Caravan fridge not cooling? Start here

Part of the Setup & Site Life – Without the Stress hub

You arrive, swing open the caravan door, and that familiar warm waft from the fridge tells you everything you need to know. The milk feels like it has ambitions. The fridge light is on, the control knob looks innocent, and suddenly you are doing mental maths on how long cheese survives in a cool bag.

If you are searching “why caravan fridge not cooling”, you are not alone - and it is rarely a dramatic, expensive failure. Most caravan fridges are simple, dependable things that just have a few non-negotiables: correct power source, decent ventilation, reasonably level siting, and enough time to do their slow, steady job.

Why caravan fridge not cooling: the boring reasons first

Caravan fridges fail in the most unromantic way possible: they are often set up almost-right. Almost-right is perfect for a kettle. It is terrible for refrigeration.

The single biggest mismatch is expectations. A caravan absorption fridge is not a domestic compressor fridge. It cools gradually, it hates being rushed, and it relies on heat management and airflow. On a warm UK afternoon, it can feel like it is doing nothing for ages - then finally it settles.

So before you assume it is “broken”, treat it like a setup problem until proven otherwise.

Start with the basics: what power are you actually on?

Most UK caravans have a three-way fridge: 230V mains, 12V while towing, and gas when off-grid. Each mode behaves differently, and each has its own common gotchas.

On 230V hook-up

If you are on site hook-up, the fridge should usually be on 230V. But check you are not accidentally running it on 12V (which is often weaker and intended for maintaining temperature while towing).

Also check the obvious-but-real points: is the van’s RCD/MCB on, is the socket feeding the fridge live, and is the fridge actually plugged in? Plenty of caravans have the fridge plug tucked behind a vented panel where it can work loose after travel.

If the fridge is “on” but not cooling on mains, give it time. Four hours to feel a change, and closer to 12-24 hours to properly pull down from ambient, especially if it started warm and you have filled it with room-temperature food.

On 12V towing supply

12V mode is usually for keeping an already-cold fridge cold while you tow. It is not there to chill a warm fridge from scratch. If you set off with a warm fridge and hope 12V will save the day, it will politely disappoint you.

There is another twist: some caravans only supply fridge 12V when the engine is running and the towing electrics are wired correctly. A miswired 13-pin plug, a blown fuse, or a leisure battery that is not being charged can all mean the fridge never really gets what it needs.

On gas

Gas mode is brilliant off-grid, but it is also where the small details matter.

First, confirm the flame has actually lit. Many fridges have an indicator window or a status light. In bright daylight, that little window can be about as informative as a black cat in a coal shed. If your fridge has an “auto” mode, it may also be selecting a power source you did not intend.

Second, make sure you have gas, the isolation tap is open, and your regulator is behaving. If other appliances run fine, gas supply is less likely, but not impossible - partial restrictions happen.

Levelling: not perfection, just sensible

Absorption fridges dislike being off-level because the coolant mixture relies on gravity and circulation. You do not need a spirit level and a nervous twitch, but if the caravan is visibly tilted, the fridge can struggle or stop cooling altogether.

If you are on a sloping pitch, level the van as you normally would for comfort. If you are wild camping and cannot level properly, that is one of the trade-offs: the fridge might be the first thing to complain. Sometimes simply re-parking so the fridge side of the caravan is a touch higher can help, but do not chase millimetres. Aim for “looks level, feels level”.

Ventilation: the quiet culprit

This is the one that catches people out, especially in warm weather. Absorption fridges need airflow across the rear cooling fins and up through the external vents. If heat cannot escape, the fridge cannot pull heat out of your food. It is that simple.

Common reasons ventilation fails:

• The external lower or upper vent is blocked by a cover that was meant for winter storage and never removed.

• Aftermarket mesh, insect screens, or “helpful” DIY mods restrict airflow more than you realise.

• The caravan is parked so close to a hedge, fence, awning wall, or another van that the vent area cannot breathe.

• The back of the fridge space has shifted insulation or loose items that obstruct the chimney effect.

If it is hot and still outside, airflow is naturally weaker. In those conditions, adding a fridge vent fan can make a noticeable difference. It is not magic, and it will not fix a fundamentally broken fridge, but it can help an otherwise healthy system cope on warm days.

Temperature management: help it out

A caravan fridge works best when you treat it like a slow cooker in reverse.

Pre-cool on mains the day before you travel if you can. Load chilled food, not food straight from the kitchen counter. Use fridge-friendly blocks (not loose ice that melts everywhere) to give it a head start. And do not stuff it to the gills - cold air has to move.

Also check the thermostat setting. On some fridges, the numbers are not “colder as you go up” in the way you expect, or the dial is vague. If you have recently changed modes (mains to gas, for example), you may need a slightly different setting.

Door seals and the “it’s sort of cool” problem

If the fridge is cooling a bit but not enough, check the door seal. A seal can look fine and still leak. The classic test is a thin piece of paper: close it in the door and see if it pulls out with no resistance. Try it around the perimeter.

If the seal is poor, warm air sneaks in, moisture builds up, and the fridge spends its life trying to cool the campsite.

Also consider what is actually happening inside. If items at the back are freezing but the front is warm, you may have airflow issues inside the cabinet. Avoid pushing food hard up against the cooling fins and leave a little space.

Common faults (without the drama)

Sometimes it really is a fault. The trick is not to leap there first.

Heating element failure (230V or 12V)

On mains, a failed 230V element can mean the fridge appears to run but never cools properly. The same applies to the 12V element. If gas mode cools fine but mains does nothing, that points you towards the electric heating circuit rather than the cooling unit itself.

Burner and jet issues (gas mode)

If it will not cool on gas, the burner may be dirty, the jet partially blocked, or the flame weak. This is a job for a competent engineer if you are not experienced. “Poking about” with gas appliances is a brilliant way to turn an inconvenience into an event.

Thermistor or control board problems

Modern fridges often use a thermistor and control board to manage temperature. A failed sensor can make the fridge cycle incorrectly. Symptoms can be odd: it cools too much, not enough, or behaves differently across power modes.

The cooling unit itself

If none of the modes cool properly, ventilation is fine, levelling is decent, and you have given it time, the cooling unit could be failing. That is less common, but it happens. You might notice staining or an ammonia smell at the rear vent area. If you do, stop using it and get it checked.

A calm troubleshooting order that saves time

If you want a sensible path that avoids random knob-twiddling, do it in this order.

First, confirm the mode you want and that the supply is real: mains power at the socket, 12V only when towing and correctly wired, gas lit and stable.

Next, make the caravan reasonably level and remove anything blocking external vents. If it is hot, give it airflow space and consider a vent fan.

Then, reset your expectations and give it time with the door shut. Absorption fridges reward patience. Constant checking just lets warm air in and delays cooling.

Finally, compare modes. If it cools on gas but not on mains, that points to electrics. If it cools on mains but not on gas, that points to burner or supply. If it cools on none, you are into ventilation, levelling, or a genuine system fault.

If you like having guidance that reduces the mental noise (and the forum arguments), CaravanVlogger has a lot of confidence-building, experience-led help at https://caravanvlogger.co.uk.

When to stop fiddling and call someone

Call a qualified engineer if you smell ammonia, see oily residue near vents, suspect a gas issue, or you have repeated flame failure. Also call if you are about to take a screwdriver to something you do not fully understand - not because you are incapable, but because holidays are too expensive to spend them diagnosing avoidable problems.

A fridge can be “not cooling” for reasons that are completely fixable on pitch. It can also be “not cooling” because it is fighting physics: poor ventilation on a hot day, a van parked off-level, or a fridge asked to chill warm food in an hour. The calm win is knowing the difference.

The most useful mindset is this: your caravan fridge is less like a domestic appliance and more like part of the caravan’s ecosystem. Give it the right conditions, and it will quietly get on with it. And if it does not, you will have enough evidence to explain the problem clearly - which is half the battle when you want it fixed quickly and properly.