Furrion 12volt refrigerator

[ps146364]

We picked up our 2024 Montana 3123RL in August of 23 it came with the Furrion 12 volt refrigerator, 200 watt solar package with 2 100 amp hour dragon fly lithium batteries.
We headed for our favorite snow bird place November 1, by November 15 the refrigerator had quit working. So we jumped through all the hoops to get a replacement. It was December 14 when the replacement one was installed.
here it is February 26 and now the new refrigerator is dead.
Anyone else having issues with their Furrion refrigerator?

[KingRanchFan]

Can you tell us what you mean it died again? Power? cooling? Seen several but no issues yet. They Might have a pesky fuse that others have complained about. They said wire size was not enough to support it.
Thanks,

[AZ Traveler]

Bill,

The 12 v compressor reefers are relatively new - only a few of our members have them. We are very interested in learning about your issues with it.

[ps146364]

The cavity lights would blink when the door was open, when the ice maker was turned off the lights would work fine. After a couple of days everything quit working. Apparently though there is a heat strip in the flap of the left door, it got hot and stayed hot until we pulled the fuse at the converter.
After the new replacement fridge was installed the 15amp fuse in the converter kept burning out. Went through a half dozen fuses until we installed a 20 amp fuse. The instruction manual says a 20 amp minimum circuit is required not to exceed 40 amps. Makes sense because there are 2 40 amp fuses on top of the fridge just prior to the control board. I think the wire gage is small but the representative at keystone assured me that the engineers have it all figured out and 8AWG is good enough. The instructions in the manual say otherwise.

[KingRanchFan]

This does seem to be similar to what others were finding on other brands. Furrion recommended an 8 if wire is 15 to 25 ft. I don’t know the path they took to pull the wire. A voltage drop of .4 vdc would tell us. But now you can’t tell if it is dead. I’ve been trying to get my head around this before I ordered the fridge in my trailer, but finally gave in because I hadn’t seen much negative and the GE freezer is too small to store much.
I wish we knew the drop in voltage as that will drive up the current. They make some suggestions to help if wire is lighter than needed. Please keep us posted, thanks Brad

[Route66Rambler]

When we replaced our LP/Electric fridge with a 12volt compressor fridge, the wiring had to upgraded to a larger size wire as detailed from the manufacturer-Norcold. You need to check the installation manual for the fridge and then check the wiring to make sure it is what is called for in the manual. If not this will have to be done as well as the fuse you have already identified. Also, the ventilation has be as stated in the manual. Ours needs an open space at the bottom and the top and of the fridge for airflow. If the ventilation is not adequate then the unit could be over heating.

[JeffBussman]

Yes, we have a 2024 Montana Legacy 3123 RL with a 12 V Furrion fridge that has not been working for 2+ months. Dealer has replaced a couple parts and it still doesn’t work.

[ps146364]

Keystone failed to follow the installation instructions provided in the refrigerator manual.
For the length of our wire run from the converter to the refrigerator approximately 30 feet the AWG should be 6 Keystone installed 8, the minimum circuit rating should be 20 amps keystone installed a 15 amp fuse.
After our original refrigerator was replaced the 15 amp fuse would blow multiple times a day until we installed a 20 amp fuse. When the refrigerator (original & new) were running the cooling fan for the converter would run way more than normal.
Because we will be heading home soon we have decided to wait until then to take it in for another replacement refrigerator, sometime around mid April. In the meantime we bought a dorm size fridge for the remainder of our time on the road.

[KingRanchFan]

Got to ask the question if anyone has a Furrion 12vdc fridge that is working? Sounds like everyone has no luck with it, I hope Montana engineering is monitoring this thread. It would be nice PR if they popped in, mine is 3 weeks out from being born, thinking I should have stayed with the GE. I would think if we’re replacing multiple times someone up there would call a timeout to ask what is going on, is it the fridge or the installation?

[ps146364]

I just talked with a technician at Lippert/Furrion concerning my “12 volt” refrigerator. Turns out that the refrigerator has a built in inverter so it is actually a 110 volt refrigerator. The inverter is part of the control board.

[KingRanchFan]

Thanks for the update, that helps in understanding why the wire size and battery voltage are sensitive to this system. It seems people love them if they don't have a power issue. It also gives me insight to the ventilation required to keep the inverter cool in a hot trailer. I think once we understand them we will be fine. I may pull a larger wire if I see the voltage drop at the fridge, you definitely want a higher voltage lithium to support it overnight. Thanks for the information, keep it coming.