from memory:

12v off / leisure battery / mains off (up) / charger -towing (up) = working fridge

12v off or on / leisure battery / mains on (down) / charger - on site (down) = fridge off

and now for the weird bit...

12v on / leisure battery / mains on (down) / charger - on site (down) AND LED reading light near ZIG unit on = working fridge!!

Luckily it seemed to fix itself about 2 days before we went to France, so sorry I cant be of help, but I will be reading this with interest!

Just out of interest, could you PM me who did your conversion?

[Jaws]

I think this is a supplier based near Worcester. I had just the same sort of set up. As posted elsewhere the Zig CF9 is really designed for a towed caravan so it gets confusing when converters adapt it for camper vans. It has a 240v outlet for fridges (not used here) and a 12v outlet via terminals 11 & 12. The top fuse next to the mains switch is for this circuit. The bottom one is for the 240v fridge supply as far as I know.

The link from the LB supply to terminal 11 is to allow the fridge to run when the unit is in "on site" mode because as supplied the Zig assumes you will only run the fridge on 12v when "towing" ie powered from the car, and use the 240v supply when hooked up.

This link should allow the fridge to run off the charging current supplied to the LB. Your conversion should have a separate 240v RCCD/fuse box somewhere (cupboard at the rear?). Have you checked that it has not tripped out the supply to the Zig?

I decided to fit a separate illuminated switch for the fridge because it is impossible to open
the door with the bed out and it also clearly indicates fridge On or Off!

BTW my conversion relied on a link from SB to Zig to charge the LB: you might like to consider something like the Willinton kit to do this.

As mentioned it is much easier to take the worktop off to access the back of the Zig.

Hope you find the solution.

[briwy]

Jaws

I cant understand why his fridge doesn't work on hook up. Seems really odd given that our set ups sound the same.
I too intend to fit and illuminated switch as I still think its too easy to inadvertently leave the fridge on.

Not sure why you would need the Willinton kit when the Zig does it anyway, can you elaborate on that please.

[Simon Jones]

I've got a Zig CF8 and while it is true that it can charge the LB when the engine is running, it relies on it be switched over manually. If you then forget to switch it back, you end up flattening both batteries as the are connected in parallel. I have Willinton kit fitted & leave the Zig switch set to 'site' and then it will charge LB when the engine is running. The Zig unit is a really nothing more hi-tech than a basic battery charger, with a few fused switched outputs. If I was doing a conversion again, I would not bother with it.

[briwy]

Thanks Simon, understood.

Presumably then, if the two batteries are in parallel, when connected to the mains it charges both, not just the leisure battery?

[Simon Jones]

That is my understanding - yes. I believe other folk like Madmile (Ed) will be able to confirm or deny. May be worth moving / starting a thread on the Converting Bongos to Campervans section.