Fridge outside compartment cooling fan won't turn off

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

My 2006 has a fan. It does not work. Replacing it is on my to do list.
Low priority at this time.

Are you sure it's the fan? If the thermistor is bad it won't allow power to the fan. Before tossing it, run a jumper across the thermistor and see if the fan will run.

[AWCHIEF]

Yes it is the fan, I varified that power is going to the fan, by passed the thermostat. Still no go. As a former Aviation Electrician in another life I have retained basic troubling shooting 101 skills.

[roundrobin]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

Yes it is the fan, I varified that power is going to the fan, by passed the thermostat. Still no go. As a former Aviation Electrician in another life I have retained basic troubling shooting 101 skills.

Michael,
You are making a good point. There is such a great wealth of knowledge here. All of us had careers in different fields. We can probably cover and get help on anything and everything. I have never seen such a great forum. For myself, i flew in the RCAF for 25 years, and then ran a computer business for 17 years. So, troubleshooting is kind of a challenge. I rarely see a broken part or a problem without asking why and can it be prevented next time. I just love it here!

Al

[AWCHIEF]

Al, I spent 3 months on an exchange program with the RCAF P3s at Prince Edward Island in the early 90s. Wonderful experience working with a truly great group of professionals.

[aftermath]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

Is this something on newer units? I've heard of the fans, but do not have a fan.

It is not the "newer" units, it is the size of the unit. On the larger trailers the refrigerators don't have a microwave above them or shelves or other things. This allows the fridge to be vented directly to the roof. On the 23 and even the 25 FC this isn't possible. They have to vent out the side of the trailer hence the need for the fan. When the fan is working as designed, it works well. When it isn't you will read all sorts of stories, like this one.

I have had mine for 5 years now and have never had any trouble with the fridge. We have camped in temperatures near freezing as well as in 100+ with the sun shining on the compartment. Ours continues to work as designed. Perhaps we have been lucky......?

[ckottum]

They work as designed with or without upper side vent and fan. If the fan is noisy, replace it with a quality fan that is silent and all is well.

cheryl

[roundrobin]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

Al, I spent 3 months on an exchange program with the RCAF P3s at Prince Edward Island in the early 90s. Wonderful experience working with a truly great group of professionals.

Michael
I flew on the same CP140 from 1981 till 1990. Argus, Trackers and Sea Kings prior. Joined in 1965. Retired Warrant Officer after 25 years of undetected crime

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by roundrobin

Michael
I flew on the same CP140 from 1981 till 1990. Argus, Trackers and Sea Kings prior. Joined in 1965. Retired Warrant Officer after 25 years of undetected crime

Our paths probably crossed a few times. I was an acoustic operator CPO (retired) from 1980 to 95. Spent most of that time flying out of Brunswick, Maine. Flew many joint missions and training exercises with the Canadians. Traded many a case of beer for smoked salmon with their crews. Hopefully we will meet up someday down the road.

[AWCHIEF]

All this talk got me inspired. Radio Shack had everything I needed. New fan is same physical size as the old on and puts out twice the air flow. It seems well balanced and quite compared to the stock fans I have heard. While I was at it I wired in a simple on/off switch. Tested by putting a little heat to the thermostat. It ran about 20 minutes and shut off. Did this a couple of times to make sure. Hopefully now my frig will keep a more consistent temp when the ambient air heats up.

[roundrobin]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

Our paths probably crossed a few times. I was an acoustic operator CPO (retired) from 1980 to 95. Spent most of that time flying out of Brunswick, Maine. Flew many joint missions and training exercises with the Canadians. Traded many a case of beer for smoked salmon with their crews. Hopefully we will meet up someday down the road.

Same trade! Hope we meet some day.

Al

[roundrobin]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

All this talk got me inspired. Radio Shack had everything I needed. New fan is same physical size as the old on and puts out twice the air flow. It seems well balanced and quite compared to the stock fans I have heard. While I was at it I wired in a simple on/off switch. Tested by putting a little heat to the thermostat. It ran about 20 minutes and shut off. Did this a couple of times to make sure. Hopefully now my frig will keep a more consistent temp when the ambient air heats up.

Thanks Michael,
I already have the fans. Will rig like yours with the on/off switch.

Cheers

Al

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by roundrobin

Please let me know if you find a better brand thermostat switch. I did a lot of research in computer cooling with the same kind of fans. I found that blowing air out, helped, blowing air in helped more, and blowing air in and out worked the best. I am going to do some testing on this, as I have many of these fans left from inventory. If you want a great low noise 4 inch fan, go to a computer store and buy a ball bearring fan of high quality. Should cost about $15.
The techie guy should know. A great fan can stay on for years, running 24/7 without making hardly any noise, if mounted with screws at all 4 corners.
Al
Al

I haven't found a replacement for the thermistor/thermostat, but I did find information about the one in my AS on another forum. It's an Emerson switch.

The number on the outside of mine is: 36T22 561887 F40-15C S0750

36T22 is the form factor (meaning it's a surface mount OFF/ON switch,
normally OPEN (i.e. switch is normally OFF),
and will CLOSE (i.e. switch ON) when the temp rises;
561887 is Emerson's part number.

F40-15C specifies it's a fan controller(i.e. F),
the 40-15C is the circuit CLOSE temp and temperature differential spec.
When the temp rises up to or over 40 Celsius (or 104 Fahrenheit) the circuit will CLOSE which allows the fan to run.
When the temp drops down to or below 25 Celsius (40 minus the 15c differential) (or 77 Fahrenheit) the switch will OPEN thereby cutting off power to the fan.

S1217 is Emerson's location code for place of manufacture. S1217 = made in China. Mine is a different code so I don't know where mine was made. But I've tried 2 of them in there now and they both run continuously. The second one worked for a while but now it does the same thing.

So more information, a little progress. I'll continue to look for a replacement. I did find a spare fan and the fan switch from the PO. So I got that goin' for me.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by roundrobin

Please let me know if you find a better brand thermostat switch.Al

Al

I've ordered a couple of button switches today, for the cooling fins. These are made in the USA, maybe better quality, hard to say. I've nothing against Made in China but after trying a couple of those I'm going to give these a chance. ($9.75 ea. x 2 + $10.15 shipping = $29.65. Shipping on one was about $7.50.)

I wrote the company that makes them, since they are designed for 110vac, but they said that's just the load rating and should work fine on the 12vdc.

They were quick on the response and even said they could make them for custom temperature ranges for me. I'm going to try these first and see how it goes. It will be a while before we head out again. Going up to the Airstream factory next month and will overnight in their RV park.

The 430 family will work with 12VDC. The F016 temp code maybe a better solution then the 77ºF unit as it may take a long time for your system to get below the 77degree set point.

You can buy one or two from us here:
Flush mount:
http://www.senasys.com/shop/products-page/430-half-automatic-reset/12-auto-reset-thermal-switch-close-on-rise/

To have a special one made there is a 1 time setup fee of $35 and the switches cost $13.00 each.

[Plan-B]

Wow, I really wish I had technical skills like you guys. This was really helpful thread for me and the knowledge to venture forward and improve on my 25FC RB. The fan is not too noise, but just enough to know its there. But it sure seems to run a long time when the fridge is off, in the shade and in my barn. Temp. probably 79F.

[tsunami]

To increase the cooling efficiency of the frig, I installed a section of plastic gutter with the down spout attachement under the cooling fins and attached the fan (slightly smaller that the factory installed fan) to the bottom (see photo). It forces air directly over the cooling fins and then up and out the top vent. I've had no problem while running the frig on propane. It works well, the fan is quiet and by putting a small plastic container with ice cubes in the bottom of the fig, everything stay cold even in high temps.

[pappysnap]

There’s a very good chance that the Rodale fan pictured here is installed backwards. The fan should be drawing outside ambient air and blowing it against the fins. I recently replaced a Rodale in my 2007 19’ Bambi that had been installed backwards. I installed the new fan with the lettering facing the back of the fridge. Even on mid 90’s days with sun facing fridge (curb) side it cycles on and off. Airstream provides a switch on the lower left cabinet as you enter the coach for the purpose of cutting the fan off if you’re on the patio and don’t want the noise. Don’t leave it off too long though because it really makes a difference in fridge temps.

[CruizinDux]

I'm not an engineer but to me it makes sense that since heat rises that it would naturally flow up to the upper door, assuming the setup has a lower section with a door where the ele or propane combustion takes place and an upper section where the propane combustion stack /or heat from the electrical component is shown the door.

To me it makes sense that the label is out so that air is pulled up and out of the cavity....hopefully past the heat exchange fins.

I have an upper and lower door and have found that simply opening the upper doors creates a good enough flow that the fan usually goes off in 5 or so minutes. In fact when I open the upper door, I can hear the fan speed up. That tells me either the lower door/screen if resisting the incoming air flow or the upper door screen on the door is restricting the outflow. I am considering swapping out a slightly larger screen from the 1/16th to an 1/8th.

Just a personal opinion re flashing/cowling...once that is done it necessitates the use of a fan for cooling. Thanks takes other options such as the open upper door off the table. It's nice to not have a fan running since natural air flow is working.

I swapped out with a silenX fan a couple of years ago and all is very quiet..very slight decrease in flow but significant decrease in db...coupled with opening tho upper door....success....beer is cold and ice cubes for the cocktail hour solid as a rock I should also say that the fan is suspended a bit higher then OEM and attached via springs to dampen any vibrations. My original install used the rubber screws, that eventually sliced thru. Seems I messed a few drilling burs from when the OEM fan was mounted to the alu

However I will admit that after a few days in Lake Havasu City last March in the low 100's, I have been thinking of adding a horizontal up-flow fan mid cavity (similar to the current Dometic designs that I have seen on some of the 2018's). I'll wire it in parallel so they both run at full speed but will be switched (default off) so will only come on in the excess ranges and circumstances. The sound at those ranges becomes academic to the cooling function. It will assist in the upward push of air assisted by the upper existing SilneX(quiet) fan and of course the open upper door.

Cheers...
b

[PaulnGina]

If anyone would like a nice, adjustable, inexpensive thermostat to control the fan, I used one of these,along with an inline switch on the 12VDC supply line.

https://www.ebay.com/p/12v-Adjustabl...d=272948034838

You can set the thermostat to come on at whatever temperature you want, and with the inline switch (if you don’t already have one), you can keep them from running at all.

I really like this setup.

[JoeHTP]

My thermostat just died too, I think. Can you share how you wired the eBay unit or a photo?