I bought my CFX3 45L in Feb. 2020 from Amazon and its doing the exact same thing. Can you tell me who you contacted?
Thanks
The Dometic CFX3 Mega Thread
- Thread starter Dometic
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Thanks
Dometic
Supporting Sponsor / Approved Vendor
Hi @TIE-FYTR - I've just returned from some travel and saw your post. Did someone follow up with you? If not, please PM me your name and contact (email and phone) and I'll have someone follow up with you
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Highcountry Hunter
New member
How do you tap into switched power as described above got the PLB40? Is there a relay that you recommend that will get the job done? I can tap into my fuse panel and find an ignition powered circuit easy enough. The power panel I mounted had to be wired and run from the rear of my F-150 all the way to the starter battery so I have about 20 ft of 10 AWG tinned copper with a 15 amp fuse inline. Right now I'm using the Victron Smart Battery Protect as a LVD device in case I forget to kick off the rocker switch when I'm parking the truck and the starter battery is still charging the PLB40 which in turn is powering the fridge.
Naveronski
New member
Has anyone had a Warning 43 error on their 75DZ?
Kevin108
Explorer
For those of you than run your fridge daily, what is the best power configuration you've found?
On my FJ, I had added a large AGM, an upgraded alternator, and a hard-mounted 100w solar panel. This worked great in the city where an unobstructed parking lot gave the battery a continuous charge. Obviously, it worked poorly on the trail, where shady camping locations were preferred.
On my GX, I've only upgraded the battery. I still have the solar panel, but it's not as easily mounted compared to the FJ. I am considering one of the stick-on hood panels, but the fact that it's placed directly on the already hot hood makes me question its practicality. I have also considered a Jackery or comparable, but their max working temps are only 104° and the vehicle interior is likely to exceed that on any summer day. I'm also willing to make the investment in new batteries and a DC to DC charger if that's what I really need. I just don't want to make any missteps.
What option is working for you?
On my FJ, I had added a large AGM, an upgraded alternator, and a hard-mounted 100w solar panel. This worked great in the city where an unobstructed parking lot gave the battery a continuous charge. Obviously, it worked poorly on the trail, where shady camping locations were preferred.
On my GX, I've only upgraded the battery. I still have the solar panel, but it's not as easily mounted compared to the FJ. I am considering one of the stick-on hood panels, but the fact that it's placed directly on the already hot hood makes me question its practicality. I have also considered a Jackery or comparable, but their max working temps are only 104° and the vehicle interior is likely to exceed that on any summer day. I'm also willing to make the investment in new batteries and a DC to DC charger if that's what I really need. I just don't want to make any missteps.
What option is working for you?
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Naveronski
New member
I'm in a similar situation, also researching a solar solution for my GX460 - which is proving more difficult than the Tacoma or trailer.
This was helpful; install a corrugated plastic sheet between a flexible solar panel and the metal roof to allow for cooling and as a barrier against the hot roof.
Then wires down inside the rear door frame, and to a larger battery in the stock location.
Naveronski
New member
I've been emailing back and forth with Dometic for a bit now, and their help is... limited.
It seems like you cannot repair Dometic fridges, you have to replace the whole thing, and they will only do that if you're the original owner and have the proof of purchase. Thus, a Dometic fridge makes a horrible gift for someone.
Hegear
Active member
I ran a cfx65 at 36 degrees of a bluetti ac50s for 6 weeks in the Baja. It worked perfectly. Charged it from the factory ac inverter on my truck, just because it was a little faster than the dc option. Supplemented with a 120watt portable panel if I was staying in a spot for more than one night. Never saw the battery power below 60% and I used it to charge radios, speakers, power tools, lights for camper etc…(not all at once).it was a simple and easy setup. not bad for a $300 compact unit.
on the same trip I had a pop up camper with me and ran a cfx 45 as a freezer. I installed a 100 amp lithium a renogy dc/dc/solar 30 amp charger. obv running this as a freezer used a lot more power but was surprised how hard it was to keep the battery charged. it was fine if ran over 200 watts of solar once I arrived at camp, but I did loose power a few times. this setup without solar cost around $850 plus around 50-100 for wiring etc and time spent on the install.
i Would recommend the jackery style unit unless you need over a 100amps of lithium. they are simple, cheap and very easy to use. no wiring, good displays and the one I use has been very reliable.
hope this helps.
bonuscup
New member
I’m having some issues with my CFX3 55IM being powered by a Jackery 500 where the fridge shuts off at random.
TL;DR - it's shutting off for no reason using DC power under various circumstances. I replaced the fuse in the DC cable, didn't fix it. Fridge is on low power protection. It turns off regardless of whether I'm charging the Jackery via 12v car outlet while running the fridge or using Jackery only to power (each scenario using DC power from the Jackery).
I bought both the fridge and Jackery in November 2021, so less than 1 year old and both have been used only 3 times total. The Jackery was charged to 100% prior for all three trips.
First trip: The fridge worked perfectly for 3 days straight. No issues. I had it in the back seat of my truck and was charging the Jackery via the 12v cigarette lighter inside the truck while powering the fridge using DC power and at camp the fridge was running only off the Jackery the whole time.
Second trip: The fridge intermittently startred turning off for no apparent reason. The outside temp the was between 75 during the day and 45 at night. It was being transported in the back of truck inside a camper shell with the Jackery running it. Eventually after it had shut off so many times, using DC from the Jackery to power the fridge wouldn't work at all - I couldn't get it to turn on - so I had to switch to AC power from the Jackery to power the fridge and it worked fine, just way less effecient and it drained the battery faster.
Third trip: This past weekend I had the fridge in the bed of the truck again inside the shell using the Jackery to power it from DC power the whole time. We only used the fridge to transport food to another house 3 hours away and outside was anywhere between 70-90 degrees. Fridge started having the issue almost immediately after loading it into the truck before driving at all. Once we got there we didn't use it. Same thing happend on the way home.
When the fridge shuts off I can usually get it to turn back on by unplugging, shutting off DC power on the Jackery, plugging back in, etc. and probably 30% of the time the fridge will power up. The other 70% of the time it does not power up at all and I have to repeat the process, adding in trying to use the app to turn the fridge on. Some type of combo of fussing with it will get it to work again.
Nothing appears to be wrong with the Jackery from what I can tell.
It's beyond annoying, because at times the fridge seems to power back on and then shut off within a minute or two. Other times it will power up and stay on for a few hours with no apparent issues.
I replaced the fuse in the DC cable prior to this trip but it didn't make a difference. When I initially reached out to Dometic support they just asked if I tried using a different DC cable, which I have not, because they are out of stock everywhere.
At this point I can't take it anywhere doing this because if it shuts down overnight we'll be screwed. @Dometic What is going on here?
TL;DR - it's shutting off for no reason using DC power under various circumstances. I replaced the fuse in the DC cable, didn't fix it. Fridge is on low power protection. It turns off regardless of whether I'm charging the Jackery via 12v car outlet while running the fridge or using Jackery only to power (each scenario using DC power from the Jackery).
I bought both the fridge and Jackery in November 2021, so less than 1 year old and both have been used only 3 times total. The Jackery was charged to 100% prior for all three trips.
First trip: The fridge worked perfectly for 3 days straight. No issues. I had it in the back seat of my truck and was charging the Jackery via the 12v cigarette lighter inside the truck while powering the fridge using DC power and at camp the fridge was running only off the Jackery the whole time.
Second trip: The fridge intermittently startred turning off for no apparent reason. The outside temp the was between 75 during the day and 45 at night. It was being transported in the back of truck inside a camper shell with the Jackery running it. Eventually after it had shut off so many times, using DC from the Jackery to power the fridge wouldn't work at all - I couldn't get it to turn on - so I had to switch to AC power from the Jackery to power the fridge and it worked fine, just way less effecient and it drained the battery faster.
Third trip: This past weekend I had the fridge in the bed of the truck again inside the shell using the Jackery to power it from DC power the whole time. We only used the fridge to transport food to another house 3 hours away and outside was anywhere between 70-90 degrees. Fridge started having the issue almost immediately after loading it into the truck before driving at all. Once we got there we didn't use it. Same thing happend on the way home.
When the fridge shuts off I can usually get it to turn back on by unplugging, shutting off DC power on the Jackery, plugging back in, etc. and probably 30% of the time the fridge will power up. The other 70% of the time it does not power up at all and I have to repeat the process, adding in trying to use the app to turn the fridge on. Some type of combo of fussing with it will get it to work again.
Nothing appears to be wrong with the Jackery from what I can tell.
It's beyond annoying, because at times the fridge seems to power back on and then shut off within a minute or two. Other times it will power up and stay on for a few hours with no apparent issues.
I replaced the fuse in the DC cable prior to this trip but it didn't make a difference. When I initially reached out to Dometic support they just asked if I tried using a different DC cable, which I have not, because they are out of stock everywhere.
At this point I can't take it anywhere doing this because if it shuts down overnight we'll be screwed. @Dometic What is going on here?
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Dometic
Supporting Sponsor / Approved Vendor
Have you seen the same behavior with any other DC power sources? It sounds like the cooler is detecting a low voltage situation and it is shutting down to prevent further battery drawn down.
What battery protection setting do you have set on the cooler? Since you are using the Jackery battery protection would be best set to Low.
Thanks for the additional info!
DOMETIC
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Use promo code Expedition20 for $25 off your order of $75+
bonuscup
New member
Battery protection was set to low as shown in the videos.
I tested the fridge again yesterday by running it off the starter battery in my truck via the DC cigarette plug. Was using medium battery protection. Right away it gave me a low voltage warning and would not cool. I checked again after 30 min and same issue. I checked again 20 min later and the fridge was off.
The car is a 2021 Tacoma with only 13k miles so I’m doubtful the starter battery has insufficient juice to power the fridge.
Dometic
Supporting Sponsor / Approved Vendor
OEM wiring is not always great, and you'll see a voltage drop which will trigger the battery protection. You might be able to test with battery protection on low using your DC plug, but it still might drop enough that the cooler won't run more than just a little while.
Most folks, if using the starter battery for powering your cooler, will set battery protection to medium and run a dedicated wiring kit to power their cooler. The larger wiring and direct-to-power outlet ensures that there is no other parasitic draw that might be inline like OEM wiring.
Other users go with the low setting in combination with a second battery like our PLB40 or a combo of battery and solar.
Hope this helps!
DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
dometic.com
Use promo code Expedition20 for $25 off your order of $75+
Naveronski
New member
FYI when considering Dometic, they will only help with warranty issues if you have you original proof of purchase.
So... if you buy used (or if you receive it as a gift), make sure to get a copy of that.
Otherwise, you're SOL.
So... if you buy used (or if you receive it as a gift), make sure to get a copy of that.
Otherwise, you're SOL.
Dometic
Supporting Sponsor / Approved Vendor
If you haven't seen it and have been considering a CFX3, one of our ice chests or other items, our Labor Day sale is wrapping up late tonight.
20% off on select items like:
- powered coolers
- PLB40s
- ice chests
- solar panels
... and more
Check out the sale and, in the meantime, have a great holiday weekend somewhere outside!
DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
dometic.com
20% off on select items like:
- powered coolers
- PLB40s
- ice chests
- solar panels
... and more
Check out the sale and, in the meantime, have a great holiday weekend somewhere outside!
DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
dometic.com
ducktapeguy
Adventurer
Just picked up the CFX3 45L fridge during the labor day sale. I've had it for about 2 days and I'm already having problems with it.
I tested it on AC for a day and it worked fine. Today I moved it in the car and seems like there are a lot of issues.
It's running on a 100Ah LifeP04 battery connected to a charger, so the voltage doesn't drop below 12.7V. Setting the temperature to 34 degrees, I come back after about an hour and the fridge is at 46 degrees and doesn't want to cycle back on. Had to unplug everything to reset it, then seemed to work again. Again, come back 20 minutes later and the setting somehow changed to 47 degrees. I may try deleting the app to make sure it's not causing the problem, but one of the main selling points for me was being able to monitor the temp and power remotely, without that feature I might as well go back to using my 10 year old Whynter fridge that cost 1/4 the price and has never had an issue.
I'm going to run it for a day just to test it but if it can't be trusted to maintain a constant temp then it's almost useless, I don't want to have to babysit the fridge all the time. Other than that I really like the fridge, it feels nice, it's quiet, and the controls are easy to use.
EDIT: Just checked it again and the temp went from 34 back to 46 degrees. Did some more investigation and found out it could be the battery protection cutting in. Even though the battery votlage is maintaining 12.8-12.9V under load, the stock DC cord that comes with the fridge has almost 0.9 - 1.0V of voltage drop during startup. Changed the setting to medium to see if that fixes the issue, it seems like a heavier cable is a necessity.
I tested it on AC for a day and it worked fine. Today I moved it in the car and seems like there are a lot of issues.
It's running on a 100Ah LifeP04 battery connected to a charger, so the voltage doesn't drop below 12.7V. Setting the temperature to 34 degrees, I come back after about an hour and the fridge is at 46 degrees and doesn't want to cycle back on. Had to unplug everything to reset it, then seemed to work again. Again, come back 20 minutes later and the setting somehow changed to 47 degrees. I may try deleting the app to make sure it's not causing the problem, but one of the main selling points for me was being able to monitor the temp and power remotely, without that feature I might as well go back to using my 10 year old Whynter fridge that cost 1/4 the price and has never had an issue.
I'm going to run it for a day just to test it but if it can't be trusted to maintain a constant temp then it's almost useless, I don't want to have to babysit the fridge all the time. Other than that I really like the fridge, it feels nice, it's quiet, and the controls are easy to use.
EDIT: Just checked it again and the temp went from 34 back to 46 degrees. Did some more investigation and found out it could be the battery protection cutting in. Even though the battery votlage is maintaining 12.8-12.9V under load, the stock DC cord that comes with the fridge has almost 0.9 - 1.0V of voltage drop during startup. Changed the setting to medium to see if that fixes the issue, it seems like a heavier cable is a necessity.
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