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Old 12-06-2024, 01:43 PM   #1
High5er
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Furrion 12v Fridge Misbehaving

We have a Furrion 12 Refrigerator (Model FCR20DCAFA) refrigerator and it's started acting a bit strange. My wife hears a strange hum from time to time (I don't but I don't hear very well ). It shut itself off a month or two ago and today the lights stopped working in the fridge and freezer but the temps still displayed inside the door. The only way to get it back to normal was to pull the fuse to completely power it down, then put it back in to power it back up. Then it was like nothing ever happened.

Has anyone had this issue with this model or any other 12v fridge? Any idea what might cause this?

Is this just typical when running it 24/7/365 (i.e. does it need a reset periodically)?

I also had an issue with the 120v side of my water heater as well... I know the fridge isn't on 120v but the converter is. Could there be an electrical issue causing problems with these appliances? I feel like these issues are probably unrelated but though it worth mentioning since they happened just days apart.
 
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Old 12-18-2024, 05:26 PM   #2
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Yes we have a 2024 Montana Legacy 3123RL and we are on our fourth 12 volt Furrion frigerator. I had read somewhere that possibly the wiring was undersized and I let the dealer know. They checked with Keystone and they said no it is correct. This last refrigerator (Nov 2024) they finally said no it needs to be rewired. We have used it 8 days so far without issues.
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Old 12-18-2024, 06:28 PM   #3
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This doesn't sound good, can't they get the bugs out of a new product before you spend a ton of money and suffer great frustration with the product, in this case a 12 volt refrig.
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Old 12-18-2024, 10:15 PM   #4
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Thanks for the info. This is the first time it’s acted up in a year and has been behaving itself since the original post. Fingers crossed it was just a fluke.
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Old 01-05-2025, 06:21 PM   #5
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The Furrion finally died. I’m looking at a Dutchaire 12v as a possible replacement. Does anyone have experience with them? Are they any good?
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Old 01-09-2025, 02:24 PM   #6
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New update in the Furrion Refrigerator saga. I had a mobile tech lined up to coordinate the purchase and installation of a replacement and he flaked out on me. I called another mobile tech and he didn't think it needed to be replaced.

He came out and tore the fridge and freezer apart and found a massive amount of ice on the coils, blocking the air intake from the freezer to the fridge. We let it run overnight and still a warm refrigerator. He called Lippert and they admitted that at the time we purchased this, they were in the midst of replacing all the original control boards with corrected versions. The tech confirmed with them we have the old, wrong board and ordered the right one. Lippert confirmed the bad board would cause all of the symptoms we're experiencing. Hopefully in a few days I'll be able to post a success story.

So far the lesson learned here is not to automatically believe you need to replace a 12v fridge if you're having issues and make sure if you do spend thousands, it's based on the diagnosis of a tech you can trust.
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Old 01-17-2025, 09:48 AM   #7
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Final update. It took more than a few days because Fed Ex is terrible. The new board was installed last night and this morning we have a functional refrigerator again! If you're having issues with a Furrion FCR20DCAFA 12v refrigerator not cooling, you can easily tell if you have the right control board or not. The new board has a visible heat sink attached to it and the original incorrect board does not.
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Old 01-18-2025, 06:18 AM   #8
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Hello Dave, thank you for the information. I looked at Lippert's website and found a picture of a control board. I see a small heat sink on it, but I'm thinking it will be very noticeable. Can you tell us if this picture is of the old board?

Also, to see this board on the refrigerator do we have to pull it out of the cavity to see the board? I'm not having issues but would like to check, and I bet the board is on back of the unit.

Thanks, Brad
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Old 01-18-2025, 07:22 AM   #9
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Sorry for the fire drill, I found a You Tube video of a control board swap. It was on top and you can see the updated heat sink on the New Version that was not on the old board design. Furrion should offer a recall on the earlier s/n units. here is the link on the swap.
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Old 01-29-2025, 02:00 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KingRanchFan View Post
Sorry for the fire drill
Sorry I was late getting back to you. Yes, you can clearly see the heat sink on the new board and the pic you posted is the old, incorrect board.

If you replace the board yourself, I recommend taking pictures before you unplug everything. It may not be necessary as I believe most plugs are sized differently, but it's good for peace of mind when you start plugging the new one in.
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