Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-15-2018, 09:17 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 6
Refer Performance

I have been testing all the systems on our (soon to be) 179. Everything seems go except the performance of the refrigerator. The coldest I have been able to get it is about 48f. The outside temp is around 90 in the shade, but still. Does this sound like normal performance. If not, is there anything I can do to improve the performance other than replacing the cooling unit?
lehuhn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2018, 09:20 PM   #2
Site Team
 
Mr. Dan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Grayson County, Texas
Posts: 21,502
How long have you had it running? They take a "long time" to be cool.
__________________
2015 FR Wildcat 295RSX / GMC Sierra

Nights Camped: '13 = 49/'14 = 74/'15 = 74/'16 = 85/'17 = 110/'18 = 111/'19 = 86/'20 =108/'21 = 115/'22 = 135/'23 = 78; Booked for 2024 = 69
Mr. Dan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2018, 09:32 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Oaklevel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Virginia
Posts: 9,737
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Dan View Post
How long have you had it running? They take a "long time" to be cool.
X2 Especially in the hot sun. You need to give it several hours to a couple of days depending.


__________________

2005 Dodge 3500 Cummins
2017 Wildwood Lodge 4092 BFL
1966 Mustang GT
1986 Mustang SVO
Lillie Spoiled Rotten Boxer Mix
Oaklevel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2018, 09:46 PM   #4
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 6
Reply

It is sitting the shade, but the daytime temps have been around 90-95 every day for a while. It has been running at least 24 hours. 50 is as low as it gets and that is on shore power.
lehuhn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2018, 09:52 PM   #5
Site Team
 
Mr. Dan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Grayson County, Texas
Posts: 21,502
If you'll post who manufactured the fridge and its model number, someone will give suggestions for tests.
__________________
2015 FR Wildcat 295RSX / GMC Sierra

Nights Camped: '13 = 49/'14 = 74/'15 = 74/'16 = 85/'17 = 110/'18 = 111/'19 = 86/'20 =108/'21 = 115/'22 = 135/'23 = 78; Booked for 2024 = 69
Mr. Dan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-16-2018, 12:12 AM   #6
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 6
According to the manual the model and serial number should be on a sticker inside the unit, but it is not there. The manual is generic to several models, but by the process of elimination it is probably a Dometic 8501 or 8551.

After speaking tonight with a friend who owns a trailer with the same brand of refer, I found that the cooling fan is not operating. Tomorrow I will try to track down the cause for that issue, but that is likely at least part of the problem. My friend said that there was an in-line fuse on his cooling fan, but I do not find one on my model.
lehuhn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-16-2018, 01:49 AM   #7
Just as confused as you
 
Scrapper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: south central Wisconsin
Posts: 5,108
Operations manual can be found here. https://www.campingworld.com/include...cs/RML8555.pdf
Service manual can be found here. http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/Servi...,%20RM8xxx.pdf


I'll warn you that neither one seems to explain much on testing and troubleshooting.
__________________
Richard & Jill
2014 Flagstaff 832IKBS Classic Super Lite
2018 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab Z71 4WD All Star Edition
Camping since 1989, Seasonal since 2000.
Car Shredder Op/Tech, Scrap Metal Recycling - retired
Scrapper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2018, 08:51 PM   #8
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 6
Model 8501

I finally located a sticker in the refrigerator and the model is a RM 8501. I have also determined that the cooling fan in the lower back of the unit is not working. It is interesting that none of the schematics that I have found online for that model show a cooling fan. However, the cooling fan never seems to run.
lehuhn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2018, 12:44 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Greenbrier, TN
Posts: 124
You can pull the leads off the sensor and short them together, that will make fan run if it works. If it runs, then next check sensor.
mcarter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2018, 08:31 AM   #10
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 6
I jumped the sensor leads and the fan runs. With the fan running the performance has improved. Now I need to find a replacement sensor. It appears to me that this was an after market fan kit, because the electrical schematic does not show a fan or fan switch. Thanks everyone for the help.
lehuhn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2018, 11:44 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Greenbrier, TN
Posts: 124
lehuhn,


I put a multimeter on sensor and heated the sensor with a heat gun to ensure it worked, I also monitored temp with infrared heat gun, my sensor was good.
mcarter is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:06 PM.