Dometic fridge wont get cold

[minattz]

Hey guys, done a lot of reading on here, but my RV fridge will not get cold. Its only a little over a year old, and worked all of last year. Just took it out this past weekend and it did not work. ON AC or Gas. I went to the exterior of the fridge unit and unplugged the power, and then back in, still no luck on either. it did have a bad smell when i opened up the fridge, but aired it out for a couple hours and its gone. Not sure if it will return if i try to run it again. I dont know what other simple troubleshooting I can do. Any help for simple troubleshooting?

[rbq]

First question I have to ask is: are the lights on at the control panel and does the light come on when you open the door?

[minattz]

yes the lights on the control panel come on, lights in the fridge come on. I also checked the fuse box below the fridge and all of them are fine. THanks.

[Seachaser186]

Our unit was less than two years old and then everything you described happened except the bad smell. To it to the dealer and the cooling unit was bad. Thank goodness I had the second year warranty.

[TURBS]

Smell like ammonia?

[minattz]

I dont exactly know what ammonia smells like..but it was pretty horrid. After leaving it open and aired out the smell went completely away. The only way I can tell if it is a leak is I would have to turn on the gas again and see if it smells up again.

[Mdaniels4]

Probably ammonia then. Leaking. Our first one had that issue. Since it was seasonal, I took it out and replaced it with an electric residential one, apartment size. Capped off the propane line, and plugged it in. Best mod I made to that camper. Total cost was about 150 bucks. Used it for 4 more years like that.

[minattz]

any other simple troubleshooting I can do to see if it is shot? Id hate to pay to take it to a dealer if it doesn't need to be.

[Mad Cow]

If it has to be replaced, a Dometic 12v/110v compressor powered fridge would be my choice. They have the same dimensions as the absorption models that come standard in RVs and the compressor versions not only do a far better job, but there is about 1 CF more room in the fridge and they are cheaper. They only use about 3-4 amps on 12v.

[minattz]

Thank you. Is this something I can do myself? Do you know a make and model I can buy without having to go through an RV seller. Thanks.

[bum4heli]

Be very sure that it was the ammonia that came out before you spend a bunch of money. I had a tech tell me that was what was wrong with mine and he quoted me $2,700 to replace. I said NO. I figured for that price I would put my food in a dang cooler. Funny thing happened. several months later, I moved my trailer from the side of my house to the front of my house. Not a really long trip. Just for fun I re-plugged the unit in, turned on the fridge, guess what. gets really cold.

[CaptnJohn]

If it leaked get an Amish replacement coil --

[garbonz]

Originally Posted by minattz

Hey guys, done a lot of reading on here, but my RV fridge will not get cold. Its only a little over a year old, and worked all of last year. Just took it out this past weekend and it did not work. ON AC or Gas. I went to the exterior of the fridge unit and unplugged the power, and then back in, still no luck on either. it did have a bad smell when i opened up the fridge, but aired it out for a couple hours and its gone. Not sure if it will return if i try to run it again. I dont know what other simple troubleshooting I can do. Any help for simple troubleshooting?

What do you mean by not work? Does the gas not ignite, boiler not heat on electric or not cool the inside.

Ammonia leaks occur on the outside of the frig not inside.

There may be a fuse on the control board in the back of the frig accessible through the vent opening.

[HerveVR]

Simple question.

Did you check the position of the temperature adjustement clip if so equipped ?

[dwreefs]

Following this as ours has quit also but no bad smells

[rvdoctor]

First thing is refrigerators can and do leak ammonia inside. Simplest test is turn on making sure the control panel light is on. Then feel the bottom of the coils on the rear of the refrigerator. If the result is that the coils are warm to the touch it is a defective cooling unit. Be careful when touching coils as they me hot. This should take no more than 5 minutes or so. If there is no heat on coils then there is an electronic control problem. Since your refrigerator has a strong order when opening, the cooling unit needs replacement.

[JohnD10]

I believe there was a Dometic refrigerator recall not too long ago...

Might check to see if yours falls into that recall!

[minattz]

Originally Posted by HerveVR

Simple question.

Did you check the position of the temperature adjustement clip if so equipped ?

Yes, i placed the clip as high as it would go after it wasnt getting cold. Still not working. Thanks.

[minattz]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

I believe there was a Dometic refrigerator recall not too long ago...

Might check to see if yours falls into that recall!

I will look into this, but all I see about recalls is older models. Mine is a 2017.

[Enerloss]

Mad Cow, What model of fridge did you replace? We have a Dometic 8 cu ft propane/120v that is giving us issues that we would like to replace. Your recommendation sounds like something that would be perfect for us.

Joan