Dometic Fridge not getting cold

[Hersbird]

The error message on the fridge means it has neither AC shore power or LP gas yet it is turned on. Yes just run the gas while traveling. Even the old fridges that could run on 12V weren't great, the 12v often exceeded the amp ability of the 7 way wiring and would draw the camper batteries down. That and I'm sure many people forgot to switch once parked and drained the batteries in everything down in short order. You could probably add a 12v heater to where the 120v one is and have 3 way back, but I have a feeling the above reasons are why they went away from 3 way fridges.

[rockfordroo]

Remember - your fridge ALWAYS needs 12VDC to power its "brains." It needs either 120VAC or LP gas to power the cooling circuit.

[rbq]

KBR1948
It seems that you answered the question about why you may be getting an error on your fridge when you unplug. If you have turned off the propane at the tank then the fridge either on automatic or LP will try & use the propane & if it's off then the fridge won't work and therefore the error. Leave the propane turned on & the fridge turned on while traveling. Has always worked for me. The majority of RV'ers run the fridge on LP while driving.

[Scrapper]

KBR1948

All 2-way and 3-way refrigerators need 12vdc to operate the control board whether they are using LP or plugged into 120vac. Some 2-way fridges have a heating strip that use 12vdc to keep condensation from between the doors. That heat strip is a power hog.

[rockfossilman]

Originally Posted by owlandfox

Greetings to the forum! And as always, thanks in advance.

DW and I have a 2017 23IKSS with a Dometic DMR702. Even since new, the fridge has only gotten cool, but it worked.

That changed in Early June. We were on a short range (in town) camping trip and the fridge seemed to not get cold. The freezer does get cold. This was using electrical from the campground (KOA)

Took it to an RV repair, they ran the camper/fridge on electrical for 1.5 days and it maintained 37 degrees. It was an empty fridge though.

We usually stock the fridge before our trip, use the LP to run the fridge during transit and when we arrive, change it over to electical.

Fast forward to July 2. We travel to Gettysburg for the July 4th Holiday. stocked fridge the fridge at home, as usual. Now, this year Gettysburg is under a heat warning. It was 101 degrees when we pulled in on Monday. Freezer part was running okay, but the fridge part showed 70! We have a cheap little thermometer in there.

So, off to Wally World and buy a cooler.

Freezer part still seems to work okay. We are letting it run, with just a few items that don't really need to be refridgerated, but taste better cold.

Everything else in camper works. (though the 13.5K AC is struggling with 100 degree days. Nights get down to 74!)

Any ideas greatly appreciated!

Just got to read this thread--sorry for the delay. We had the same problem with ours. Had it in for service--they couldn't reproduce the problem with an empty frig😲. I see yours has plastic panels on the shelves and on the cooling fins just like ours.

I removed the plastic panel from the cooling fins and from the top shelf - - haven't had a problem since. My conclusion is that the panels restrict air flow so much that cool air doesn't circulate properly in the cabinet. The plastic is pretty, but those little holes get covered up with food restricting air movement.

[owlandfox]

Originally Posted by rockfossilman

Just got to read this thread--sorry for the delay. We had the same problem with ours. Had it in for service--they couldn't reproduce the problem with an empty frig😲. I see yours has plastic panels on the shelves and on the cooling fins just like ours.

I removed the plastic panel from the cooling fins and from the top shelf - - haven't had a problem since. My conclusion is that the panels restrict air flow so much that cool air doesn't circulate properly in the cabinet. The plastic is pretty, but those little holes get covered up with food restricting air movement.

RockFossilMan, I hadn't tried that yet. I'll post so pics of what I did, but it didn't make a lick of difference! I'm still struggling with this!

[str8t six]

have you checked all the wiring?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkLi_-5auN4