Refrigerator Power while towing

[mtbever]

I have a 2016 Bighorn 3760EL with a residential style refrigerator installed. All seems to work well except when I’m towing when it appears there is no power to the refrigerator. I’ve had my truck plug checked and all is OK. I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced this and what the solution might be. My local Camping World service folks seem stumped. Thanks.

 

[jimtoo]

Hi mtbeaver,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Is the fridge factory installed or installed by previous owner? Is fridge both propane and 120v or just 120v residential only?

Be sure and check out our Heartland Owners Club. Join us at a rally when you can and meet lots of the great folks here and make friends for a lifetime.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[jbeletti]

Welcome to the forum.

Do you have an Inverter in your coach to power the refer while traveling?
Did you turn the Inverter on?
Did you check the refer with the Inverter on, after you unplugged from shore power and was it running?

Check these things out and report back so we can assist you further.

 

[mtbever]

Welcome to the forum.

Do you have an Inverter in your coach to power the refer while traveling?
Did you turn the Inverter on?
Did you check the refer with the Inverter on, after you unplugged from shore power and was it running?

Check these things out and report back so we can assist you further.

The inverter is factory installed and it has been turned on at the appropriate times by me and the Camping World service staff. I understand service also checked the inverter and found it to be in working order. The refrigerator was not running after leaving shore power with the inverter on.

I had a fixed power surge protector installed by Camping World and I’m wondering if that is coincidence or has something to do with the issue. Of course, the Camping World service dept didn’t think so.

 

[esscobra]

I have a 2017 same model- with residential fridge there should be a inverter installed in front bay- along with 2 batteries- there should be a small white rectangle says magnum with a switch and a small green led upper left side of panel inside your pantry- holding that switch should turn on inverter and illuminate the green led and power the fridge with 110 a/c running off the batteries- which your truck will help to charge while driving- pretty common that the gfi breaker on the inverter itself will need to be reset - in front bay there will be heavy red wire from battery to a cutoff switch which then goes to inverter-

so first trace the wire from battery making sure switch is set to on and inverter is getting 12v- then on opposite end- usually facing down - there is std looking wall plug and led display - if that is lit - try pressing the reset - then try the remote switch in your pantry - if led comes on then your fridge should power up

Mr Beletti has a excellent write up on getting parts and installing a led that is visible from truck while driving so you know your fridge is still on


I don have handy but can get some pics of the items tomorrow if someone else does not post first and you need them

 

[mtbever]

I have a 2017 same model- with residential fridge there should be a inverter installed in front bay- along with 2 batteries- there should be a small white rectangle says magnum with a switch and a small green led upper left side of panel inside your pantry- holding that switch should turn on inverter and illuminate the green led and power the fridge with 110 a/c running off the batteries- which your truck will help to charge while driving- pretty common that the gfi breaker on the inverter itself will need to be reset - in front bay there will be heavy red wire from battery to a cutoff switch which then goes to inverter-

so first trace the wire from battery making sure switch is set to on and inverter is getting 12v- then on opposite end- usually facing down - there is std looking wall plug and led display - if that is lit - try pressing the reset - then try the remote switch in your pantry - if led comes on then your fridge should power up

Mr Beletti has a excellent write up on getting parts and installing a led that is visible from truck while driving so you know your fridge is still on


I don have handy but can get some pics of the items tomorrow if someone else does not post first and you need them

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We had our first chance to get the camper out this weekend since receiving your information and we were successful in solving the problem. The one thing we didn’t know and evidently Camping World didn’t know, was the reset part. We had everything else correct but didn’t know to reset which solved our problem. Hopefully I can return the favor to you in kind sometime in the future. Once again, thank you.

 

[boatto5er]

And this is what makes this Forum so great: Members helping members!

 

[mbesanceney]

I have a 2017 same model- with residential fridge there should be a inverter installed in front bay- along with 2 batteries- there should be a small white rectangle says magnum with a switch and a small green led upper left side of panel inside your pantry- holding that switch should turn on inverter and illuminate the green led and power the fridge with 110 a/c running off the batteries- which your truck will help to charge while driving- pretty common that the gfi breaker on the inverter itself will need to be reset - in front bay there will be heavy red wire from battery to a cutoff switch which then goes to inverter-

so first trace the wire from battery making sure switch is set to on and inverter is getting 12v- then on opposite end- usually facing down - there is std looking wall plug and led display - if that is lit - try pressing the reset - then try the remote switch in your pantry - if led comes on then your fridge should power up

Mr Beletti has a excellent write up on getting parts and installing a led that is visible from truck while driving so you know your fridge is still on


I don have handy but can get some pics of the items tomorrow if someone else does not post first and you need them

So just to clarify in short I need to make sure the "magnum switch" is always on in order for the fridge to work whether I'm on shore power or 12volt?

 

[danemayer]

So just to clarify in short I need to make sure the "magnum switch" is always on in order for the fridge to work whether I'm on shore power or 12volt?

If you want the refrigerator to run while towing, or any other time you are not on shore power, the Magnum switch (inverter for the fridge) MUST be ON.

When on shore power, the Magnum switch (inverter for the fridge) MAY be ON or OFF. The refrigerator doesn't use the inverter while on shore power.

However, if you leave the inverter ON, in the event of a power failure, the refrigerator will be powered from the batteries/inverter. If you leave it OFF, and there's a power failure, the refrigerator will be off until shore power comes back.

 

[Kathi-27]

So just to clarify in short I need to make sure the "magnum switch" is always on in order for the fridge to work whether I'm on shore power or 12volt?

only need to turn on when not hooked to shore power if everything is working correct

 

[mbesanceney]

So it’s ok to leave it on but not necessary. But when I was hooked Shore power I couldn’t get the fridge to come on. But if I flipped the switch everything works. So I guess if it doesn’t hurt to have the switch on I’ll leave it on till I figure it out. Also thanks for getting back to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[danemayer]

So it’s ok to leave it on but not necessary. But when I was hooked Shore power I couldn’t get the fridge to come on. But if I flipped the switch everything works. So I guess if it doesn’t hurt to have the switch on I’ll leave it on till I figure it out. Also thanks for getting back to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You're describing a failure of the transfer switch that's dedicated to the fridge. When you connect shore power, that transfer switch is supposed to switch over to shore power. When you disconnect shore power, the transfer switch switches back over to inverter power.

You can read all about this in our owner-written Residential Refrigerator Guide in this folder. It includes a block diagram of the power wiring and a diagnostic flow chart to help you figure out what's wrong.

 

[Dmetcalf]

If you want the refrigerator to run while towing, or any other time you are not on shore power, the Magnum switch (inverter for the fridge) MUST be ON.

When on shore power, the Magnum switch (inverter for the fridge) MAY be ON or OFF. The refrigerator doesn't use the inverter while on shore power.

However, if you leave the inverter ON, in the event of a power failure, the refrigerator will be powered from the batteries/inverter. If you leave it OFF, and there's a power failure, the refrigerator will be off until shore power comes back.

This was something I wasn’t aware of ..! Thanks for the information..!