ARB cords and fridge mods

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
I have one of the first newer style ARB 50 guart refrigerators with the original style cigarette cord. Whats the fix for this before I cut off the plug and hard wire it in? Is there a quick easy fix that's cheaper than wire $$ kits from ARB or are they worth it? I was also thinking about opening it up and soldering conections and stuff to improve performance. Has anybody fooled with them? It works Ok but I thought of adding a layer of reflective foil above the compressor as well if it will fit. Any nice long computer or medical grade A/C cord plugs right in so that's nice for AC but my DC cord has been nothing but trouble.
 

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NatersXJ6

Explorer
Bleh...

I have that style of cord. I even spend 9.00 for the ARB socket it plugs into.

The cord was nice. The socket was garbage. The tiny little terminal tabs on the back are so thin and cheap that they bent and broke just from trying to line up the wire properly. I ended up hard wiring 8ga from the battery to the back and landing it on a terminal strip under the bed rail. I cut the plug off my cord and wired it to the terminal strip with some eyelets.

On the rare occasion that the fridge comes out of the jeep, I simply unplug the cord from the fridge and coil it out of the way. I could see some people concerned about shorts, but the fridge end of the cord is so well insulated I've never worried about it.

On the other side of the discussion, I spent more at Napa for wire and terminals and a fuse holder than I would have buying the ARB wiring kit...
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
O
I have that style of cord. I even spend 9.00 for the ARB socket it plugs into.

The cord was nice. The socket was garbage. The tiny little terminal tabs on the back are so thin and cheap that they bent and broke just from trying to line up the wire properly. I ended up hard wiring 8ga from the battery to the back and landing it on a terminal strip under the bed rail. I cut the plug off my cord and wired it to the terminal strip with some eyelets.

On the rare occasion that the fridge comes out of the jeep, I simply unplug the cord from the fridge and coil it out of the way. I could see some people concerned about shorts, but the fridge end of the cord is so well insulated I've never worried about it.

On the other side of the discussion, I spent more at Napa for wire and terminals and a fuse holder than I would have buying the ARB wiring kit...
I feel your pain when trying to buy the good connectors, switches or find wire that's not China stuff. I went to the brick and mortar store http://www.sierraexpeditions.com and Will sold me the ARB cord. It's always a treat to see Will and his fine shop. I'm going to cut the plug off of the old cord and hard wire it in the van. Hopefully the connection on the fridge end is not as big a problem. I was able to take apart the old plug years ago and mod it it but remember it would be almost impossible for adverage Joe to field repair and it was crap. I think Will called it the red plug for reference. What about mods inside like my idea to insulate above the hot compressor or any airflow or weaknesses inside the compressor area? That shelf obove the compressor does not get super cold and here in the desert that poor fridge pulls double duty.
 

rlynch356

Defyota
I have that style of cord. I even spend 9.00 for the ARB socket it plugs into.

The cord was nice. The socket was garbage. The tiny little terminal tabs on the back are so thin and cheap that they bent and broke just from trying to line up the wire properly. I ended up hard wiring 8ga from the battery to the back and landing it on a terminal strip under the bed rail. I cut the plug off my cord and wired it to the terminal strip with some eyelets.

On the rare occasion that the fridge comes out of the jeep, I simply unplug the cord from the fridge and coil it out of the way. I could see some people concerned about shorts, but the fridge end of the cord is so well insulated I've never worried about it.

On the other side of the discussion, I spent more at Napa for wire and terminals and a fuse holder than I would have buying the ARB wiring kit...

I've done 3 of them (the sockets and ARB wiring harness) in all my trucks, well i sold one and removed the wiring.. no issues with any of them regarding the plugs, all were solider'd on to the wiring cable that came in the kit from ARB as per instructions given.
I have had a 12v Fridge Cord fail though.. and ARB replaced the entire fridge!.. then tested it and said it was OK (the fridge.. i kept the cord) .. i told them it was the cord as well, but since we were leaving for a trip out west in 2 weeks they just did it, it was free both ways for shipping.. if your wondering. I love ARB customer service for the very rare occasions i need them they come though. 5 Stars ARB!
 

Mlachica

TheRAMadaINN on Instagram
I just got my 82qt arb fridge and I noticed the dc plug is ridiculously hard to unplug from the fridge. It took me well over a minute to unplug it. This isn't normal for you guys is it?
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
I pulled off the compressor cover for cleaning and electrical inspection. ARB did a great job with the wiring and connectors so I left it alone. The condenser fins were a little bent from the factory and that always bugged me so I cleaned them with a brush and straightened the fins.

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The fan did not fit the condenser bottom letting a lot of air to bypass the fins.

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I taped a sheet of paper on the side of the fridge to test air flow.

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From the side you can see how much the paper with a paper clip on it moves. Not much air.

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Temporarily I redirected the air with duck tape to see if I could get more air thru the cooling fins.
Look how much further the paper moves when the cooling fins get more air.

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A piece of scrap aluminum was cut and attached as a permanent mod to get the air flow up.


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The condenser does not get extremely hot but it gets less hot now. Instead of the fan wasting air it's blowing full force across the cooling fins removing more heat out of the fridge. Cool! No pun intended.
 
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Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
Insulating compressor housing

Next mod was to add a heat shield insulation above the compressor. It's directly under the warm shelf area in the fridge. When the compressor turns off and condenser reaches room temp the large metal compressor stays hot. This heat goes straight up to the bottom of the shelf.

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Not real scientific but in an air conditioned house the compressor ran at 115F and cools to only 104F after 25 minutes. All that time between cycles that heat is migrating into the fridge. The compressor is a big chunk of metal so it is what it is. It cools slow.

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I finally found the rattle that this thing has had since I pulled it new out of the box. A rouge screew was inside the compressor housing. Everthing was tight and well made so no worry.

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Next I basically cut foam and covered it with reflective copper tape to keep the heat off of the shelf inside the fridge.
I used what I had on hand. Above the compressor is a perfect 1/2" high recess that is the floor of the shelf. The foam flooring I had fit well.

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Basic shape of the foam when cut to fit.

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The only glue I had that was not dried up in this Arizona heat was 3M 5200. It fit so nice with compression and the fridge parts holding it up I'm not even sure it needed the glue. I covered it with the copper tape as a radiant reflector. And stuck it up. The last picture in my airflow post shows how well it fit.

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A small 3" piece fit above the electronic box on the other side of the compressor to finish it up.

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There are a few straight forward screews you can loosen to gain a little more clearance. They are on the brackets and bottom of the fridge. Loosening makes fitting the insulation a little easier. I could not find any thing that was cold to the touch in the compressor housing that needed insulation or anything else that was not perfect. It's great stock but I feel sorry for the abuse I give it in this Arizona heat and hope I helped it out.
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
I just got my 82qt arb fridge and I noticed the dc plug is ridiculously hard to unplug from the fridge. It took me well over a minute to unplug it. This isn't normal for you guys is it?

Yes it is very hard. Ironically the cigarette end had problems falling out. Hit it with a shot of WD-40.

A really neat hidden feature are the molded in cord holders. They blend in so well you would never know they are there. You can make the cord come out of the fridge and go left or right if you don't want it coming out of the back. It really helps keep the cord out of the track when the fridge is on a slider.

AC cord

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DC cord

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Nice and neat.

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Mlachica

TheRAMadaINN on Instagram
Cool tips, literally! I'm tempted to try the fan mod. Same principle as the car radiator/fan shroud/foam...

I ended up putting a touch of dielectric grease in the plug. Tension is perfect now
 

CaliMobber

Adventurer
Nice mods! Looking forward to hearing about any improvements. I just got an arb 50 quart and i hate how warm the shelf gets. The bottom will be 34 and the shelf will be 50!
 

NatersXJ6

Explorer
I am impressed. Generally, I don't re-engineer things until they fail the first time stock.

I am curious though, did you do any before/after measurements to prove out your mods, or are you just going with the general idea that better is better?

My dc cord is also really tight. A little silicone and understanding what to expect has helped a lot.
 

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