Cougar 25DBSWE Questions

[mfrey24]

New to the RV life here, and we just bought our first trailer. Couple of questions from a newbie.



We have the Solar Flex 400i. Does that trickle charge the batteries? Dealer told me to remove them in the winter time for storage.


What exactly does run off the batteries except the tongue jack? We always go somewhere we are able to plug in.



Can you drive with the fridge on? We have had the thermal fuse blow twice now.



Thank you..

[Max23]

Can you tell us what model you bought??

Short answer is yes, the solar charges the batteries. Should you pull the batteries for winter storage, yes.

What runs off the batteries depends on whether or not you have an inverter.

Can you run with the fridge on , is it a 12v fridge or propane or???

Kinda need to know more about your unit.

[Max23]

My bad, you had it in the title. didn't even see that, let me re look at things. LOL

[Max23]

Originally Posted by mfrey24

New to the RV life here, and we just bought our first trailer. Couple of questions from a newbie.



We have the Solar Flex 400i. Does that trickle charge the batteries? Dealer told me to remove them in the winter time for storage. Yes and Yes batteries should be removed for winter storage.


What exactly does run off the batteries except the tongue jack? We always go somewhere we are able to plug in. Almost everything. Awning, water pump, slide out, stabilizer jacks, interior lights and exhaust fans, tv etc. if you have an inverter, you can use those marked outlets to power any other small electrical things such as coffee maker etc. off the battery power. The more you run, the faster your batteries drain. A/C and microwave need shore power.



Can you drive with the fridge on? We have had the thermal fuse blow twice now. Depends, do you have a 12v fridge or an elec/propane unit. Most guys don't run with the propane turned on so then no (but the answer is not really that simple ) . 12v yes.



Thank you..

The answers a vague I know, but different dealers put different batteries in them and different setups etc. Hard to be more specific.

[Sean D]

Originally Posted by mfrey24

New to the RV life here, and we just bought our first trailer. Couple of questions from a newbie.



We have the Solar Flex 400i. Does that trickle charge the batteries? Dealer told me to remove them in the winter time for storage.


What exactly does run off the batteries except the tongue jack? We always go somewhere we are able to plug in.



Can you drive with the fridge on? We have had the thermal fuse blow twice now.



Thank you..

1- yes it trickle charges the batteries there is the VictronConnect app you could download on your phone to monitor the charging and battery levels.

2- in your front storage compartment mounted on the “ceiling” you should have a 2000 watt inverter. Once you turn that on pretty much everything besides the ac and microwave will work. Oh not all but most 120v plugs should have power.

3- you can drive with the fridge on if you have food inside if not I wouldn’t.

[pasayten]

We usually have food in the fridge and always leave it on. Never have had a problem.

[cougar23]

Couple of questions. Does your camper have Lithium batteries? My new Cougar came with 2 100 AH Lithium batteries. Is your refrigerator gas/electric, 12 volt or 120 volt? My camper has 12 volt fridge. With 400 watts solar I suspect that you have a inverter like mine.
I keep my fridge on while traveling. If yours is blowing a fuse I suspect a short in the wiring and needs to be corrected.
I do not remove my Battleborn Lithium batteries during storage. However, I am connected to shore power when not traveling.

[Sean D]

I have the same trailer and about to take it out this weekend and just noticed I don’t have lights on in the refrigerator and will not run. I have plenty of battery and connected to shore power. The two little on / off and gas buttons won’t even light up. Anyone ever run into this?

[RacerX]

From your description it sounds like you have the two way refrigerator which can run on propane or electricity. One of the buttons usually is the power on button and the other is the mode (gas or auto etc.). I would start by making sure the power button is actually depressed (on) then move to your fuse panel to check the 12 volt fuse that supplies the refrigerator with 12 volt power.

If neither of those work, it might help to know the brand/model of your refrigerator and whether it is the two way, a residential or 12v compressor refrigerator.

As I thought about this if you have the 12v compressor style….I think they may have become the standard in 2023 models…. To power on the Norcold you actually have to press and hold the power button for a few seconds….not just press it.

Good Luck!

[Sean D]

Originally Posted by RacerX

From your description it sounds like you have the two way refrigerator which can run on propane or electricity. One of the buttons usually is the power on button and the other is the mode (gas or auto etc.). I would start by making sure the power button is actually depressed (on) then move to your fuse panel to check the 12 volt fuse that supplies the refrigerator with 12 volt power.

If neither of those work, it might help to know the brand/model of your refrigerator and whether it is the two way, a residential or 12v compressor refrigerator.

As I thought about this if you have the 12v compressor style….I think they may have become the standard in 2023 models…. To power on the Norcold you actually have to press and hold the power button for a few seconds….not just press it.

Good Luck!

Yes I have a two way propane and electric. The power button and “auto” or “gas” button normally light up as well as the light inside the refrigerator. I literally have no power to the inside. I have a fluke multimeter and verified 120v ac and 12v dc on the lower circuit board on exterior of the trailer.

I have the dometic DM2672

[RacerX]

Just to confirm when you say no power to the inside, you are referring just to the refrigerator not other 12 v lights near it and the circuit board you reference is the refrigerator board.


Have you checked the thermal reset button or the fuses behind the black cover over the circuit board? Eg you have power in to the board but do you have power out? Here is a video link if it works that quickly shows the location of the thermal reset.

https://youtu.be/g6JV-UobLLE

[RacerX]

I see you have opened a specific thread on this topic and are getting good advice over there including the thermal fusing and reset. Will focus on that chat to avoid redundancy. Good luck and hope your camping this weekend goes well.

[Sean D]

Originally Posted by RacerX

I see you have opened a specific thread on this topic and are getting good advice over there including the thermal fusing and reset. Will focus on that chat to avoid redundancy. Good luck and hope your camping this weekend goes well.

I ended up finding it was the thermo fuse behind the heat shrink. Thank god for this forum. I’ll actually be going up by you Cachuma lake.

[RacerX]

Excellent News. Have fun at Cachuma. It is full of water (yay) and maybe fish!

[RagingRobert]

Pretty sure my fridge has to run on propane while travelling and never do so because of that dangerous reason not to mention stuff flying around in the fridge. Also yes remove battery in the winter and put it on a battery "tender" not a trickle charger. Pretty sure you can overcharge it over time with a trickle charger unless they have different/safer ones now.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by RagingRobert

Pretty sure my fridge has to run on propane while travelling and never do so because of that dangerous reason not to mention stuff flying around in the fridge. Also yes remove battery in the winter and put it on a battery "tender" not a trickle charger. Pretty sure you can overcharge it over time with a trickle charger unless they have different/safer ones now.

Guessing I'm missing how running the fridge on gas causes items to fly around in the fridge?
Also assuming you must be moving all the fridge items to coolers for travel if not powering the fridge at all & not securing the items in the fridge.
Been rving for 45+ years & have always traveled with the fridge powered on gas, never blown one up or caught anything on fire. The fridge items are secured with rods, plastic containers or in the drawers. Haven't ever bothered to shut the fridge off while fueling as it was several feet behind where the fueling was taking place. I also have on occasion ran the furnace while traveling.
I wouldn't use a trickle charger, use a battery tender, it only charges as needed. You will need to monitor the water levels in the batteries, topping off with distilled water as needed to keep the plates covered.

[RagingRobert]

I don't live in my trailer but I still wouldn't take the chance of somebody running into me while I'm running my fridge on propane while driving. We are still long weekend RV'ers with the once a season two weeker. We always do the ice pack cooler thing when travelling, it works well and tupperware on shelves will fly around, sure it's okay if the contents need a good stir once in a while Thanks for the water level check reminder, I can easily steel some distilled water from the wife's C-Pac machine

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Haven't ever bothered to shut the fridge off while fueling as it was several feet behind where the fueling was taking place.

I learned last week from reading my fridge's installation manual that at least some of their models actually monitor an umbilical line, and disable propane flow for 15 minutes after the TV stops, in case it's stopping to fuel up.

[Sean D]

Ok so this was the second time my thermal fuse blew. Covered under warranty of course. While speaking with the mechanic and dometic we came to the conclusion. For our particular travel trailer with the dometic refrigerator on the driver side the layout has a flaw. Since the burner and flue is on the rear section of the access door / vent, if you are running on propane cruising down the road the wind blows in the vent causing a swirl effect cause the flame to roll out, tripping the thermal fuse. This will continue to happen unless you build some sort of guard or keep the gas off

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Sean D

Ok so this was the second time my thermal fuse blew. Covered under warranty of course. While speaking with the mechanic and dometic we came to the conclusion. For our particular travel trailer with the dometic refrigerator on the driver side the layout has a flaw. Since the burner and flue is on the rear section of the access door / vent, if you are running on propane cruising down the road the wind blows in the vent causing a swirl effect cause the flame to roll out, tripping the thermal fuse. This will continue to happen unless you build some sort of guard or keep the gas off

Airstream did that in the 60's to prevent the pilot light (no DSI back then) from blowing out while towing. A "simple piece of aluminum roof flashing" bent to wrap around the bottom of the flu (leave enough room for airflow so the flame doesn't starve out) will probably "fix your issue"... It'll take some "experimentation" to find the right size aluminum and the right place to mount it.....