i'm on an extended cruise and just drank my last cold beer! Actually it was luke warm because my refrigeration is malfunctioning. Two days ago, while anchored off Panama City, Florida, we discover the fridge had thawed itself.
Shuttling off the fridge switch on the panel and waiting an hour or so, the until came back on and ran cold all night, only to shut down again the next morning. there are not blockages around the condenser and the power to the unit is good. when it quits working, the fan cycles on and off but the compressor never comes on. please help, food is about to spoil.
Thanks,
Sam
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Capt. Sam Murphy
1994 Catalina 36, Hull 1327
Shoal draft, two cabin model.
Panama City, Florida
Have you had the fridge recharged with "freon" recently?
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)
Hi Sam, Have you checked your batteries? My Adler Barber shuts down if the batteries are low in voltage, If the batteries are okay it most likely is the controller on your compressor unit or low gas.
I replaced my controller unit 3 months ago only to find out I had one battery shot which was the problem. Consequently I replaced all three battereries, they were almost three years old.
Here in Australia the replacement control unit # BD35/50 it is the same part that fits my other Waeco fridge/freezer unit which I have under the chart table. ( I removed the chart table chair long ago, it was completly useless to us)
Good luck
Ivor C 36 "Breezly" 1864 Australia
Thanks for the replys. No, haven't recharged the system. But I did pull the main wires from the unit and checked the voltage and it was reading well over 13v. And my batteries are showing full charge on my display. So, i don't think its a battery or power issue. It started back up last night after we were at anchor and left it off for a while and ran all night. i'm begging to suspect that its only cutting out when the engine is running and might also be related to the malfunction of my tachometer. The plot thickens. But for right now, my cerial milk is cold.
Sam
Capt. Sam Murphy
1994 Catalina 36, Hull 1327
Shoal draft, two cabin model.
Panama City, Florida
Along with everything else, check all the ground connections which may be involved. Grounds can create all sorts of gremlins in an electrical system, some seemingly unrelated to the immediate problem.
When checking the voltage be sure that you are taking the reading "under load", and "no load" as this can help isolate problems, particularly with the grounds.
Neil Roach
"Crewless"
1992 36, Mark I
Hull # 1174
Seattle
I think I had the same problem years ago. I would leave the harbor with everything running ok and then find the fridge warm upon my return. I had it recharged and checked for leaks. Finally, someone figure out it was the "black box" that needed to be replaced. The unit has worked ever since.
Richard
Richard
1994 C36 Tall Rig M1.5
Waukegan Harbor
Lake Michigan
Sorry I couldn't reply to this thread sooner, (I lost the link I need) I had the same problem with my unit. After some research, I concluded that it was the "black box" control unit.
It seems that our refrigerator model is notorious for losing its control box function.
Now, it gets tough from here, the new unit fit's our Adler/Barbour compressor unit and the new control box works great and it is more reliable than our original unit, BUT.
It's 3 boat units expensive and if you guess wrong and your compressor unit must be replaced you'll have 3 boat units of useless refrigeration parts!
I concluded that when my boat compressor ran, it worked fine. It just didn't run as long as it needed to to do any cooling. So I spent the money and it solved the problem. I gave the same advice to a Catalina 30 boat owner and it solved the problem for him too!
This is the link (I lost) let the group know if it works.
[url]http://coastalclimatecontrol.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Stor...
Bill Matley
Bill Matley
Duncan Bay Boat Club
Cheboygan, Michigan
Lakes Huron, Michigan,
Canadian North Channel
"Spirit of Aloha" Hull #1252
Wow! thank you Bill but that's a hunka change. Maybe I'll just buy a whole new fridge unit. I'm afraid I'll buy the controller and the compressor will go out in a month. That's the way my luck has been running.
Thanks for the help.
Sam
Capt. Sam Murphy
1994 Catalina 36, Hull 1327
Shoal draft, two cabin model.
Panama City, Florida
I had a similiar problem with compressor recycling when trying to start. The problem was solved by removing the connector and cleaning the pins. Start up currents are very high so dirty contacts can be a problem.
John & Kathy Impagliazzo
s/v Pooka
Jamestown, RI
1994 C36 TR #1339, M35AC