Yes, that is right. The starter solenoid coil is the ground for the
fridge relay and if the red/black wire is pulled off the starter the
fridge relay won't work even with the engine running, since it won't
have a ground anymore.

Not all years used the starter as the ground for the fridge relay so of
course the ones that don't will still work with the red/black wire
pulled from the starter. The fridge relays that use the starter as
ground have a small red/black wire attached to relay pin 85 or 86.
AFAIK, all the aux battery relays used the red/black to the starter as
ground.

Mark

Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:
> well that last scenario sounds nasty.
>
> ok, tell me this ..........
> if the starter trigger wire fell off the solenoid ,
> and you roll started the van ......and  the engine fired  and the alt.
> started charging,
> would the fridge relay then not be able to energize ?
> ( due to lack of esoteric connection to the fridge relay from the starter )
> Scott
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "mark drillock" <mdrillock@COX.NET>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 6:36 PM
> Subject: Re: Help with 12v Dometic wiring
>
>
>> I'm right in this case. The ignition key switch does nothing to the
>> circuit except when in the far start position it puts 12 volts on the
>> relay "ground" while cranking. This keeps the relay from activating
>> during starting. Some years use this "ground" for the fridge relay and
>> some don't. This is a redundant feature since the blue wire won't
>> trigger the relay anyway until the engine starts and the alt light
>> goes out.
>>...................................