Fridge not working following battery drain

[Capt. Greg]

Went to the marina and found my shore power plug loose at the power pedestal and my batteries had therefore drained. I reconnected the shore power to charge batteries and now my fridge no longer works. The fan runs, but unsure if the compressor runs. Discovered the fridge problem just before sailing, so I haven't spent time troubleshooting. Just wondering if the power drainage could have caused a specific problem or if that was just a coincidence. Thanks all in advance. BTW, it is a 12V Boat Fridge brand on an 07 Beneteau 323.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Yep...the Black box control modules trip off due to low voltage. So cycle the power on/off to reset. In worse case senerio the black box could have been damaged and will need to be replaced.

Here is a good YouTube video on electrical troubleshooting of the black box.

https://youtu.be/r9FoE1uHzy8

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by Capt. Greg

Went to the marina and found my shore power plug loose at the power pedestal and my batteries had therefore drained. I reconnected the shore power to charge batteries and now my fridge no longer works. The fan runs, but unsure if the compressor runs. Discovered the fridge problem just before sailing, so I haven't spent time troubleshooting. Just wondering if the power drainage could have caused a specific problem or if that was just a coincidence. Thanks all in advance. BTW, it is a 12V Boat Fridge brand on an 07 Beneteau 323.

If I know the brand and model of your refrigeration unit or have pictures of it, I then could send trouble shooting instruction for that unit or loan you a control module.

[Capt. Greg]

Thanks! I'll take a pic later today.

[SV__Grace]

Marina shore power connections are notoriously loose. A helpful marina staffer once demonstrated to me their recommended technique for plugging in a shore power cord by twisting it a few times so the force of the twist keeps it locked into the connection. No problems since!

[Capt. Greg]

Originally Posted by Richard Kollmann

If I know the brand and model of your refrigeration unit or have pictures of it, I then could send trouble shooting instruction for that unit or loan you a control module.

It is a Fridgeboat made by Veco model E50960

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by Capt. Greg

It is a Fridgeboat made by Veco model E50960

Yep....you can use the electrical troubleshooting video I made on YouTube to troubelshoot that unit.
Here is the link for Step by step:

https://youtu.be/r9FoE1uHzy8

[Richard Kollmann]

Rich Boren's video is the best place to begin as long as your unit has the troubleshooting LED. Because this Danfoss compressor is so quite I always ask how do you know if compressor is actually running. If compressor is actually running and amperage is less than 3 amps you have lost refrigerant. Your frigoboat unit may have one of their speed adjuster plug in panels connected to C and T module terminals failure of this circuit board or box will prevent compressor from running. The thermostat powers compressor by closing circuit between C and T module terminals.

[Capt. Greg]

I watched the video and read the troubleshooting flow chart from Veco. I am going to test tomorrow. My fan works, the compressor doesn't run. I'm going to test the thermostat by jumping the circuit. If that doesn't start the compressor, I'll check the voltage. My guess is a bad box, but I will test everything to make certain. Thanks for all the assistance!

[Boatwright]

Sounds like you have one of the better systems designed to trip off when your system voltage dropped below approx 11 volts.

Without this protection an electric motor will keep chugging away, getting hotter and hotter as the voltage drops and amperage draw goes up. Run long enough and you will eventually overheat the motor windings and cause a failure.

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by Capt. Greg

I watched the video and read the troubleshooting flow chart from Veco. I am going to test tomorrow. My fan works, the compressor doesn't run. I'm going to test the thermostat by jumping the circuit. If that doesn't start the compressor, I'll check the voltage. My guess is a bad box, but I will test everything to make certain. Thanks for all the assistance!

First this is not a conventional electrical motor compressor as it is monitored on start up by a very sensitive electronic boot up sequence much the same as a computer. When current is applied to electronic pulse control module cleanliness of voltage is checked, amperage of fan is checked to see it draws no more than 1/2 amp on variable speed models, pump rotation must accelerate to operating speed, and starting amperage must not be excessive. If all of these boot up sequences are satisfied compressor will be permitted to run by module. If your unit has the $2 trouble LED installed each boot up item has a LED flash code pointing you to trouble area.

It appears you did not pay enough attention to Rich Boren video

You will not find dirty electrical voltage with a volt meter.

Just because fan runs does not say it is drawing too much current indicating condenser cooling may not be sufficient.

Now you know why the Danfoss BD compressors seam to last forever and troubleshooting is almost always external to compressor.