At 12:29 PM 5/8/96 -0700, you wrote:
>Derek,
>
>I just pulled the refrigerator in my '81 Westy for a little preventive
>maintenance.  I found the cooling fan had burned out, and that was why my
>cooling is marginal.  I called Dometic and got the part number, then called
>an RV place for a price quote.  Would you believe $23.95 plus shipping for
>just the fan motor?  Must cost all of $1.50 to manufacture.  To heck with
>that.
>
>I re-read your "Refrigerator Madness" article from your Nov '94 posting to
>the Vanagon list, 'cause I remembered you mentioned wiring up some fans and
>other mods.  I have a couple of questions about your article.  Would you
>please take a moment for me? --
>
>1.  Re: the temperature probes on the interior.  You say that you "routed
>the probe wires through the back".  How exactly?  Did you just drill
>through the whole body of the fridge and then seal it back up with silicone

I might have drilled a hole. But I sort of remember finding a flap of some
sort through which I could pass the wires without hole drilling. You have to
look in there closely to find the flap, if I remember right. 

I think it is behind/under the metal fins inside the fridge.

>or something?  If I understand correctly, those probes aren't powered, so
>no other wiring to deal with, right?

right

>2.  Re: the small 12V fan in the interior.  Where did you draw the power
>from?  Did you run the wiring in a similar way to the way you did the temp

I must have. But I would have routed the power wires for that little fan
inside to the electrical area on top of the fridge. There is a power source
there that is permanent 12 volts. I routed it through a switch first, which
I placed on the faceplate of the fridge, so I could control the fan from the
front.

>probe wires?  Did all wires run through the same hole in the body of the
>fridge?
>
>3.  Re: the exterior cooling fan.  As I said, my original is toast, so I
>want to replace it entirely, and maybe double up the circulation by
>installing two of them.  But I'm unsure if it's OK to just wire them in
>where the original was. (Electrical work isn't my long suit.)  Can I simply
>wire the two fans in parallel to the existing connections for the original
>fan? 

thats what I did

 I see a 2-1/2 ohm (I think, it's green anyway) resistor in series
>with the original fan.  Should that remain in the circuit?

resistor thing is odd. if you buy radio shack 12 volt fans, then possibly
you don't need a resistor.

You should also email Dan Houg on these questions.

>Thanks in advance for your help.  Please reply by direct Email, as I'm in
>digest mode on the List.
>
>Lee
>
>
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___________________________________
Derek Drew                           New York, NY
drew@interport.net (main address for e-mail)
derekdrew@aol.com (alternate/backup, checked infrequently)