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Old 07-07-2014, 08:22 PM   #1
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Dometic Refrigerator Light

Our 2014 Rockwood Signature 8289 Ultralite came equipped with a Dometic DM2652 refrigerator. Strange as it may seem, I discovered that the interior light is not turning off. The refrigerator is cold, and the only way I knew this is that a bottle of soda that was near the light was actually warm. Pushing the light switch turns it off, but obviously the door is not pushing the switch in far enough to kill the light.
I guess I could locate the wiring that feeds the switch and check for current draw with the door closed to prove this, but the warm soda made it pretty obvious that I have a significant heat source inside the 'fridge.
Does anyone know if Dometic is aware of this, and possibly has a solution beyond gluing a shim to the door to make the switch?
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Old 07-07-2014, 08:57 PM   #2
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I have the same exact problem. Dealer has worked with it twice. I was putting my phone in the fridge on video camera mode and you could see the door close and not hit the light. If you push on that edge of the door, it will make contact and shut off the light. I've burned out two lightbulbs for the fridge (since they run constantly) and melted the plastic housing (because they get damn hot). I also noticed the fridge runs warmer because that light burns so hot. I bought a thermometer for the fridge.

I found that using a medium "binder clip" from staples or office depot seems to work. I put the binder clip on the tray in the door that comes close to the light. It gives a little bulkiness to the tray and trips the light off. I have also switched that bulb to a LED bulb due to the excessive heat. My fridge is a Dometic, but a 8cu ft model. Otherwise the same as yours.
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Old 07-07-2014, 09:16 PM   #3
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All depends. Do you want the light when the door's open? If not, then I believe you just need to disconnect J2 on the control board of the outside panel.

I'm not exactly sure of that though, so you'll want to review this thread:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...art-26676.html

It talks about a 'condensation' feature on the DM2652's that just suck back the juice, but in the instructions on how to disable that feature, it covers the interior light since they're on the same circuit.
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Old 07-07-2014, 09:30 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cmptrkd View Post
I have the same exact problem. Dealer has worked with it twice. I was putting my phone in the fridge on video camera mode and you could see the door close and not hit the light. If you push on that edge of the door, it will make contact and shut off the light. I've burned out two lightbulbs for the fridge (since they run constantly) and melted the plastic housing (because they get damn hot). I also noticed the fridge runs warmer because that light burns so hot. I bought a thermometer for the fridge.

I found that using a medium "binder clip" from staples or office depot seems to work. I put the binder clip on the tray in the door that comes close to the light. It gives a little bulkiness to the tray and trips the light off. I have also switched that bulb to a LED bulb due to the excessive heat. My fridge is a Dometic, but a 8cu ft model. Otherwise the same as yours.
Good idea about using a video to show what's going on inside the 'fridge with the door closed. I also like the idea of swapping to an LED light bulb to reduce the heat.
We've been in Pennsylvania's Pocono mountains for the past 9 nights, and tomorrow is the trip home, so I'll give the video cam a go and see what's up.
Thanks for the tips!
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Old 07-07-2014, 09:37 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaadk View Post
All depends. Do you want the light when the door's open? If not, then I believe you just need to disconnect J2 on the control board of the outside panel.

I'm not exactly sure of that though, so you'll want to review this thread:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...art-26676.html

It talks about a 'condensation' feature on the DM2652's that just suck back the juice, but in the instructions on how to disable that feature, it covers the interior light since they're on the same circuit.
Right. I looked at the wiring diagram and noticed that the same hot wire (J2) that feeds the light switch also feeds the door seal heater. Disabling the heater would cause condensation problems around the door for sure. A current check (amperage) on that same wire would include both the light bulb and the heater too.
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Old 07-13-2014, 09:51 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cmptrkd View Post
I have the same exact problem. Dealer has worked with it twice. I was putting my phone in the fridge on video camera mode and you could see the door close and not hit the light. If you push on that edge of the door, it will make contact and shut off the light. .
Took your advice on the video the other day. Did it after we got home and the fridge was unloaded and warm, and the light actually does go on and off when the door is opened and closed. Funny how when the fridge is active and full of food, the light fixture lens is hot every time I open the door. Could it be a thermal expansion/contraction problem, or possibly things shifting due to weight of contents of the fridge?
Just does not make sense that the lens would be hot.
Next I'll do the same test with the fridge loaded. 1st of August is our next trip.
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Old 05-31-2015, 04:57 PM   #7
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I discovered the same issue on our fridge this past weekend. Brand new WnP 30WLA on trip #2. I couldn't figure out why some drinks were colder than others. Then my wife pulled out 2 steaks for dinner and found them both warm and brown. I had my hand near the light and felt the heat coming off it. So I stuck my cell phone in there in video mode and found the light was staying on all the time. As a quick fix, I just pulled the bulb out. I didn't see any type of adjustment on the switch. Has anyone found a fix to this or is the binder clip it?
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Old 06-28-2015, 03:50 PM   #8
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Just found the same problem with my light staying on in the Frig. What I did to fix it was put two layers of white shrink tubing over the switch lever on the light, two layers enlarged the switch lever just enough so it now makes contact with the door when closed.
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Old 06-28-2015, 05:05 PM   #9
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I ended up just wrapping a couple wraps of electrical tape on it. It's been working fine since.
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