2019 DX3 fridge problems

[D.Hutch]

I purchased a new DX3 that was delivered on May 10, 2018. Currently I have 10,400 miles on it. Two weeks ago my Frigidaire fridge stopped cooling and would only keep things at 60 degrees. I took the rig in to the dealer for Warranty repair. I was told that it was no longer cover under warranty! The warranty was only good for one year. I get it I am 2 unlucky months over but then again...can you help a customer out?

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by D.Hutch

I purchased a new DX3 that was delivered on May 10, 2018. Currently I have 10,400 miles on it. Two weeks ago my Frigidaire fridge stopped cooling and would only keep things at 60 degrees. I took the rig in to the dealer for Warranty repair. I was told that it was no longer cover under warranty! The warranty was only good for one year. I get it I am 2 unlucky months over but then again...can you help a customer out?

Do you keep it running all the time? You say 60 degrees, is that the reefer section? How about the freezer section?

Depending on the answers to those questions, this could be a very easy fix.

[D.Hutch]

The Fridge was started the day before I went to use the rig. By the middle of the next day we noticed everything was warm. The items in the fridge section was measured with a temp. gun at 60...the freezer was at 70.

The dealer ran the fridge for a few days and found the same results.

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by D.Hutch

The Fridge was started the day before I went to use the rig. By the middle of the next day we noticed everything was warm. The items in the fridge section was measured with a temp. gun at 60...the freezer was at 70.

The dealer ran the fridge for a few days and found the same results.

Not on for a long time and both sections are warm...sorry, you have a real problem, not a simple fix.

[DieselDevilDog]

Forest River like all the other manufacturers have to hold the Vendors and suppliers accountable for their units that they install. There are too many complaints on all forums about these items that break down. I realize that you are moving your home down the road with rattles and bumps but we spend big money to have these motorhomes/5th wheels etc problem free.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

Not on for a long time and both sections are warm...sorry, you have a real problem, not a simple fix.

Scott, it's possible that you are correct--a loss of refrigerant or failed compressor could be the cause. The "both sides are warm" is a red-herring. The cold air stream comes from one place in today's refrigerators. The "freezer temperature" setting is merely a diverter vent which selects which fraction of the cold air stream goes to the freezer and which goes to the refrigerator.

But there are several other things that could have caused these symptoms (slight or no cooling) that could be fixed by the OP himself for under $50 or $100.

1) Failed defrost timer/control board. The evaporator coils in the floor of the freezer get covered in a block of ice, so there's no airflow across them. A nuisance to check, but if the OP were to defrost the refrigerator for several hours, then see if it cools, it would be informative. I had this happen with a less-than-one-year-old refrigerator back in 1974.

2) Failed condenser fan motor. (I often suspect moving parts.) This is the fan underneath the refrigerator that cools off the hot coils. Often you can see this fan just by popping off the snap-on grill at the bottom front. If you can't see it from there, you have to move the refrigerator away from the wall and take off the cardboard cover at the back--a nuisance in an RV. The fan should be spinning if the refrigerator is running and trying to cool.

3) Failed evaporator fan motor. (another moving part) This one is inside the freezer and really easy to check. If the refrigerator is trying to cool, the OP should be greeted with a blast of air in the face when the freezer is opened. (might need to manually depress the door-open switch when the door is opened)

4) Failed compressor relay/overload. This tiny little assembly fails often. It can be replaced without any tools at all. It plugs into the side of the compressor and the wiring harness plugs into it. Diagnosis: Take the cardboard cover off the back of the refrigerator. Find the compressor--it's a big, black, domed cylinder with two copper tubes coming out. When the refrigerator is running, it should be warm (possibly hot) and you should feel a hum when resting your hand on the dome. The compressor rarely fails (an exception to my rule about moving parts) but this relay does. The good news is that it costs $70 at a local appliance store, $40 at an online store, $25 at Amazon, and $12 on eBay--for the exact same part number.

D. Hutch, I suggest you do two things:
1) Even if the coach has a one-year warranty, the manufacturer's warranty for the refrigerator may be longer. Contact the manufacturer to confirm.

2) Check the four items as listed above. Let us know what you find, and we can tell you how to proceed.

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Scott, it's possible that you are correct--a loss of refrigerant or failed compressor could be the cause. The "both sides are warm" is a red-herring....

That is where I was going. However, in a coach like his, it is extremely likely that there are two evaporators and two evaporator fans. I was hoping that one side was at least cool.

Beyond an easy one like a frozen evaporator or a failed fan, it could be a bad defrost timer or starting relay but I wouldn't want to talk someone through the diagnosis on that. He might look up the model and see if there is a service document that would allow him to cycle the defrost system, and do other things that would point at the failure. Not sure he is up to that.

Nothing simple though.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

That is where I was going. However, in a coach like his, it is extremely likely that there are two evaporators and two evaporator fans. I was hoping that one side was at least cool.

He called it a Frigidaire, so I assumed it was a standard residential refrigerator. I have never seen one with two evaporators.

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

Beyond an easy one like a frozen evaporator or a failed fan, it could be a bad defrost timer or starting relay but I wouldn't want to talk someone through the diagnosis on that. He might look up the model and see if there is a service document that would allow him to cycle the defrost system, and do other things that would point at the failure. Not sure he is up to that.

Not sure I agree with you. I have suggested simple diagnostics for each of the items I proposed.

Bad defrost timer: Do a manual defrost (power off, doors open). The refrigerator will cool fine for a couple of days before the evaporator ices up again.

Bad evaporator fan: Does it blow in your face when you open the freezer door?

Bad condenser fan: Visual inspection by removing the snap-on grille in front or six screws cardboard cover in back.

Compressor relay: Remove cardboard cover. Feel compressor for warmth and hum.

I got kicked off NextDoor Neighborhood by answering too many appliance questions and angering the "professionals." I still get personal emails from some of the subscribers. It's not near as hard as they appear to make it.

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by DieselDevilDog

Forest River like all the other manufacturers have to hold the Vendors and suppliers accountable for their units that they install. There are too many complaints on all forums about these items that break down. I realize that you are moving your home down the road with rattles and bumps but we spend big money to have these motorhomes/5th wheels etc problem free.

Hold them accountable how? This was outside of the warranty window for the fridge. Yes, it sucks. I have been in the same boat. I had a dishwasher go out after 13 months. Also from the same mfg I had a washer and dryer last over 14 years (still going when we moved).

Do you go to Best Buy when something breaks out of warranty and ask them to help, just because it was so close to the warranty date? They buy a lot more than we do I'm sure have more leverage to hold them accountable. The only thing we can really do is take our business elsewhere...maybe there is a fridge supplier with a two year warranty?

I know that when I purchased my last set of appliances, they sent me about a gazillion extended warranty offers prior to expiration. If you registered the fridge, then you are likely able to buy an extended warranty on just that appliance. I would give that a shot as well.

While we have often helped outside of warranty when it is something that we built, it's tough to cover something that someone else built and failed outside of the warranty window. Where do you draw the line??? What if someone else is 6 months outside the window? Should that qualify if because in their mind they didn't use it as much? Its a very slippery slope.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Hold them accountable how? This was outside of the warranty window for the fridge. Yes, it sucks. I have been in the same boat. I had a dishwasher go out after 13 months. Also from the same mfg I had a washer and dryer last over 14 years (still going when we moved).

How? Since Dynamax buys a lot of refrigerators or vent fans or water heaters or whatever, it has a certain amount of leverage over the vendor. I wouldn't go to bat for every failure beyond warranty, but certainly any of these example approaches are in order:

"Mr. Supplier, 20% of your water heaters have failed in the first two years. In the future we would like you to consider providing a two-year warranty instead of one-year in the future. We would also like to hear your thoughts on making the current owners whole." Unspoken: "If you don't do this, we will buy from your competitor."

"Mr. Supplier, your upholstery has delaminated on virtually 100% of the product we've shipped. It's not unsafe, but it's definitely unsightly. Why don't you have a representative here next week to discuss a product recall/replacement program?" Unspoken: "If you don't do this, we will buy from your competitor."

"Mr. Supplier, the white plastic marker lights, range hood vents, overhead vents, and rain gutter extensions you provide turn mustard yellow in two years. They crumble and fall apart in another three years. At our rallies we can tell the year of a product by looking at the plastic color and state. We would like to see a report from your plastic molding resin consultant discussing options for a better product in the future." Unspoken: "If you don't do this, we will buy from your competitor."

[bclemens]

Sorry, that was more of a rhetorical question. We do all of those things already...

I was more looking for how to hold them accountable for a product that failed outside the warranty window that we do not see a high failure rate on.

and when they already offer a 3 year warranty for a fee.

https://www.frigidaire.com/Owner-Cen...ce-Agreements/

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Sorry, that was more of a rhetorical question. We do all of those things already...

I was more looking for how to hold them accountable for a product that failed outside the warranty window that we do not see a high failure rate on.

and when they already offer a 3 year warranty for a fee.

https://www.frigidaire.com/Owner-Cen...ce-Agreements/

Sorry, the rhetorical aspect blew right by me. DW insists I am way too literal. She and my sibs insist I have Asperger's.

[ScottBrownstein]

Now...then there is a systematic, high volume absurd failure...like this, which is clearly a manufacturing defect!

[D.Hutch]

I did find the evap fan running. I did try and the dealer tried several days later to get the fridge to cool with no luck. Will do some troubleshooting tonight on the other items to check out.

As far a the extended warranty...I GUANTEE FRIGIDAIRE WILL NOT HONOR AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR A UNIT INSTALLED IN AN RV...

[NV DX3]

Was this plugged in and it was 60 or while running down the highway? Did you have the converter set correctly on enabled if when driving? I assume you know that you need to change it over when in battery mode.

[D.Hutch]

The fridge was on generator, and tried it on shore power. Both with no luck. Both fans run. Maybe the thermostat is bad or I lost the refrigerant?

[pkmkaz]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Hold them accountable how? This was outside of the warranty window for the fridge........Where do you draw the line??? What if someone else is 6 months outside the window? Should that qualify if because in their mind they didn't use it as much? Its a very slippery slope.

Thank you Brian for stating exactly what I was thinking!

[pkmkaz]

Originally Posted by D.Hutch

.......As far a the extended warranty...I GUANTEE FRIGIDAIRE WILL NOT HONOR AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR A UNIT INSTALLED IN AN RV...

Just spent 30 minutes holding on the phone with Frigidaire customer service “extended warranty” who told me when I was finally connected that THEY DO PUT EXTENDED WARRANTIES ON RV’s. But don’t take my word for it, call 1-800-374-4432 and follow the prompts.