Date:         Mon, 27 Sep 2004 19:36:28 -0700
Reply-To:     mark drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         mark drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Westy fridge fan replacement
In-Reply-To:  <029501c4a4f3$ab2abed0$6801a8c0@BABYLAP>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed

Today I replaced the fridge fan on my 87 Syncro Camper. I first replaced
it about 7-8 years ago and it has worked fine since until last month. My
wife and I were on a camping trip for a couple weeks and one day the
fridge just stopped keeping the food cold. It was 100 degrees outside at
the time and I opened the fridge to get a cold one and there weren't
any. The thermometer I have mounted inside said 75 degrees. Until that
time the fins were always iced over and the food very cold. I noticed
that the propane flame was still going but I could not hear the fan. At
that air temp the fan usually runs nearly constantly when the flame is lit.

Today I first tested the fan by jumpering the fin temp switch. This can
be reached by removing the vent grill from the side of the fridge
cabinet. The temp switch is screwed to the fins with 2 wires plugged
into it. I jumpered the 2 wires together with a "U" shaped piece of
wire. The fan did not come on with the switch bypassed so I knew it was
time to pull the fridge.

I have worked on numerous Westy fridges so pulling it was not a big
deal. Just for fun, I started my stop watch and methodically worked at
removing the fridge. About 8 minutes later it was out and I then removed
the fan assembly from the back. Since it was already a replacement fan,
the new one went right in. The first replacement was a FridgeMate and
the second was a Valtera. They were identical fans since Valtera had
bought out FridgeMate and relabeled the fans but kept them the same. I
mounted the new fan to the modified bracket the old one was on. I
soldered the 2 wires, insulated the splices with shrink wrap tubing, and
tested the temp switch with a propane torch set very low. I have a set
of long extension wires for the 3 DC wires the Westy fridge uses. This
lets me test DC operation before I reinstall the unit. With a little
heat on the fins, the fan temp switch turned the fan on so I was good to go.

Mark