Anyone know about Frigoboat/Veco/Danfoss fridges?

[nigelmercier]

My boat has a 12V Frigoboat system, comprising a Veco E51750B compressor (which I'm pretty sure is a Danfoss BD35F) and a Veco E50895 Control Box (also marked E50960 and Danfoss 101N0210); the unit is not working, although the fans run.

I need to establish which unit is at fault, can anyone advise any troubleshooting tips?

What I have done so far:

Bypassed the thermostat, no difference
Applied raw 12VDC direct to the motor. It went “clunk” as if it was seized, but it is possible that the control unit supplies 230V AC (or some other signal) on the 3-pin socket. Does anyone know?

 

[angelsson]

My boat has a 12V Frigoboat system, comprising a Veco E51750B compressor (which I'm pretty sure is a Danfoss BD35F) and a Veco E50895 Control Box (also marked E50960 and Danfoss 101N0210); the unit is not working, although the fans run.

I need to establish which unit is at fault, can anyone advise any troubleshooting tips?

What I have done so far:

Bypassed the thermostat, no difference
Applied raw 12VDC direct to the motor. It went “clunk” as if it was seized, but it is possible that the control unit supplies 230V AC (or some other signal) on the 3-pin socket. Does anyone know?

I had similar symptoms last year with a similar system, did the same as you have, even removed the compressor and had it checked by refrigeration business.
I finally decided to bite the bullet and replace it, after much discussion and research opted for a keel cooler system. As I cruise in the Med has the advantage of not increasing the temp in the cabin by blowing warm air in to it, but is cooled via the cooler fixed under the hull. Other advantage it consumes less than half of what the old one did in amps, and the plate ( sorry cant bring to mind the correct name) in the fridge gets cold enough to make ice if i hang ice bags from it, all in all very pleased.

 

[pvb]

The E50895 electronic control box has some limited diagnostic capability. You can connect an LED to it and it will give coded flashes which might help you determine the fault.

 

[angelsson]

My boat has a 12V Frigoboat system, comprising a Veco E51750B compressor (which I'm pretty sure is a Danfoss BD35F) and a Veco E50895 Control Box (also marked E50960 and Danfoss 101N0210); the unit is not working, although the fans run.

I need to establish which unit is at fault, can anyone advise any troubleshooting tips?

What I have done so far:

Bypassed the thermostat, no difference
Applied raw 12VDC direct to the motor. It went “clunk” as if it was seized, but it is possible that the control unit supplies 230V AC (or some other signal) on the 3-pin socket. Does anyone know?

In addition this is where I purchased mine: http://www.penguinfrigo.co.uk/page/contact-penguin-refrigeration/

Nice people, good service and advice.

 

[Stu Jackson]

This gentleman is very helpful: http://www.kollmann-marine.com/

 

[The engineer]

There is no way to bypass the control box by applying 12v. It is highly unlikely to be the compressor at fault, unless it has been damaged by the 12v experiment.
the following should prove useful:

A really good and much under rated feature of the Danfoss BD35 and BD50 compressors are their inbuilt diagnostics function. Before doing anything else with a 12v or 24v fridge that is not working is make sure you test the controller on the Danfoss BD35 or BD50 compressor. The following testing procedure must be carried out.

1. Turn off the breaker (or remove the fuse) supplying DC power to the system.

2. Use a small circuit to link out the thermostat terminals (C & T).

3. Next, connect a small LED to the small + and the D terminals.

4. Turn on the breaker (or install the fuse) to the system watching the LED as you do so.

5. If the compressor fails to start the LED will flash a number of times every four seconds.

Note: The fault code will only be shown when the compressor fails to start or stops.

Interpreting power supply results
Led flashes once LOW VOLTAGE, This means the voltage is falling below the minimum required at start up (10.5v for 12v systems)

Led flashes twice This means there is an error with the fan which is drawing more than 1 Amp and causing too much resistance to the compressor on start. Remove the fan terminals and if the fridge starts replace the fan and problem solved.

Led flashes three times Compressor has a start error, which normally means indicates that the control unit is faulty.

Led flashes four times Compressor overload. System has a blockage, possibly moisture that has entered the refrigeration system or the compressor has siezed

Led flashes five times Electric overload.




Troubleshooting 12 volt Danfoss BD compressors.
There are two different series of Danfoss BD 12 volt compressors the older fixed speed and the newer variable speed . If the refrigeration unit is over 10 years old and has a Danfoss BD 2 or BD2.5 or BD3 compressor then it has the older fixed speed discontinued electronic 4 pin module. Troubleshooting Danfoss compressors with 4 pin modules consists of the following steps:

1. All of these compressors have a 4 pin module connector and their modules contain a replaceable fuse. If this fuse is blown there are two reasons why either power wires to module are reversed or module has an internal failure.

2. Check to see that there is actually power at the refrigerator control module.

3. Place jumper wire across thermostat terminals on electronic module, Compressor still does not run go to next step.

4. Disconnect black fan wire from electronic module, Compressor runs, replace fan. Compressor still does not run after fan ground wire is disconnected, go to next step.

5. Run correct size and correct polarity jumper wires direct from a fully charged battery in order to bypass all boat’s wiring. Volt meter readings are of no value when looking for voltage spikes. Compressor still does not run electronic module needs to be removed and tested on another unit. If there are no other units available to test your module on I will test all 12 volt Danfoss control modules free except for BD80 compressor modules. Email me for shipping address and details. richard@kollmann-marine.com

Small 12/24 volt boat refrigeration units using Danfoss BD compressors manufactured after 1996 will have a BD 35 or BD 50 variable speed compressor with a troubleshooting computer chip built into control module. This circuit makes them easier to find troubled area if compressor fails to run. If this unit does not have this $2 LED install one. Without the LED on these new units troubleshooting will be the same as earlier 4 pin Danfoss BD compressors.

Trouble shooting LED will only flash if electronic module sees a compressor problem. In each case problems of compressor’s failures to run are identified by counting number of flashes of LED:
• No LED flashes would indicate either thermostat is open or no power to module.
• One LED flash and a 4 second pause indicates a non Danfoss wiring electrical resistance problem or low batteries. Because of module’s sensitiveity to milliseconds of a voltage spike they cannot be detected by a voltmeter. Solution is to bypass power wiring till resistance problem is located.
• Two LED flashes indicates fan over current cutout. If fan circuit on these variable speed compressors exceeds 1 amp compressor start up will be aborted. This condition can be confirmed by disconnecting Black fan wire at module, if compressor runs replace fan.
• Three LED flashes indicate excessive torque is required to start compressor. This is commonly caused by turning compressor off and back on too quickly or too much refrigerant or poor condenser cooling. Most people jump to the conclusion that there is a mechanical rotor lock up inside compressor and this is a mistake on Danfoss BD compressors.
• Four LED flashes indicate compressor motor not reaching sustained controlling speed above 1,850 rpm quick enough.

If someone has tampered with refrigerant by connecting gauges to a system letting air in or adding too much refrigerant can cause either a Three or Four LED flashing signal. On water cooled Danfoss condenser systems three and four LED signals are common when seawater gets into refrigerant circuit.