It may have a "Fridge Switch" installed on the 12 volt wiring to the fridge. This turns the power off to the fridge when stopped so the battery is not flattened. This could be anywhere along the wire but probably behind the fridge with access from the bottom vent.
You could hook the van up in the yard and move it with someone inside to see if fridge turns on, if you can not find the switch if it has one. Google Fridge Switch to see what you are looking for.
no the van is parked up at home ,not connected to car
i thought the fridge would still run off the van battery
First things first rasa just connect the van up too your car start the engine and try the fridge again. If it is one of the automatic fridges that are popular these days the fridge will change too 12 volts as soon as you start your engine. be aware though when you turn off your car there will be a delay ( normally about 20 minutes ) before the gas relights itself, this is to ensure it does not light while you are filling at the fuel browser. Good luck Landy
__________________
In life it is important to know when to stop arguing with people
and simply let them be wrong.
tried the car on it today and it works on 12 volts
I asked the question regarding running the fridge on 12 volts when stationary as I thought I may have a blown fuse somewhere but it looks like the fridge only works on 12 volts when connected to the car
12v in a 3 way fridge will use about 12 - 15AH every hour. It won't take long to drain your batteries. If stopped for a few hours you more than likely have enough thermal mass in the fridge if you have packed it correctly. The fridge should be ok for 24 hours.
My compressor fridge (modified) uses 9 - 12AH per 24 hours.
Either chuck the dated technology or cut open the fridge and add a compressor fridge kit, like they use on boats.
__________________
Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!
50L custom fuel rack 6x20W 100/20mppt 4x26Ah gel 28L super insulated fridge TPMS 3 ARB compressors heatsink fan cooled 4L tank aftercooler Air/water OCD cleaning 4 stage car acoustic insulation.
tried the car on it today and it works on 12 volts
I asked the question regarding running the fridge on 12 volts when stationary as I thought I may have a blown fuse somewhere but it looks like the fridge only works on 12 volts when connected to the car
all good now so thanks
rasa
All you need to do is to make sure that if you stop, say for morning tea or lunch etc. with the van connected to your Vehicle & switched to 12v, that you switch it off so that you don't flatten the car battery.
You can buy a motion detecting switch designed for that purpose. ie. it switches off the 12v feed from the vehicle when the van is stationary.
In my case, when I stop for a break I switch the fridge to gas. All I have to remember is to switch it back to 12v & turn off the gas when I move off.
Just to complicate the situation, I found that the fridge didn't run too well off 12v through the 7 pin plug so I rewired the fridge 12v input to an Anderson plug and where I choose to, I connect the 12v battery charging lead from the vehicle direct to the fridge.
In this arrangement the Vehicle battery is disconnected when the motor is not running.
The solar remains connected to the battery to keep it charged at all times.
I can of course change over the 12v from the vehicle to the van battery (which switches off the solar charging feed) but if I do this the fridge is not powered. I still switch over to gas during long stops.
depending on the fridge, the 12V heating element will draw from between 20 to 40 amps.
One hour and your battery is toast, this is why they are wired to run from the car.
