new dometic fridge failure

[dm756]

Hello , We have a 2017 Rockwood V Nose . The fridge worked perfectly until last week. I went to start it the day b-4 we were to camp , and no lights came on , The fridge quit with no warning. I checked all the fuses inside and out. Then I called dometic , described the problem , and was told it sounded like a lowercircuit board problem.They said to call my service center. I called Vermont Country Campers , where I bought it, and they are great , Got right on it. They even called me Friday after 5 PM to give me an update. The problem is now that dometic will not call them back , or return their e-mails. Any sugestions? Maybe some higher up at Forest River will see this ,and put some pressure on dometic! Hopefully the circuit boards are on the next freighter from China!Does anyone else have problems with their model 702 ?

[Bama Rambler]

It may take a couple of days for Dometic to get back to the dealer about the fridge, but give them a few days, and if they haven't heard from them, try calling Dometic yourself.

[dm756]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry for the delay in responding .I just got home from work.I hope they can come up the circuit board soon. The service person I spoke to thought that it might be so new , they don't have them in inventory yet.

[5picker]

The Dometic model 702 has been around for several years. It isn't a new model by any stretch.

I know you are singing the praises of your dealer but if they are the ones telling you this stuff, it's hard to say what other non-truths they are passing along.

A good dealer would get a board (possibly even take one from a stock unit) and fix the problem and then fight with Dometic if there truly is a problem.

Just someone's opinion looking at it from a different viewpoint which didn't cost you a single red cent.

[Johnjschaeferjr]

I've said it before - Dometic products are inferior and should not be installed in RVs. Forest River should discontinue use of Dometic. They and FR customers would be better off.

[Philkaty]

john, so who's fridge is better

[Oneiron]

We had the same issue with our Roo 23IKS. Our tech found it right away. It is some sort of diode that failed and he even used the word " recall" when he was talking to another tech. Don't waste time pulling the board if this diode thing is the cause..he fixed it withing 10 minutes and fridge worked great during our recent trip. Good luck!

[Bill Ky]

Called Dometic a few weeks ago about a part on a RM8500. Their response was, for product liability reasons they no longer sell or give information, to retail customers. In my case I was looking for the part number.

[DouglasReid]

There are two fuses on the board, glass tubes with chrome ends, like an old automotive fuse. Check them to see if one is blown. You can also check the receptacle that the refer plugs into. It is inside the outside cover to see if it has power.

[Oneiron]

It may also help to have a digital multimeter. I checked the fuses and the outlet as well and both were in good shape. The diode mechanism, once replaced, made everything in working order immediately. It may be that the battery completely drained, as well, and this may be a cause of this failure, too! I would definitely check with your local dealer on these issues.

[Bama Rambler]

Just FYI, that diode looking thing isn't a diode at all (even though it looks kinda like one), it's a thermal fuse.

I would hope that the tech's had enough training to check that (and the flue hi-limit (thermofuse)) before suspecting the board. However, it's entirely possible that they didn't.

[OscarsMom2]

We had a similar problem when the propane supply was cut off by a bad regulator. The frig was working fine on electric and I disconnected the power. It was on auto, so it tried to fire up the propane. We heard a strange sound and I immediately turned off the frig. When we got home and plugged in the TT, the frig would not work on electric. I tested the plug-in and it was good. I looked at the two fuses and found that they were OK. I read a post that said there is a thermocouple on the frig vent pipe that can be reset. I put my hand up inside the covering for the pipe and pushed something. After that, the refrigerator light came back on and the frig worked. You might want to try that.

[Bnrc73]

Possible, but not probable. Is your gif breaker on the plug in in your bathroom tripped. Many people suggested that when I was having a similar problem.

[mtnbronco]

If you need a circuit board check out dinosaur electronics.com they make replacement circuit boards. My dometic works much better with it.

[ProfChuck]

We have a 2013 Windjammer and ran into a similar problem on our first trip. When we got to the campground, our fridge, which was working when we left, was totally dead. We called for help and the Coach-Net folks found us someone who would come out on a Sunday evening and fix the thing. The guy drove over 50 miles to get to the campground and after opening up the back of the fridge, said that a thermocouple wire was the culprit. He happened to have one since a similar thing happened to another customer the week before. We had been on propane while traveling and the winds were pretty high that day and kept blowing the flame out. He said the constant trying to light for the fridge, caused the thermocouple to burn out, shutting down the fridge. He had it fixed in short order (but, it was "our fault" for not turning the unit off while traveling) and told us not to travel with the fridge on propane. We haven't had any problem with it since (and we travel with the fridge off - yes food stays cold enough). You might want to ask about that as well. When that thermocouple goes, it shuts down the whole fridge, both gas and electric. It was behind the stack, as far as I could tell looking over his shoulder when he was working on it. Just a piece of wire, but what a pain. Hope yours is that easy as well.

[Bama Rambler]

I bet that 'thermocouple' wire was actually the thermal fuse. It's covered in material that looks like insulation, so you can't actually see it. From a distance it looks like part of the wire.

[keith_h]

On our last trip our fridge went out. It looked like it was the main board but really turned out to be a bad crimp in the wiring for the 12V from the converter. One of the three wires never made it into the crimp and was arcing. It had been this way for two years and everything worked up until this point. It would measure just fine with a meter but couldn't provide the current needed to run anything. The way it was found was when the wires were pulled to get more slack into the main board area it finally broke the connection.

[ProfChuck]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

I bet that 'thermocouple' wire was actually the thermal fuse. It's covered in material that looks like insulation, so you can't actually see it. From a distance it looks like part of the wire.

You could be right on that one, Bama, although he did show me a wire he had. Seemed pretty up and up, but, I may take it apart this winter and look again for myself. Thanks for the info.

[msdundas]

We have the same problem on a 2017 Flagstaff 832ikbs. The fridge went out in June. We took.it back to the dealer twice. The second time was to replace a circuit board that took 6 weeks to get in. I finally found a bad thermo fuse. I am still trying to het the part. I got one on eBay but it does not have the leads on it. I would have swapped it out but I want dometic to pay for the right part. Should be in in time for winterizing.