Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2022 10:52:37 -0700
Reply-To: Mark Drillock <madvws@COX.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mark Drillock <madvws@COX.NET>
Subject: Re: An electrical thing I never noticed in 20 years of Westy
ownership
In-Reply-To: <CAFnDXk0SNEBWkRHKDyspGzSg+O-5aAscvbBAeJexgA-QBFGGXA@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Here is part of a Vanagon list post from Apr 1999 regarding the stock
fridge.
" Finally, keep the fridge side of the Westy shaded. I use a small
silver colored tarp to shade this side. The sun can heat the area behind
the fridge enough to cause the fan to cycle EVEN WHEN THE FRIDGE IS OFF.
I believe that this is part of why the fans all seem to be worn out.
Most of the Westy fridges have seen little use but the fans wear out
anyway because they operate even if the fridge is off. Darker colored
vanagons are more likely to have this occur. This is also why the
batteries in parked Westys can sometimes seem to run down unexpectedly.
When the sun shines on the left side of the Camper the fan will likely
be triggered. We all know how hot it can get inside a Westy on a sunny
day with the top down even when it is cool outside."
On 7/29/2022 6:18 PM, Jim Felder wrote:
> Interesting. Maybe that's what was running my battery down in the first
> place. If that is the case, and I'm sure it is, it might be advisable to
> install a switch to break that circuit when the cooling fan was on but
> serving no purpose but to run the battery out.
>
> Jim
>
> On Fri, Jul 29, 2022 at 6:26 PM Dennis Haynes<d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> The fridge condenser fan is controlled by a thermo switch on the condenser
>> coil There is no other control for it. If the interior gets hot enough that
>> fan will turn on regardless of any of the fridge settings.
>>
>> Dennis
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List<vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> On Behalf Of Jim
>> Felder
>> Sent: Friday, July 29, 2022 6:40 PM
>> To:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: An electrical thing I never noticed in 20 years of Westy ownership
>>
>> When I park my Westy after camping, my habit has always been to switch the
>> gas knob to OFF and the mode switch to 120 when I parked the car. I just
>> went out to check on something in my Westy (1983 diesel) and heard a
>> whirring noise which I immediately knew could only be the fridge fan. I
>> checked and it was. Why was it on? Further checking I realized that I had
>> the car on a trickle charger plugged into the cabin 120 outlet, and had
>> house current going into electrical shore power outlet.
>>
>> Since my bout with chemo a few years back, I don't tolerate summer heat so
>> well and thus go through the hot months without driving the car very often.
>> This often caused the battery to be flat when I went to start it, hence
>> the smart trickle charger that successfully keeps the battery at the ready.
>> So, though I had not realized it, the house power has been running the
>> fridge for a couple of months now, and since it has been so hot the gowesty
>> fan upgrade has been running too for weeks on end. I didn't realize that
>> would happen when I hooked it up. So now, I have the mode switch on GAS and
>> the gas turned off at the knob and the tank. Probably no problem for anyone
>> but me, but just wanted everyone to know that running a trickle charger
>> with 110 plugged into the utility outlet will run the fridge``and wear out
>> your auxiliary fan if you don't do something about it.
>>
>> Jim
>>
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