Dometic/novakool Troubleshooting Help Needed

I'm getting some error messages on my NovaKool, and I am wondering if anyone here is good at troubleshooting this?

I've sent a message to the support line at NovaKool.

The issue:
On day two of camping - running only on battery - the fridge went into error mode. The fridge was very hot to the touch on the side facing the sun, so I suspect that this has some relevance. (ambient temp was around 75 degrees, but the fridge's west side had a lot of sun on it and the fridge surface was HOT)

The fridge would go back into error mode no matter what setting the fridge was on. The battery for the TD was at "2/3" - and over 11.4 - when this occurred.

We came home the next day and plugged the fridge into the AC cord and into the AC at home, and the fridge went into error mode.....

So I am guessing that this is not a problem with the battery/TD, but is a problem with the cord from the fridge.

I have not checked the fuse that is in the DC cord.....

Thoughts?

-Al

 

Sounds like it could be anything. "Error" is not too specific. On mine I was unable to adjust temperature at one point. I was able to replace the circuit board in the fridge and it fixed the problem. Might work here but it might not. Gee, that was helpful, wasn't it?

 

If it has errors with the AC and DC cords then I wouldn't think that the cord is the problem. That also rules out the ambient temperature and the battery. Sounds like the fridge itself is the problem.

 

I've started a conversation with NovaKool support. The TD is now plugged in to AC, and the cooler is plugged in to the TD DC outlet. The cooler is on and no error after ten minutes. (the compressor is running)

 

I also plugged the cooler direct into AC (not the AC in the TD), and I get no error.

Now, why did I get an error on AC power even after we returned from camping?...but no error now?...

Final step in the test is to see if can get the cooler into error mode by running it on DC and waiting for the TD battery to get lower....

Maybe the cooler simply got too hot when in direct sun, and when in the TD galley while driving home, so it needed to cool down before it would go out of error mode even when plugged in to AC....

 

DometicNovaKool thinks I may not have waited long enough for the error to clear, when I got errors when plugged in to home AC and to TD battery (after charging). The error can take a couple of minutes to clear, and I may not have waited long enough before declaring a failure.

 

Got the cooler into error mode by discharging the battery to 11.4 or so

I then plugged the TD into AC power.

I turned off the cooler and waited a few minutes (to let error code clear), and I then plugged the cooler in to the AC adaptor and into the AC outlet of the TD. After a few minutes the cooler cycled on and no error code popped up.

So it seems that the error was purely due to low battery and there is no issue with the cooler or the cooler cord(s).

I am guessing that by leaving the cooler in the direct sun or in the galley but having the galley in direct sun, this caused the cooler to work much harder than usual which drained the TD battery faster than usual. So we got a cooler error on day 2 instead of on day 3.

I'll have to search the forums for solutions to this issue (canopy over the TD during the day; Cooler in the car instead of in the TD galley) and the pluses and minuses.

 

On my dometic, you can set the point at which it shuts down based on the status of the battery. I believe I have it at the lowest setting, 10.5. Hopefully, my battery will not get that low otherwise I have other issues. Once it does shut down, it will not start until the battery is again above that level. If I am going to be somewhere more than a night and I anticipate sunshine, I set up the REI alcove over the galley and use the wind walls to protect the frig from direct sunlight. I also got the cooler cover.

 

Hi, Joan. My NovaKool also has three settings, and mine is on the far right setting - the "lowest" setting. But the cooler does shut off when the TD battery is higher than the setting (ie, it shuts off at 11.5 even though setting says it won't shut off until 10.0) Not a big deal as long as you have your expectations calibrated.

http://www.novakool.com/support/documents/bcdmanul.pdf

I have a three-week trip coming up in August, and I should probably have my battery checked to make sure it is still solid. I may have done some damage to it by running it so low so many times (i.e., to the point where the cooler goes into error mode). Plus, I think it is over 24 months old, so....

I am reluctant to leave the REI alcove up when we leave the campsite during the day, because so many sites do not have a way to secure the alcove to the ground. I did recently buy weights that you fill with water and attach to the Alcove's feet, so the alcove can't blow away, for those sites where the alcove is on a paved surface, so I'll be more willing to leave the Alcove up.