Need help ASAP

[kwayRN]

We brought our Cedar Creek 38CK to Hot Springs to visit our daughter. When we got here and unhooked our Freedom HF 1800 inverter was beeping and gave a E03 code even when connected to shore power. The code says "AC output overload shutdown". The inverter would not shut off when on shore power. So right now the light is still RED with E03 showing in display.

Everything in the rig is working EXCEPT the refrigerator which is a Kitchenaid residential fridge.

Please help! We've been on the phone with a friend who is a RV technician in another state. Hubby did everything he suggested and still nothing.

Help! We full time in this and have never had any problems until now! All of my food will be wasted if we can't figure this out.


2015 Cedar Creek 38CK
2015 Silverado 3500HD Diesel Dually

[ftum]

Do not know anything about your rig, however, some where on this site I have read that you can access the fridge from the outside and plug it into a 110 outlet with extension cord. Hope I have not mislead you. Good luck!!

[hoosierrun]

Originally Posted by kwayRN

We brought our Cedar Creek 38CK to Hot Springs to visit our daughter. When we got here and unhooked our Freedom HF 1800 inverter was beeping and gave a E03 code even when connected to shore power. The code says "AC output overload shutdown". The inverter would not shut off when on shore power. So right now the light is still RED with E03 showing in display.

Everything in the rig is working EXCEPT the refrigerator which is a Kitchenaid residential fridge.

Please help! We've been on the phone with a friend who is a RV technician in another state. Hubby did everything he suggested and still nothing.

Help! We full time in this and have never had any problems until now! All of my food will be wasted if we can't figure this out.


2015 Cedar Creek 38CK
2015 Silverado 3500HD Diesel Dually

I'm assuming the fuse and breaker for the fridge has been checked. Since it is a residential fridge, is it possible to unplug and tried out in a different outlet?
It might be that the fridge went bad. Many residential refrigerators are not made to be powered when transported because the oil can get into the compression (gas) side of the compressor and lock it up. Every home refridge and freezer I have ever bought warns about not plugging it in until it has sat a while to let the oil settle. That is only a theory since you say it has operated normally on other trips.

If a breaker pops when tried on another electrical outlet, then I would say your fridge is bad. Then you may have to temporarily get a cooler and ice to prevent spoilage. Broke fridge's are definitely a PITA. Best of luck there. I hope this comes through since I seem to be having a problem posting.

[kwayRN]

Thank you for your responses. Hubby disconnected the shore power for a few minutes. We then turned off the inverter. Miraculously when he reconnected to shore power the inverter turned back on in proper charging mode and the error code went away. Best of all the fridge now works!


2015 Cedar Creek 38CK
2015 Silverado 3500HD Diesel Dually

[mocarski]

our RV has a relay that switches the power from the AC shore power to a cord that plugs into the stock inverter. We also had a Magnum inverter installed that errors based upon how charged the batteries are and sometimes when plugging into shore power. There are settings on the Magnum inverter I can change to work around both issues. The battery issue is a feature of the inverter. You can set the battery voltage you want the inverter to shut off so you don't run your batteries down too far. The shore power issue usually happens when we plug into 15 amp service. I suspect it's due to power fluctuations or other issues with the shore power. Both issues we can work around by making changes to the Magnum settings.

The inverter that came with the RV was set up to only power the fridge. The new inverter powers all AC circuits except for our air conditioners, washer/dryer, and fireplace.

When we plug into 15 amp service, the relay switches power to the inverter plug and turns off the circuit that powers the fridge through our new inverter. If I can plug the same fridge as we have in our RV to a 15amp circuit at home it doesn't make sense that the relay trips at 15 amps, but we will be removing the relay completely. Our workaround is to unplug the fridge from outlet it's plugged into (luckily it's accessible in a cabinet above the fridge) and plug it into another outlet that is powered by our new inverter and doesn't run through the relay.

For our after market Magnum inverter install we added a residential electrical subpanel in a closet above the RV stock electrical distribution box. The shore power comes into the stock distribution box then through circuit breakers to the Magnum inverter. Power returns from the inverter to the new subpanel and then out to the individual circuits in the new subpanel. All electrical components except for the wires are in plain view and easily accessible making troubleshooting and fixing issues very easy.

Unfortunately the wiring on every RV we've ever owned has been questionable, had hidden components, and caused issues eventually. We picked up our current RV less than 3 months ago and spent a lot of money to make sure the wiring was right because of our experience with the manufacturer wiring in these things. I owned a general contracting company and none of the RV's I've owned were within code or would have passed a residential electrical inspection.

things to try:

- look for the outlet where your residential fridge is plugged into and try plugging the fridge into another outlet in the coach to determine if the fridge works. with any luck you can get to the plug easily. if the fridge works in another outlet then it's not likely the fridge.

- check documentation for your inverter and see if there are settings you can change to address the error. The documentation should at least let you know what the error is and suggestions to fix it

- check with someone to see if there is a relay that may have gone bad somewhere in the circuit. When plugged in you shouldn't be pulling power from the inverter. Check with the manufacturer. If there is no separate relay then the inverter is probably bad.

- throw a bag of ice in the freezer and one in the fridge. until we figured out our issues that worked really well for us. worked better in the freezer than the fridge but it saved a lot of food from spoiling until we could get things fixed

In my experience most RVs aren't wired properly, especially for boondocking or full timing. We spent a lot of money fixing wiring issues in our new luxury 5th wheel. The wiring for the inverter and refrigerator was seriously funky and we are in the process of completely replacing it to address the issues.

One thing to consider is replacing the inverter you have with a Magnum. Magnum's are very expensive but they are one of or maybe the best inverter on the market. I've read that Xantrex used to be really good too but changed to lower end components and started sourcing their components overseas with lower quality stuff and are recently having more issues.

The 03 error on that unit means that the stuff trying to pull power from the inverter exceeds the capacity of the inverter. Assuming the only thing pulling power is your fridge then something went awry with your wiring or the inverter. I'm not aware of any way to work around either of those other than having a qualified electrician look at it.

[jelag]

KwayRN... there is a lot of good information above but from the way you write about your issues you might not have the background to really diagnose this and repair it.

I'd suggest that when your past this... you get a simple book on RV wiring and learn and understand ohm's law... from reading between the lines and my background I'm sure if I was there, in an hour or so a good tech would diagnosis and give you an answer for repair without throwing parts at it....

I disagree with the comment about the oil giving you issues in the compressor of the fridge... oil in any cooling system is an oil that will vaporize and mist in the system... and the Freon or refrigerant... is designed to carry the oil throughout the system... YES if the unit is OFF and on its side... liquid can move around... but once its upright for 24 hours and than powered up... there is not a problem...

So I'm saying.... find a good tech for now... get it fixed and than read and learn... or find a good friend or tech that you know and can communicate with to better express your needs....

Once you understand ohm's law and the issues with starting current, and the load that starting current places on an inverter... I can easily see where 2 or 3 items might have tired to start at the same time... thus overloading the inverter... and giving you the code... and later how it was cleared and now functions...

Hope this has been of some help...

[MtnTrek]

Originally Posted by hoosierrun

I'm assuming the fuse and breaker for the fridge has been checked. Since it is a residential fridge, is it possible to unplug and tried out in a different outlet?
It might be that the fridge went bad. Many residential refrigerators are not made to be powered when transported because the oil can get into the compression (gas) side of the compressor and lock it up. Every home refridge and freezer I have ever bought warns about not plugging it in until it has sat a while to let the oil settle. That is only a theory since you say it has operated normally on other trips.

This would only be relevant if the device, refrig., freezer, A/C unit had been inverted or on it's side / back. The compressor has a wet sump similar to an engine. No oil no run long time.
Be well.

[YC1]

Welcome to the forum.

The inverter is like a computer that goes goofy when the power goes low.

Sometimes you have to pull the plug to get it to boot up. In some cases, you have to disconnect the batteries as well to get things to wake up properly.

Glad you have it running and do check to see if you could plug it in via an extension cord.