Dometic refrigerator model DM2652RBF1

JPin AZ · 08-09-2019, 03:18 PM

My refrigerator sounds like it has a fan running at times. Do they have electric fans?

**bikendan** · 08-09-2019, 03:36 PM

Some do. You should go through the fridge manual and see if one is mentioned or pictured.

JPin AZ · 08-09-2019, 03:42 PM

I will do that this weekend. We are going to be running on battery only this weekend and was just wondering how much power I will lose to the fridge.

rockfordroo · 08-09-2019, 04:06 PM

If the fridge is in a slide, they often have fans.

I see yours is not in a slide. But given your TT is 9 years old and you're just asking now, I'm guessing you aren't the original owner. So a previous owner may have added a fan(s).

JPin AZ · 08-09-2019, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

If the fridge is in a slide, they often have fans.

I see yours is not in a slide. But given your TT is 9 years old and you're just asking now, I'm guessing you aren't the original owner. So a previous owner may have added a fan(s).

No

**bikendan** · 08-09-2019, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPin AZ

I will do that this weekend. We are going to be running on battery only this weekend and was just wondering how much power I will lose to the fridge.

As far as I know, the 2652 is a 2-way fridge, NOT a 3-way fridge. So it won't run on 12v power only. That fridge is propane/110v AC ONLY. It will use 12v power to ignite the propane and to run the electronics.
JP, didn't your dealer explain how the fridge worked, during the PDI/walkthrough? If not, they committed a major fail.

JPin AZ · 08-09-2019, 06:37 PM

bikendan I have run it on 12 volts and gas for days. Also on 110v. It is a 2011 Roo I bought used a few months ago. Going off grid for a few days and may leave it that way for a few weeks running the fridge.

rbq · 08-09-2019, 07:20 PM

My 2011 233S had the same model fridge. The fridge crapped out on me in 2016. The F1 part of the model number signifies a fan or 2. When I pulled mine out it had 1 or 2, can't remember but there was a fan on it in the back. I remember hearing it turn off & on occasionally. The local dealer had never seen that model number with the F1 and the fridge that replaced it was the DM2652RB. It works just fine without having a fan & I don't miss the fan noise. I will also make a note here that one benefit of not having the permanently attached bunk end allowed me to slide the new fridge in on the bunk as it was too wide to go in the door. I disassembled the old one to get it out the door.

rbq · 08-09-2019, 07:25 PM

I don't remember for sure, but I think that fan on the back was wired into the control board on the back of the fridge so if you can find it you just disconnect the wires going to the fan & the fridge should run fine without the fan. That fan was just moving air around behind the fridge & had nothing to do with the inside of the fridge.

rockfordroo · 08-09-2019, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPin AZ

I will do that this weekend. We are going to be running on battery only this weekend and was just wondering how much power I will lose to the fridge.

JPin - your fridge probably has a door heater. It pulls 0.5 amps at 12VDC. I'm attaching a document that shows one way to disable it. If you don't need the light inside, just pull the wire off pin J2.

Refer door heater switch mod.pdf

**Platokidd** · 08-09-2019, 09:28 PM

If the fridge has a fan I don't recommend disconnecting it. Most fridge's with fans have a thermostat to turn them on. Think my fans come on at 96 degrees to help cool off the cooling unit. An overheated cooling unit is a soon to be dead.

**bikendan** · 08-10-2019, 02:21 AM

My 2652 doesn't have a fan.
It does have the unswitched door heater. I disconnected it but it also takes power away from the fridge lignt.

5picker · 08-10-2019, 08:01 AM

I don't have your refrigerator but in tests with mine, (1350 4 door model) leaving the fans (I have 4... 2 from factory, 2 I added) run their course, uses about one AH more battery over a weekend than when disconnecting them.

BUT... the refrigerator suffers in performance when not using them so very little battery gain for pi$$ poor refrigerator performance.

Now as bikendan mentioned, the door heaters are a different story and I do disconnect them.

**Platokidd** · 08-10-2019, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5picker

I don't have your refrigerator but in tests with mine, (1350 4 door model) leaving the fans (I have 4... 2 from factory, 2 I added) run their course, uses about one AH more battery over a weekend than when disconnecting them.

BUT... the refrigerator suffers in performance when not using them so very little battery gain for pi$$ poor refrigerator performance.

Now as bikendan mentioned, the door heaters are a different story and I do disconnect them.

I have 1350 fridge as well and run the 2 stock plus 2 more fans. On a hot day with 4 fans running the temp behind my fridge can reach 100 F. Yes, I do monitor the temp back there since the replacement of the cooling unit.$$$$

Do note: the op lives in sunny Arizona and I'm sure it geta very hot behind the fridge

.
They do make solar powered fans the could be an option, if you can find them...
https://www.rvupgradestore.com/Camco...-p/72-8148.htm

HONDAMAN174 · 08-10-2019, 12:12 PM

Try this thread about adding more fans:

Refrigerator work better with computer fans
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ad.php?t=86045

I added 3 fans to help cool my fridge. One below blowing in air and 2 up top sucking out hot air. When getting ready to go, fridge gets to 34 and freezer 0. Have seen freezer as low as -7

JPin AZ · 08-11-2019, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbq

My 2011 233S had the same model fridge. The fridge crapped out on me in 2016. The F1 part of the model number signifies a fan or 2. When I pulled mine out it had 1 or 2, can't remember but there was a fan on it in the back. I remember hearing it turn off & on occasionally. The local dealer had never seen that model number with the F1 and the fridge that replaced it was the DM2652RB. It works just fine without having a fan & I don't miss the fan noise. I will also make a note here that one benefit of not having the permanently attached bunk end allowed me to slide the new fridge in on the bunk as it was too wide to go in the door. I disassembled the old one to get it out the door.

The manual mentions a fan fuse on the DM2652 but that is about it. No door heater. So i spent a couple days in the trailer. Saturday the fan ran a lot. At one time I bet it ran four times in ten minutes for about four minutes total. We were in Flagstaff and maybe 80 degrees. Fridge was 40 degrees and the freezer was zero. Sunday morning I wake up and I can hear the fridge burning propane. Four hours later it is still burning propane. Fridge is about 44 degrees freezer is at 15 degrees. Fellow camper thinks it is defrosting, manual makes no mention of auto defrost. I left it alone for about 50 minutes and the freezer went town to ten degrees. I think the fridge has had it but I left it 2+ hours away from home running and will probably not know its status for two weeks. Ice cubes in zip locks in the freezer will be my test bed.

Scrapper · 08-11-2019, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPin AZ

The manual mentions a fan fuse on the DM2652 but that is about it. No door heater. So i spent a couple days in the trailer. Saturday the fan ran a lot. At one time I bet it ran four times in ten minutes for about four minutes total. We were in Flagstaff and maybe 80 degrees. Fridge was 40 degrees and the freezer was zero. Sunday morning I wake up and I can hear the fridge burning propane. Four hours later it is still burning propane. Fridge is about 44 degrees freezer is at 15 degrees. Fellow camper thinks it is defrosting, manual makes no mention of auto defrost. I left it alone for about 50 minutes and the freezer went town to ten degrees. I think the fridge has had it but I left it 2+ hours away from home running and will probably not know its status for two weeks. Ice cubes in zip locks in the freezer will be my test bed.

Zip lock bags have been known to leak and leave a mess. Ice cube tray filled and frozen with a penny on top of one of the cubes or a small bowl of water, frozen with a penny laying on top works great. If the ice melts the penny sinks.

rockfordroo · 08-11-2019, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPin AZ

The manual mentions a fan fuse on the DM2652 but that is about it. No door heater. So i spent a couple days in the trailer. Saturday the fan ran a lot. At one time I bet it ran four times in ten minutes for about four minutes total. We were in Flagstaff and maybe 80 degrees. Fridge was 40 degrees and the freezer was zero. Sunday morning I wake up and I can hear the fridge burning propane. Four hours later it is still burning propane. Fridge is about 44 degrees freezer is at 15 degrees. Fellow camper thinks it is defrosting, manual makes no mention of auto defrost. I left it alone for about 50 minutes and the freezer went town to ten degrees. I think the fridge has had it but I left it 2+ hours away from home running and will probably not know its status for two weeks. Ice cubes in zip locks in the freezer will be my test bed.

Open the outside door of your fridge and look for the wiring schematic. Compare it to the diagram in my Post #10 OR to the pic of MY actual fridge's diagram below. Chance are good that you have a door heater. Note that it's called a "heating cable" (item "K") in the diagram. It may also be Item "L" on your diagram. The manuals aren't real great when it comes to discussing this. Your manual may talk about a Climate Control Heater or Climate Control System. That's the door heater. It's wired in parallel with the inside light/door switch.

The diagram in Post #10 also shows a switch for the heating cable, but it seems they've dropped the switch 8-9 years ago; the pic of mine doesn't have it. So YOUR diagram may or may not show it.

HONDAMAN174 · 08-11-2019, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPin AZ

The manual mentions a fan fuse on the DM2652 but that is about it. No door heater. So i spent a couple days in the trailer. Saturday the fan ran a lot. At one time I bet it ran four times in ten minutes for about four minutes total. We were in Flagstaff and maybe 80 degrees. Fridge was 40 degrees and the freezer was zero. Sunday morning I wake up and I can hear the fridge burning propane. Four hours later it is still burning propane. Fridge is about 44 degrees freezer is at 15 degrees. Fellow camper thinks it is defrosting, manual makes no mention of auto defrost. I left it alone for about 50 minutes and the freezer went town to ten degrees. I think the fridge has had it but I left it 2+ hours away from home running and will probably not know its status for two weeks. Ice cubes in zip locks in the freezer will be my test bed.

Mine has done that before and I have turned off unit for one hour and turned back on and all was good 4 hours later. Had medium frost in freezer at the time so maybe had something to do with it.

JPin AZ · 08-12-2019, 04:19 PM

Thanks for the replies. After reading them and doing some youtube you all are correct. Bikendan it is a two way, which is good because I left it on auto when I left it. rbq it does have one fan, I may deal with upgrading it but that means removing the unit or adding fans above it through the roof. rockfordroo it must have a door heater, I would really like to keep the door light. Possibly add a switch to J2 for off grid use? Right now I am more concerned about it running but not being cold. Some say the propane burns constantly, I swear I heard it cycle before but it did not for the last 4 plus hours I was there. If the burner is running, which it is, it should be cold. I was feeling the pipes and 'absorber vessel" and none of them were hot, should they be hot? I am wishing I brought it home, but hopefully all of this may be for nothing and it is cold now.

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