cure for dometic fan on and off cycling

capucine · 05-29-2011, 06:19 AM

I found a fix for my dometic model 2652 cooling fan that cycle on and off all the times and keeps us awake at night and for many members of this forum. On all if not most of my 13 travel trailers that I went through over the years I always installed a fan inside under the return liquid coils to help the cooling and make the fridg cools better in hot weather. So I did the same with this pesty problem on my 2011 rockwood trailer. The fan I always use is a fan that they install in the freezer of domestic home fridg. These 110 volts fans are very quiets and fit beautifully in small places. I added 2 three inches L shaped brackets and made a small modification to the bracket that comes with these fans. No screwing were done for the mounting. The fan fits perfectly between the fridg box and the bracket plate for the electronic control box. And gess what. With this frig new fan the crazy built in 12 volts motor stay totally quiet and dont even run. We dont even hear this 110 volts new fan inside and I am looking for my next camping trip for relaxing sleep at night. The only problem is if you camp without electricity it will not work unles you plug it on an inverter. SEE MY PICTURES! PS: I have installed a inline switch so I can shut off the fan when I dont need it.

brianb · 05-29-2011, 07:58 AM

Thanks for the tip. Sounds like an easy DIY fix for the stock fan issue. I too have installed fans in previous popup's with fridges. Guess I'll be adding one to my TT now as well. Ever thought of using a fan tied into the 12volt system?

Only other solution I have heard is pulling the fridge and moving the factory fan sensor to a new location. Dometic said on the phone that service centers will do it for free. But none of the ones I've talked to were even aware of the issue or the recommended Dometic fix. My dealer says it's "normal" for the fan to cycle on and off. Normal or not it's freaking annoying.

capucine · 05-29-2011, 07:21 PM

Brianb: the reason I wanted to install an ac 110 volts instead is that all dc motors are noisier than ac motors. This little fan that I use is so quiet that it is almost impossible to hear it and it gives a terrific amount of cfm's for its size. I find strange that Dometic is willing to pull the sensor farther for free. I have never seen a recall or bulletin regarding this matter.

cwocg · 07-08-2011, 07:41 PM

Where did you get the fan?

dlhoppe · 07-08-2011, 08:18 PM

My 2652 doesn't have a cooling fan. Are you referring to the converter fan cycling on and off? Not sure how that could be related to a fridge running on 120v.

Edit:

Ah, I did a little googling and found that it's not part of the Dometic fridge, but rather the RV manufacturer's installation. It applies to fridges that vent out the side on slideouts rather than through the roof. Mine vents up through the roof, so that must be why I don't have one.

capucine · 07-08-2011, 08:37 PM

CWOCG; this fan is avaliable in all if not most of the appliance parts stores. It is a universal model that is made for several fridgs and the price is under 20$. This fan is a life saver and believe me it work otherwise I would not pass this tread in this forum. Installation takes less than half hour. If you can find also a fridg recycler guy I am sure that he will give you one for free. Too bad you dont leave close to my place because we give away our old fridgs for the scrap and these fans motors are given away also. Good luck for your installation and enjoy all your nights without these on off cyclings.

capucine · 07-08-2011, 08:41 PM

Dlhoppe; all the newer models 2652 are equipped with these fans.i know that the converter has one but the fridg has one also. If you dont have one it is probably because you have a older version. What year is your trailer? If you look in the scematic drawing of your owner manual you will see this fan. It says that the fan is an option but they comes with all the fridgs now.

dlhoppe · 07-08-2011, 08:45 PM

It's a 2006 model. That must be it.

Michigan Snowman · 07-18-2011, 11:59 PM

Thanks guys. I have the same issue with my 2010 Flagstaff. The fan cycles on for 45 sec and then off for 60 sec. It drives me and my wife crazy at night. I would like to try relocating the sensor first before installaing a new fan. Do any of you have any idea of how to do this. It looks like I will have to pull the fridge to do it.

Michigan Snowman · 07-19-2011, 01:00 PM

brianb, don't know if you have fixed the fan problem but I went to the dealer today and we called Dometic. There are two fans for my DM2652 fridge. The sensor was located directy above one of the fans. They told us to move the sensor as far to the left as possible to resolve the problem. My dealer didn't have time to do it so I took the six screws out, unhooked the gas line and slid the fridge forward about a foot. This gave me enough room to get a 1x2 piece of wood up inside. The sensor is mounted on the condensor tubing. I used the wood to gently bump the sensor to the left all the way to the turn in the tubing. Now I will have to wait and see if that does the trick.

prof_fate · 07-19-2011, 01:25 PM

I was reading another thread about putting a fan inside the fridge - they appear to be 12vdc PC fans (of the type that go on a plug in board as opposed to the case itself).

So I was thinkin'...I have a few PC fans laying about, they run on 12 vdc as does the annoying fridge fan...and they make no noise. What about just pulling the outside cover and installing a fan that runs 24/7 using the same power lead/fuse as the annoying fan? If the goal is to keep air flowing over the heat exchanger fins and/or keep heat from building up behind the fridge this should do the trick. And I'm gonna throw one in the fridge too- you can get half a dozen on ebay for under $20 including shipping.

brianb · 07-19-2011, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prof_fate

I was reading another thread about putting a fan inside the fridge - they appear to be 12vdc PC fans (of the type that go on a plug in board as opposed to the case itself).

So I was thinkin'...I have a few PC fans laying about, they run on 12 vdc as does the annoying fridge fan...and they make no noise. What about just pulling the outside cover and installing a fan that runs 24/7 using the same power lead/fuse as the annoying fan? If the goal is to keep air flowing over the heat exchanger fins and/or keep heat from building up behind the fridge this should do the trick. And I'm gonna throw one in the fridge too- you can get half a dozen on ebay for under $20 including shipping.

Yep, this is the most common mod. People wire in the a small PC fan to the fridges 12dc power supply. Some get fancy and install a switch inline so they can turn it on and off. I did this on my old popup it made a big difference in the efficiency of the fridge.

brianb · 07-19-2011, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michigan Snowman

brianb, don't know if you have fixed the fan problem but I went to the dealer today and we called Dometic. There are two fans for my DM2652 fridge. The sensor was located directy above one of the fans. They told us to move the sensor as far to the left as possible to resolve the problem. My dealer didn't have time to do it so I took the six screws out, unhooked the gas line and slid the fridge forward about a foot. This gave me enough room to get a 1x2 piece of wood up inside. The sensor is mounted on the condensor tubing. I used the wood to gently bump the sensor to the left all the way to the turn in the tubing. Now I will have to wait and see if that does the trick.

Thanks for the GREAT info! The way it cycled was as if the sensor was getting cooled off by the fan and turning it off prematurely. Only to warm right back up and turn on the fan again. Sounds like my theory may hold true, moving it over just a bit would be an easy fix. Be nice if it was easier to get to though.

Please post back your test results...

jwuertz · 07-19-2011, 03:07 PM

I talked to my dealer about the external cooling fan on my DM2652 fridge and he said that the primary reason for being installed was to help cool the fridge on models with the fridge installed in the slideout. He said that on our 2304S the fridge was vented thru the roof and the fan was not all that necessary. He also suggested that I could wire a switch in the line and turn it off at night. I did install the switch in the fan wire and and mounted it in the panel below the fridge so it is convient to turn off at night and back on in the morning.

Hybrid21SS · 07-19-2011, 03:27 PM

The only time I notice the fridge fan is when 'im on the toilet as the fridge is on the other side of the wall. In bed the noisy campers all around must drown out the little fan nosie as I never noticed it..

prof_fate · 07-19-2011, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hybrid21SS

The only time I notice the fridge fan is when 'im on the toilet as the fridge is on the other side of the wall. In bed the noisy campers all around must drown out the little fan nosie as I never noticed it..

you need to find a quieter campground!

prof_fate · 07-19-2011, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwuertz

I talked to my dealer about the external cooling fan on my DM2652 fridge and he said that the primary reason for being installed was to help cool the fridge on models with the fridge installed in the slideout. He said that on our 2304S the fridge was vented thru the roof and the fan was not all that necessary. He also suggested that I could wire a switch in the line and turn it off at night. I did install the switch in the fan wire and and mounted it in the panel below the fridge so it is convient to turn off at night and back on in the morning.

Not sure what to tell you about your dealer, but my fridge is not in the slideout and we've got fan.

Hybrid21SS · 07-19-2011, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prof_fate

you need to find a quieter campground!

we camp at different campgrounds about 2.5 hr drive radius and have yet to hear quiet until 2 am or so. Maybe we should cross the border into PA?

Michigan Snowman · 07-19-2011, 07:26 PM

I moved the sensor as far as I could from the fans. Net result...the fan now cycles about every 5 minutes instead of every 1 3/4 minutes. Not much of an improvement. Also I noticed there are two fans not one and they are not located in my slideout as previously suggested by another member.
I guess the best solution would be to replace them with quieter fans or use the 100v fan solution that capuchin reccommended. I also may try to put the two fans on some sort of rubber pads, similar to the water pump. Maybe that would help quiet them down. They are currently bolted directly to the back of the fridge.

jwuertz · 07-19-2011, 08:17 PM

[ . Also I noticed there are two fans not one and they are not located in my slideout as previously suggested by another member.

As I had said earler the fans were ment to help the fridges that were in slideouts because the vent has to have a 90 degree bend in it to vent out the back wall. This bend reduced the air flow therefore the fan was needed to keep the air moving. The fridge in our 2304S has the 'optional' fan and it vents straight up the roof, not in the slide. Therefore I assume the 'optional' fan must be included in most new fridges no matter where they are installed. We have just camped 7 nights and I turned the fan off every night and the fridge worked just fine.

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