Yeti 1500x trips 12v when using Iceco fridge
I just purchased my Yeti 1500X and plugged it into a new Iceco 45qt refrigerator. I used the 12v cigarette lighter attachment. The fridge, compressor, everything fired up as it should but once the goal temperature was reached and the compressor shut off, it tripped the 12v socket on the Yeti. I initially thought it was an overdraw of power, but it ran completely normal while the compressor ran and only tripped once it turned off. I watched the voltage while it tripped again and it stayed at 11.9v and over 90% battery. Updated firmware and still having the same issue. Anyone seen anything on this?
Answers
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Has this happened more than 5 times, as in every time the compressor turns off or was this the first time the port trip happened?
We have done testing with DC portable fridges but have not yet seen this exact issue but are getting setup to try and recreate your situation here and will let you know if we find something in our logging.
If you learn anything more that would help us better characterize the issue, please let us know here.
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are you using the GZ 12 V regulated cable .............I have a 12 V Unique fridge and it struggled until I added this cable
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thank you!
I am not running the regulated cable. I was looking into it but on the goal zero website it says it’s not needed for the newer x versions. Do you have one of the newer yetis? And do you still need that regulated cable?
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The unit trips every time the compressor turns off.
Out of curiosity I used another Yeti 1500x from a family member to see if the issue is with my unit specifically or if all units will have the same result. Both Yetis trip as soon as the compressor turns off but both units have no issue running a Whynter 65qt 12v fridge. So it must be something specific to the fridge that I am running.
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I have a 4 year old 1400 and it definitely need the regulated cable , call customer service or send them a note , they can get this sorted out for you im sure , good luck
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@Altamont If your Iceco is still under warranty, you might look at getting a replacement. Of all the models of that brand we have tested, none are doing this on any of the Yeti X line and since you have already tried it on 2 Yeti 1500X units.
The 12V regulated cable is not needed for the Yeti X line.
From the 12V regulated cable product page:
Compatible with Yeti Lithium Power Stations. This product is not needed for Yeti X Power Stations or Yeti Lead Acid Power Stations as 12V regulation is included in the base product.
The 12V regulated cable solves problems related to surge current but will not help here because the problem isn't that the battery voltage is not regulated and is sagging like the Yeti 1400 will do without one because all the Yeti X power stations already have an integrated regulated 12V output.
The issue is the over current protection hardware and firmware logic that protects wires from melting and the PCB components from frying is too protective for 12V products with really high but very brief surge current. Some pumps have reviews on amazon that they regularly blow car cig port fuses. Some 12V appliances come with alligator clips so they can bypass the fuse which is a huge safety issue...
Any Yeti 500X made sometime after Sept of 2022 have a new firmware (116 or later) that enables 3 retries before going to port trip to compensate for a similar fridge issue we saw with some Dometic fridges last year. It was hard to catch because of all the models from a bunch of brands we tested, only a handful would surge and only once every 3-10 days and was so brief an o-scope trigger was the only way we could see it. What I saw was most of the time including first compressor start and many restarts every 10mins or so to keep temperature, the current was fine, but every now and then it would stutter and pull more than double its normal load.
The 500X has a much lower surge current capability than the 1000X/C and up to 6000X but we may need start looking at adding that to the larger Yetis too if there are more appliances like that Iceco fridge that need more surge current. We did not see any failures on the 12V fridge models we tested on the 500X on the larger yetis but with a larger pool from customer feedback like this issue post, we can find those unicorns!
We had an orange and black stand up paddle board with model HT 782 that surged as high as 60A for a 750 milliseconds that would not work on any power station size of any brand. We bought a second one from another Amazon clone which looked identical and the surge trip issue was gone so appliance to appliance variability in QA is also a factor which is why I recommend getting a replacement fridge.
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I’m having the exact same issue with my iceco vl60 electrical cooler plugged into the DC port on the yeti 1500x. Works fine at first, drawing between 40-60 watts while the compressor is running but as soon as the compressor shuts OFF, it trips the 12v breaker on the yeti every time. Have you figured anything else out on this?
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so it looks like I’m a little late to this discussion, but I personally ran into this issue 2 years ago, with my new VL90, I didn’t have a GZ box but I was having the same issue with an Anker box and rock pals all tripping circuit protection during compressor kick off, after little to no support from Anker, rock pals, or iceco, I broke out my oscilloscope to capture what was going on, what I found was the magnetic field collapse when the compressor motor turned off was causing a back feed voltage spike of 30-45V which trips the circuit protection in the battery boxes, this is because they are lithium based and don’t want voltage going in through the 12v accessor socket, only out. I confirmed this by splicing in a 50V Diode in the wire for my power cable, I have been using this for 2 years now with no issues, I sent all of this to Isco and basically got told to kick rocks because I wasn’t using their power pack for the fridge, and because I got it working I just stopped caring, eventually I will take the circuit board from the fridge and move the diode internal of the fridge but just for anyone curious of what is causing this, at least for me.
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The new Alta 80 and Alta 50 we launched this year had some extra engineering attention to make these fridges work well with our Yeti X power stations, not just the newer LFP generation we started rolling out this year. If anyone is looking for a fridge that does not need modifications to prevent port trips, check those two out!
