MacGregorSailors.com

I recently purchased an Edgestar 43qt mini-frig for my 26X. I don't have an inverter, but attempted to use the cigarette lighter plug-in. The frig compressor would come on and go off about 3x before sitting idle, with the power light and temp reading still on and lit. The frig never came on in a working manner. I called Edgestar service and they took it back and sent another frig, citing that the temp gauge must've been foul.

So I got a new (different) frig and the same thing is occurring.

I plugged the frig into my truck's lighter outlet with it running and it worked perfectly!

I purchased a 3rd battery and wired it "parallel" with another (1-separate, 2-parallel), thinking the voltage draw might be low. Running the frig off the parallel batteries, the same issue occurs.

A 15-Amp fuse is in place. After reading the manual, it doesn't appear the frig would be drawing too many amps, so I am at a loss!

Might anybody know what the problem could be?

TJ

I have the same fridge. You'll love it!

The compressor takes a lot of power to start up. Once it's running, not so much.

Your problem is the 12v outlet. Many of them are junk and have poor contacts. Or....your wiring to the outlet is junk. Not able to supply decent amperage for the compressor to start.

I would run a heavy gauge (12) stranded wire directly to your panel or battery (fuse it at the battery if you do) and then to where your fridge is going to sit. Then cut off that cigarette plug and splice and solder the power cord to this new wire run. You won't have any more problems.

If you don't want to cut off the lighter plug, buy a quality 12v outlet and run a dedicated 12 gauge run to it.

I have a heavy wire going to my fridge and have wired in a 12v timer. It turns the fridge on every day at 6am and off at noon. This prechills the fridge so if we head to the boat it's already cold when we get there. 80w solar panel keeps batts topped off.
I have a single deep cycle battery for the boat's house needs like the fridge.

--Russ

Concur with Russ. You've got a power drop through your wiring that can be solved by directly connecting (through a switch) to your battery.

Test by directly wiring to a single battery and see if it works without anything else in the loop.

RussMT wrote:I have the same fridge. You'll love it!

The compressor takes a lot of power to start up. Once it's running, not so much.

Your problem is the 12v outlet. Many of them are junk and have poor contacts. Or....your wiring to the outlet is junk. Not able to supply decent amperage for the compressor to start.

I would run a heavy gauge (12) stranded wire directly to your panel or battery (fuse it at the battery if you do) and then to where your fridge is going to sit. Then cut off that cigarette plug and splice and solder the power cord to this new wire run. You won't have any more problems.

If you don't want to cut off the lighter plug, buy a quality 12v outlet and run a dedicated 12 gauge run to it.

I have a heavy wire going to my fridge and have wired in a 12v timer. It turns the fridge on every day at 6am and off at noon. This prechills the fridge so if we head to the boat it's already cold when we get there. 80w solar panel keeps batts topped off.
I have a single deep cycle battery for the boat's house needs like the fridge.

--Russ

Thanks Russ! I have already soldered the wires & cig plug with a fuse connection. Next step, take it to the boat this evening. I'll let you know!

mastreb wrote:Concur with Russ. You've got a power drop through your wiring that can be solved by directly connecting (through a switch) to your battery.

Test by directly wiring to a single battery and see if it works without anything else in the loop.

Thanks for the added support on Russ's response! Glad I didn't have to wait long for some knowledgable people to share their advice!

SUCCESS!!!

My can now maintain chilled edibles!

Awesome. You will love that fridge.

RussMT wrote:Awesome. You will love that fridge.

Now the question is.....What location will I find it best to be placed.

I had the same problem with my Dometic. Not sure of the features on yours, but mine has a setting for preserving the battery where it shuts off when the voltage falls below a certain level. If you have this feature, set yours for the least level of battery protection - the lowest shutoff voltage. Also, make sure you are plugged in near the battery as reasonable and running on heavy gauge wiring in order to minimize voltage drops in the wiring.

I have a dometic as well and agree with everything stated. We have been cruising since the 21st of May and our unit has performed flawlessly.

The edge star doesn't have these nifty settings that I'm aware of. However, it will not turn on if the voltage is low, which I believe was the issue with the OP. Just got back from a weekend on the boat and the fridge won't start if the voltage is low. Had to run the engine for a while to raise voltage.

It's a great fridge and keeps our stuff very cold. One of the best investments in the boat for us. No more soggy food. And we keep stuff COLD (33) degrees, so a bottle of water is ice cold.

I have had the Edgestar 63 quart frig. on my boat for 4 years. The 12 volt cord only worked for 2 mo. The rep. sent me a modular that didn't work.
I have been running it on a 100 watt AC inverter since.
Member that suggest hot wire with 12 gage wire are right on. (use a fuse on hot line)
Dave

GBhole wrote:I recently purchased an Edgestar 43qt mini-frig for my 26X. I don't have an inverter, but attempted to use the cigarette lighter plug-in. The frig compressor would come on and go off about 3x before sitting idle, with the power light and temp reading still on and lit. The frig never came on in a working manner. I called Edgestar service and they took it back and sent another frig, citing that the temp gauge must've been foul.

So I got a new (different) frig and the same thing is occurring.

I plugged the frig into my truck's lighter outlet with it running and it worked perfectly!

I purchased a 3rd battery and wired it "parallel" with another (1-separate, 2-parallel), thinking the voltage draw might be low. Running the frig off the parallel batteries, the same issue occurs.

A 15-Amp fuse is in place. After reading the manual, it doesn't appear the frig would be drawing too many amps, so I am at a loss!

Might anybody know what the problem could be?

TJ

I see you have an x. I don't know where you can locate that. Here is where I put mine. The m has a seat across from the head which we never used.