Power question involving my Dometic (Waeco) fridge (warning: LONG POST)

[wrcsixeight]

I could have spent another 100$ for the AC/DC version of my fridge.

I decided instead to put that 100$ toward a real converter/ battery charger, which is designed to power all 12 volt dc loads while also properly charging the batteries.

I would not buy one designed just for the Waeco, when you can get a higher amp converter that can do everything as well as properly charge the batteries whenever you have access to the electrical grid.

Look into progressive dynamics and Iota converters, and then you don;t have to worry about what power source the fridge is drawing from.

As far as testing voltage with fridge running you could probe the wires with sewing needles, just makes sure the needles do not touch, and push some rtv/ liquid electrical tape into the holes afterward.

I'd just run a dedicated 10 awg wire under the vehicle rather than open up the interior to route the wires. Fuse it close to the battery and protect the wire from chafing. No need for a switch when you can just pull the fuse.

Look into 'cord grips' for passing the wire through the underbody. They are watertight.

 

[ebg18t]

So for those who say "run bigger wire", who here has done this and what is involved? I presume that at the very least I'll have to remove a bunch of interior body panels since the wiring is concealed inside the interior trim. Anyone done this on a 4th gen 4runner?
.

Took me about an hour to run 10 gauge from the engine compartment to the rear panel. I fished it thru the rear panel, under the door sill trim (front & rear door) and behind the passenger front kick panel and out the rubber plug on the passenger side firewall.

 

[Jay H]

I will answer a lot of this as I have a waeco unit and have experience every thing you are describing. Right down to needing a 12V power supply for AC use.

Thicker wiring solves part of the problem the other part of the problem is cig plugs/socketts, they are awful and have huge electrical resistance. I replaced mine with a DC power plug from hobbyking.com that is intended for massive amps and has no measurable resistance. I just have a short tail of wire with the Xt60 plug coming out from trim in my vehicle rather than mess with a cig sockett. An XT60 plug / socket is ideal. A good clean durable connector that is dirt cheap you can either solder them which I recommend or buy pig tails and use some other method. I went for over kill and used an 8awg wire.

The thing is the less resistance in the wiring the more accurately the fridge can monitor input voltage. I keep my cut off point high at 50% batterycapacity because deep discharge is no good for batteries and being able to start is also nice. 10,5 is way to low. Mine is set for about 12.2 but I also wired in a bypass switch. Cutting out too early and leaving your fridge not running when it should be sucks, as does not cutting out at all and leaving you with a discharged battery that wont start the vehicle.

The top of the line fridges that use danfoss compressor / controller boards have an added feature my unit also lacks. The feature is a slide switch to set the low voltage disconnect point. Fret not. I was able to go to the danfoss website and down load an electrical schematic, which showed what resistor values between which pins on the controller board would correspond to desired low voltage disconnects. This sounds tricky but it is really not. I would have taken photos but each unit is a little different so I did not.


As for AC to DC power supply I came up a dirt cheap solution. I use an old computer power supply to feed my fridge 12DC.
http://jumperone.com/2012/12/converting-atx-power-supply-to-bench-power-supply-faq/
The above link tells how to convert to 12V power supply just ignore all the other stuff about other voltages, and use a matching DC connector intended for a model (like the one I recommended above)

 

[hoser]

Like everyone else said, lose the cig plug, install an Anderson plug. Instead of going 10 gauge from the battery. Go 8 or 6 gauge to a fused junction box in the rear for future accessories.

As for 12V adapter, I have a Dometic/Waeco CF-50 and have been using this Vector 6amp adapter for a few years w/o problem. I think I bought it for $15 on eBay. Also, cut off the female cig adapter on it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VECTOR-TRAV...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VECTOR-AC-D...purpose_AC_to_DC_Adapters&hash=item4174b52666