Technical Thetford refrigerator N4000 series Model C2 not working on gas

[Nenagh52]

wa working when I bought it and now only works off the 12v when engine is running or the 240 V

Any thoughts, hot water and rings are working from the gas and the van is level.
Thanks as always

ps
I have watched a lot of stuff on Youtube , largely unhelpful

 

[bugsymike]

In the past when I had gas fridges in campers, the three things I found was
1\ As you say level ground, to the point I had a two way spirit level on the top of fridge.
2\ A good clean burning flame, visibly central in the tube away from the edges.
3\ I always used propane rather than butane as got much colder fridge.
I haven't used any in the last 10 years or so, so I apologise if this is irrelevant with modern systems.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Make sure the fridge gas supply is not isolated / turned off. Ours was inside the adjacent cupboard. Easily forgotten if turned off at a seasons end.

Can you get the fridge to light? Generally there will be a little viewing window in the front at the base on one side, that allows you to see the pilot flame is lit. You will also feel the heat from the exhaust vent outside if its lit.
I have experienced a need to clean the burner of sooty deposits that have prevented lighting. This requires removal of the fridge to get access.
There is also a flame detection device that can fail much as per a gas cooker. Ive had to change one of these before too. A lot of work to get at teh relatively easy to change parts. Do use the correct gas tite sealer and check carefully for leaks on completion. Make sure the flue vent is correctly aligned and connected too as a bad connection can dishcharge lethal carbon monoxide into the van.
Its likely lost its refrigerent gas and needs an overhaul if the van is getting on. There are a few places that can do this but its a specialist job. Im not convinced its worth it as oposed to a new fridge if it has failed.

 

[Nenagh52]

Make sure the fridge gas supply is not isolated / turned off. Ours was inside the adjacent cupboard. Easily forgotten if turned off at a seasons end.

Can you get the fridge to light? Generally there will be a little viewing window in the front at the base on one side, that allows you to see the pilot flame is lit. You will also feel the heat from the exhaust vent outside if its lit.
I have experienced a need to clean the burner of sooty deposits that have prevented lighting. This requires removal of the fridge to get access.
There is also a flame detection device that can fail much as per a gas cooker. Ive had to change one of these before too. A lot of work to get at teh relatively easy to change parts. Do use the correct gas tite sealer and check carefully for leaks on completion. Make sure the flue vent is correctly aligned and connected too as a bad connection can dishcharge lethal carbon monoxide into the van.
Its likely lost its refrigerent gas and needs an overhaul if the van is getting on. There are a few places that can do this but its a specialist job. Im not convinced its worth it as oposed to a new fridge if it has failed.

This is the bottom outside access panel for the fridge: any thoughts on how to remove it, it seems to be clipped on an inner piece which is screwed and siliconed to the van, but no slots to insert a screwdriver or similar.
Any thoughts?

 

[bugsymike]

This is the bottom outside access panel for the fridge: any thoughts on how to remove it, it seems to be clipped on an inner piece which is screwed and siliconed to the van, but no slots to insert a screwdriver or similar.
Any thoughts?

Apart from making sure that vent is not blocked and you can feel warm air coming out of it when fridge working I don't think prising the cover off outside will do much good,
As @The Panda Nut says, depending on what model fridge it is you should be able to see the gas flame behind a front cover when properly running.
If you are not certain I would read the operating manual for your make of fridge and if still not right get a gas engineer to check it as people have been killed in motorhomes etc. when overcome with fumes or if there is an explosion.

 

[Nenagh52]

100% re the risks etc so just want to look, there is no viewing from the front i.e. from inside the van so need to look at it from outside.
I have a borescope which may fit through the slots in the grill.
Thanks as always

 

[Communicator]

100% re the risks etc so just want to look, there is no viewing from the front i.e. from inside the van so need to look at it from outside.
I have a borescope which may fit through the slots in the grill.
Thanks as always

I may be behind mistaken, but I thought that most fridge grilles were removeable.

 

[bugsymike]

I would get a operating manual, maybe download one from online, usually there is some way to see if flame is lit and ignited correctly from inside the van. there are several bits online about lighting fridges , so see if one lists your model.

 

[The Panda Nut]

100% re the risks etc so just want to look, there is no viewing from the front i.e. from inside the van so need to look at it from outside.
I have a borescope which may fit through the slots in the grill.
Thanks as always

AH! I remember the pilot window in our last fridge was in the back of the fridge. View from inside the fridge. A small round spot on the rearcase. You had to line yourself up or the flame was invisible. Not just a case of looking straight at it. The flame should be a clean blue colour not yellow as Im sure you are aware. Im pretty sure out local caravan place had fridge gas nozzles in the retail shop they also had the thermo couples and the correct gas tite sealant and gas specific PTFE tape.

On some installations there are two of these vents one top and one bottom. I f I remember right they are fixed from inside making the wall a sandwich and held by 4 or 6 self tappers.

Fridge will be held around the edges by screws into the cupboard. If you have an instruction book it should ahve the details.

I have removed the fridge several times and its not difficult, but there are sharp edges. Turn the gas off, s#turn it off again at the fridge isolator and undo the supply pipe. Our fridge had a shrounded exhaust port about 3 inches square that removes from out side. After you take off the shround the inner part has a flue that goes down and mine just sat over the fridges exhaust pipe, This is probably held in place with 4 self tappers under the shround - fixed from the outside. Heat does the job of extracting by itself. Once the flue is out of the way the fridge will slide forward and the many sharp edges will cut your hands to ribbons while you are at it, so I would wear gloves if you get this far. If the gas is still there a new nozzle and a new thermo couple would be worth a go, but if that doesnt work its either a valve issue which is unlikely or more likely that thermo couple. I always carried a spare after the first failure, or its lost its gas which was what happend to us in the end. I never had ours re gassed as the cost was very high and our caravan old, it was scrapped a couple of years back.

 

[Nenagh52]

Thanks for the ideas re the installation manual which I have now found online

 

[Nenagh52]

No access from the front of the fridge, succeeded in getting off the bottom vent cover, the two black clips shown below, which are on top, slide sideways and it is suppose to hinge down but all 4 hinges have been broken, hence the silicone. The second picture show all I need to see, so will explore this once the rain stops

 

[Nenagh52]

So took out the three hex head screws visible in the bottom right, exposing the burner and the ignition system, all looked shiny and clean so turned on the gas and it worked, so am none the wiser.
Want to correct the post above about the grill, on closer examination and hashing cleaned off the silicone, the bottom has 4 protrusions that slip up underneath similar on the frame on the van and hold it in place so very easy to remove it, as long as its not siliconed up, will take off the top one tomorrow

 

[The Panda Nut]

If it doesnt get cold you have probably lost the refrigerant gas. Getting it refilled and resealed is possible but specialist and costly. Its either run it only on elctricity or remove and repair and replace. There are OK working firdges about from caravan breakers.

 

[Crossingkeeper]

Not sure of that model of fridge but assuming its the older type where you select the heating source (rather than the automatic selection type) I recall one occasion when my fridge stopped freezing/cooling when in gas mode despite the gas burner apparently working.

I immediately assumed the refrigerant had leaked out and spent the next two days researching replacement models that might fit, caravan breakers etc, then we moved onto a site with EHU and the fridge worked perfectly on 240v!

It transpired that the gas burner was not working at 100% efficiency so couldn't heat the refrigerant properly and just needed servicing. The fridge then worked perfectly until I sold the van.

 

[Nenagh52]

perhaps I was a little obscure with my opening post.
The fault arose when I shut down the engine or disconnected the mains, with the setting to automatic.
The fault showed as the screen flashing and the on off button showing red.
I presume the cooling mechanism is the same for all power sources?
The van is two years old.

 

[Crossingkeeper]

The fault arose when I shut down the engine or disconnected the mains, with the setting to automatic.
The fault showed as the screen flashing and the on off button showing red.
I presume the cooling mechanism is the same for all power sources?
The van is two years old.

I didn't realise it was an AES model, I've had no experience with these, but yes, I assume the cooling/refrigerant system is the same.

As your van is only two years old and the fault suddenly occurred it seems less likely that the burner has sooted up (as was the case with mine)

 

[ninian324]

Thanks for the ideas re the installation manual which I have now found online

How to remove the outside grill, If you look at the top of the grill you will see two BLACK sliders, just move them to one side and this will release the grill cover.

 

[Nenagh52]

How to remove the outside grill, If you look at the top of the grill you will see two BLACK sliders, just move them to one side and this will release the grill cover.

Thanks ,I did eventually figure that out