Gang.
My AB Cold Machine has been working fine for a couple years and turned it off a couple weeks ago because I was going away from the boat and wanted to defrost. Now it wont come back on. The unit I have is fan cooled and has the LED indicator lights and there is no blinking light and I've checked that I've getting power there already. My unit is mounted behind the aft water tank on my 91 C34 so it's a major pain to get to. Any thoughts on this? Could the temp sender not be sending anything or could the panel be shot? The 5 and 15 A fuses were intact.
Mine gave up on me near the end of our summer cruise a few years ago. I went through all the tests you have likely done and researched the problem online (incl this site). I concluded I needed a new controller for the Adler Barbour and ordered it from HMP in Toronto. Unfortunately, no joy. I rechecked everything. All the fuses and breakers checked out fine. I had 12.5+V at the power input but, as the unit tried to cycle on, the voltage dropped to almost nothing. It turned out to be a bad switch at the power distribution panel. The rocker switch had enough continuity to deliver 12.5V under no load but opened as soon as a load was applied. I made a jumper cable to bypass the refrigeration switch on the panel and all was well. I then exchanged the bad refrigeration switch with a little used switch on our boat (shower sump pump) to see us through the rest of the season. I now have a spare controller if mine ever does fail.
I ordered new switches online (I'll see if I can find the specifics).
It's worth a try to jumper your switch at the power panel before ordering the now obsolete and fairly hard to find control panel.
rParts
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,9065.msg65780.html#msg65780
and
Fridges 101 (Adler Barbour Repairs & Troubleshooting from Richard Kollmann)
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6956.0.html
Fridge Follies 101 - to prove that Richard is right and that 99% of fridge issues are electrical
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,3044.0.html
Ever spring I have to jumper out the thermostat at the compressor unit then it works fine all season. Also take a screwdriver an tight all conn. Charlie
Hey guys so I was able to get it running and cooling by bypassing the thermostat with the jumper cable. Next question, what's the long term fix for this or do you just turn it on and off and let it run all the time or off all the time?
Well I think I got it. I tested continuity of the thermostat with dial in both coldest and 0 settings and got nothing. Then I just connected the 2 thermostat wires together at the tstat and it kicked on. So I'm thermostat shopping.
Nothing facilitates troubleshooting like collecting data. :clap
Excellent thread. Stu mentioned a few weeks ago that the vast majority of refrigeration issues are electrical. This is just another example of his wise advice. In my case it was a loose ground wire.
Some guys on this thread having problems with their Adler Barbour have traced the problem to the switch on the main panel. I'm just curious, behind your main panel are you having corrosion issues or does it appear clean behind the panel? I pulled my main panel and it looked clean. My AB runs it's just not getting very cold, I'm following Stu's advice and looking for electrical connection problems first.
Quote from: scgunner on August 30, 2017, 08:35:47 AM
Some guys on this thread having problems with their Adler Barbour have traced the problem to the switch on the main panel. I'm just curious, behind your main panel are you having corrosion issues or does it appear clean behind the panel? I pulled my main panel and it looked clean. My AB runs it's just not getting very cold, I'm following Stu's advice and looking for electrical connection problems first.
If it runs but not getting cold sounds more like a refrigerant leak than an electrical issue.
I had this same problem a month ago and the refrigeration repairman determined I had good voltage when the compressor wasn't running. But under load the voltage dropped to 9 volts. He checked the wire size from the electrical panel and determined it was proper size. But he found that the ground wire was loose on the ground bus bar. He tightened the screw and the compressor started running and the evaporator started freezing over. $180 for a loose screw!
Well, unfortunately I think I've exhausted all my electrical options, I've got 12+ volts from power thru switch, thru fuse all the way to the main compressor unit where it shows 12.5 on the voltmeter. It's possible it could be a Freon leak as suggested by Mark, examination of the fittings and lines show some noticeable corrosion, that being the case and the fact it takes Freon 12 I don't know that a recharge would be worthwhile or even possible.
Looks like this cheapo Adler Barbour unit crapped out after only 31 years, I guess they just don't make'm like they used to. Looks like my next option is to replace it with a new unit. Has anyone here done this?
I did not have to replace my unit but did some research onoptions.
CAILEIGH ANNA REFRIGERATION
The icebox is 3.8 cubic feet per owner's manual info.
Existing unit
Adler Barber by Dometic CU-100 air cooled condenser (15 cubic feet max capacity) with VD-150 Evaporator (9 Cu. Ft. Max capacity) Icebox.
CU-100 Condenser
Width - 10" x High - 7.5" x Depth 11.1"
West Marine - Retail $799.99
Defender $729.99
VD-150 Evaporator
West Marine - Retail $479.99
Defender $424.99
Amazon $470.99
Hugh,
Thanks for the info., it's helpful. I think I'm going to stick with the AB C-100 unit for the sake of simplicity, hopefully it will be a straight out and in replacement.
Quote from: scgunner on August 30, 2017, 08:39:05 PM
Well, unfortunately I think I've exhausted all my electrical options, I've got 12+ volts from power thru switch, thru fuse all the way to the main compressor unit where it shows 12.5 on the voltmeter. It's possible it could be a Freon leak as suggested by Mark, examination of the fittings and lines show some noticeable corrosion, that being the case and the fact it takes Freon 12 I don't know that a recharge would be worthwhile or even possible.
Looks like this cheapo Adler Barbour unit crapped out after only 31 years, I guess they just don't make'm like they used to. Looks like my next option is to replace it with a new unit. Has anyone here done this?
Power --- what's the voltage "sag" when then unit starts up? Measuring no load voltage tells you and us nothing. BTDT. I traced my problem to the module.
R12 Refrigerant --- is still available. But if your problem is electrical, your refrigerant may be just fine. The older units didn't have Schrader valves, and I think that mine, at least, is still OK because of the lack of those valves, i.e., two less possible places for it to leak. Once I replaced the module last year it's still doin' fine.
Yup, 31 years, what could we possibly expect? :D Good one. :clap
Stu,
When you say module are you talking about the little black box with the 15 amp fuse and where the red and black wire from the panel are screwed in? If so where did you find this little gem and how much did it cost? As you can see I'm willing to try anything to avoid a complete change out.
Quote from: scgunner on August 31, 2017, 11:07:15 AM
Stu,
When you say module are you talking about the little black box with the 15 amp fuse and where the red and black wire from the panel are screwed in? If so where did you find this little gem and how much did it cost? As you can see I'm willing to try anything to avoid a complete change out.
Yes, that's it.
Here: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,9065.0.html
'Member, this is an option only if you have troubleshooted to confirm it's your module. If it is indeed a voltage issue you now know how to check that and the T stat, if refrigerant you'd see uneven cooling on the plates.
Also don't know if you've seen these, more background on my situation over the years:
Fridges 101 (Adler Barbour Repairs & Troubleshooting from Richard Kollmann)
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6956.0.html
Fridge Follies 101 - to prove that Richard is right and that 99% of fridge issues are electrical
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,3044.0.html
[this is a repeat from my post #2 on page one]
Stu,
I tested the voltage at the input to the module today with the compressor and fan running and got 12.4 volts, no sag. Also the compressor appears to be running constantly now so I'm thinking it might be a refrigerant problem after all.
Quote from: scgunner on September 01, 2017, 09:57:22 PM
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Also the compressor appears to be running constantly now so I'm thinking it might be a refrigerant problem after all.
I went back and read this entire thread from where you joined in. You said you had some evidence of corrosion, but it appears that you haven't yet commented on the T stat or even/uneven cooling on the plate when the compressor runs all the time, though you've done the voltage-under-load check. Also, have you read the Kollmann material?, although you've done the electrical check he does have more info unfortunately the stuff about the module is mostly the ones with the idiot lights! :D I did however, use his material to diagnose my 1986 pre-idiot-light unit and, based on my experiences with the unit for the prior 16 years as described in the second of those two links, confirm it was the module.
Stu,
I have read just about everything on the site pertaining to this subject looking for that silver bullet. You've provided a veritable buffet of useful information on the subject, much appreciated, thanks.
As far as the condenser goes, it feels uniformly cold on all four sides, slightly colder on the sides butted up against the refer walls probably due to the insulation in the walls. I took a look at the T stat but I'm not really up to speed on its workings. I took the cover off, everything looked ok so I put a test light and a voltmeter and got nothing. Next I tried the T stat plug connector coming out of the control module and got 4.2 volts, not sure if this low or normal or what.
Quote from: scgunner on September 03, 2017, 04:59:39 PM
1. I have read just about everything on the site pertaining to this subject looking for that silver bullet. You've provided a veritable buffet of useful information on the subject, much appreciated, thanks.
2. As far as the condenser goes, it feels uniformly cold on all four sides, slightly colder on the sides butted up against the refer walls probably due to the insulation in the walls. I took a look at the T stat but I'm not really up to speed on its workings. I took the cover off, everything looked ok so I put a test light and a voltmeter and got nothing. Next I tried the T stat plug connector coming out of the control module and got 4.2 volts, not sure if this low or normal or what.
1. I didn't realize silver bullets came with the buffet! :D Must be Long John Silver's... :shock: Or was that The Lone Ranger???
2. The evaporator is what's in the box, the condenser is the finned tube radiator with the fan on it that sits on the base with the round compressor. IIRC, the thermostat diagnosis material is on Kollmann's 'site.
My bad, I mixed up my condenser/evaporator terms. I should know better, I recently installed a Vintage Air A/C unit in my '67 El Camino.
I didn't say there was a silver bullet I was just hoping to find one like Hugh did by turning a screw, now that's a silver bullet! I think my silver bullet is going to involve complete unit replacement.