Vitrifrigo freezer trouble shooting

[Beach View]

Good morning CF.

We have a top loading Vitrifrigo freezer (not sure of the model number) installed in our 2013 Lagoon 400S2. The freezer will start to cool, but after a little while (30 minutes?) it stops cooling, and I think the compressor and fan shut down too. I have seen much discussion on Vitrifrigo on CF, but haven't found the answer to this one. Can you tell me where to start trouble shooting?

Thanks,

Bill

[ozsailer]

G;day Bill,
the first thing I would be looking at is voltage. If you have a multimeter I would check the voltage when the motor first starts up and see what the voltage reading is. It could be something as simple as a bad connection/high resistance joint. How old are you batteries, might be worth checking as well.
Of course there may be other issue causing the problem but this is where I would start.


Greg H

[OzePete]

Originally Posted by ozsailer

G;day Bill,
the first thing I would be looking at is voltage. If you have a multimeter I would check the voltage when the motor first starts up and see what the voltage reading is. It could be something as simple as a bad connection/high resistance joint. How old are you batteries, might be worth checking as well.
Of course there may be other issue causing the problem but this is where I would start.


Greg H

Great advise Greg. Poor power supply, the greatest cause of DC fridge failure and all can simply be checked with a multi-meter. Keep monitoring the voltage until the compressor stops.
If the power supply doesn't drop then try running with the fan disconnected from its present terminals and supplied with 12VDC from elsewhere. The fan may be corrupting the Motor Driver Module.

Cheers OzePete

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by Beach View

Good morning CF.

We have a top loading Vitrifrigo freezer (not sure of the model number) installed in our 2013 Lagoon 400S2. The freezer will start to cool, but after a little while (30 minutes?) it stops cooling, and I think the compressor and fan shut down too. I have seen much discussion on Vitrifrigo on CF, but haven't found the answer to this one. Can you tell me where to start trouble shooting?

Thanks,

Bill

1. Place jumper wire across thermostat terminals, Compressor still does not run.

2. Disconnect black fan wire from electronic module, Compressor runs replace fan. Compressor still does not run after fan ground wire is disconnected. If one of the 10 transistors in this fan fail it can cause module to prevent compressor from running.

3. Run correct size and correct polarity fused jumper wires direct from a fully charged battery to module in order to bypass all boat’s wiring. Experience has proven that Volt meter readings are of no value when testing Danfoss control modules.

[Beach View]

Thanks everyone for your help!

I don't think the batteries are the problem, 2 years old and in good shape, plus the freezer has the same symptoms whether on batteries only, shore power, genset, or engines & alternator. This still leaves bad connection (somewhere) to the unit. I won't be able to check until this weekend...

Ciao (we are currently in Italy, home of Vitrifrigo...),

Bill

[OzePete]

Originally Posted by OzePete

Great advise Greg. Poor power supply, the greatest cause of DC fridge failure and all can simply be checked with a multi-meter. Keep monitoring the voltage until the compressor stops.
If the power supply doesn't drop then try running with the fan disconnected from its present terminals and supplied with 12VDC from elsewhere. The fan may be corrupting the Motor Driver Module.

Cheers OzePete

As i suggested earlier, test the supply voltage with a MULTI-METER at the compressor before start and continue to monitor while running until the cut off occurs.
Saying you can't test for power supply voltage drop is simply not correct!
You certainly can test unit supply voltage with a multi-meter. Check this video... It's not rocket science!

Video tests and Data record. | Ozefridge

Cheers OzePete

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by Beach View

Thanks everyone for your help!

I don't think the batteries are the problem, 2 years old and in good shape, plus the freezer has the same symptoms whether on batteries only, shore power, genset, or engines & alternator. This still leaves bad connection (somewhere) to the unit. I won't be able to check until this weekend...

Ciao (we are currently in Italy, home of Vitrifrigo...),

Bill

I get at least three of these boat wiring problems a month where it is believed
a low voltage spike on a Danfoss refrigeration module can be detected by a voltmeter.
To: Dick
Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2018 7:13 PM
Subject: Re: Danfoss BD2.5 Short Cycling


Thank you so much for your help!
I attached some jumper wires from the batteries directly to the ecm and it worked. Then it turned out to be that my ground wire had to many frayed stands and want grounding right. Embarrassing, but I'm glad it's working now haha.

Thank you for taking the time to email me back and helping a total stranger.
XXXXX


No need to be embarrassed for follow the right directions.

[a64pilot]

You can of course test voltage.
However the locked rotor surge from the compressor can, but not always be so quick that a multimeter won’t see the voltage drop if the wiring is inadequate, loose or corroded connection etc.
Do you have the trouble shooting led?
Long video, but about 14min in it the voltage drop during start up is discussed. Different unit, but worth watching of course as there are more similarities than differences.
https://youtu.be/r9FoE1uHzy8

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You can of course test voltage.
However the locked rotor surge from the compressor can, but not always be so quick that a multimeter won’t see the voltage drop if the wiring is inadequate, loose or corroded connection etc.
Do you have the trouble shooting led?
Long video, but about 14min in it the voltage drop during start up is discussed. Different unit, but worth watching of course as there are more similarities than differences.
https://youtu.be/r9FoE1uHzy8

Experienced technicians know that you can not see a millisecond low voltage spike with a voltmeter. If the problem was a result of starting load or on a different compressor instead of a boats wiring yes a voltage drop is probably visible. You should check with someone with experience with this problem like Rich from Technautic or Cleave at SeaFrost. Old boat small wiring, old inexpensive circuit breakers and and poor wire connectors are the problem.
The fool proof method method if you do not have an oscilloscope to look for a voltage spike is simple BY PASS ALL BOAT REFRIGERATOR WIRING it works every time.

[Beach View]

Thanks everyone who helped. It was, indeed, the simple thing: Voltage! Incoming voltage was 13.9 (I forget the state of the battery, but that should be enough to kick off the compressor). I sanded the ends of the male and female connections (folded up a bit of sand paper over a little blade) and it seems to be working fine now. Cheers, Bill.

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by Beach View

Thanks everyone who helped. It was, indeed, the simple thing: Voltage! Incoming voltage was 13.9 (I forget the state of the battery, but that should be enough to kick off the compressor). I sanded the ends of the male and female connections (folded up a bit of sand paper over a little blade) and it seems to be working fine now. Cheers, Bill.

Sometimes I think the only way to get the point across that a voltmeter is not the tool that will detect faults in Danfoss engineered control module boot up safety logic circuit is to respond with an insult. This same advice goes for similar safety boot up circuit in your computer, You won't find the problem there either with a Voltmeter.
I received three Danfoss modules over the week end one fixed speed and two variable speed. The 30 year old 4 pin fixed speed module was good but one of the newer modules was a failure. After returning maybe 100 of these module that tested good only twice that know of was the problem traced to the compressor failure do to mechanical starting torque. I have never charged anyone for testing their modules. Maybe when they tell me the voltage tested good with a voltmeter and module tested good I should charge the going rate of $50 as a penalty for not following my recommended 5 step non destructive test.
Mistakes are sometimes made because there is only one trouble LED code retained in module chip. If a low voltage code of one flash is not detected it can be masked over with a three flash code as compressor attempts a restart.

[Sailing_Pasha]

I have the same problem and I think it's a same type of freezer with 12v power.

Before I start applying the advises above, can I touch anywhere on this thing because it's 12v and I wont get shocked?

I just want to confirm this before digging through and figuring it out

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by Sailing_Pasha

I have the same problem and I think it's a same type of freezer with 12v power.

Before I start applying the advises above, can I touch anywhere on this thing because it's 12v and I wont get shocked?

I just want to confirm this before digging through and figuring it out

If you do not understand electricity do not mess with it. Your body is a delicate machine. Electric shocks, depending on certain conditions, can be fatal, even at relatively low voltages. What comes out of your wall outlet is deadly if you play around with it. Even electrical gadgets working off batteries can cause you serious damage. It has been said ( 1 1/2 volt across your heart can kill you.)

Sparks from shorted wires can cause burns shorted wires can start fires, more than one boat has burned to the water line.