Refrig problem

[Ed Blake]

Our Dometic refrigerator runs very well in gas mode. But, we get no cooling in electric mode (including when we are hooked up to electricity in the camp ground). I have not been able to find a fuse for the refrigerator or anything other than the automatic button on the face of the refrigerator. Any other ideas to share?

[SeaDog]

Welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. You didn't say what rig you have or what model of Dometic frig. While plugged into shore power Go outside and remove the Frig vent and check to see that there is 110V at the receptical the Frig is plugged into if there is voltage unplug the Frig and test the heating element with a multi meter. Good luck

[TitanMike]

A common issue in many cases is a tripped GFCI outlet that is providing power for several other outlets. Since the Mfr doesn't provide any wiring diagrams it's hard to know where power is being fed from.

Check every GFCI outlet you can find and press the reset button (hard). Can't say if that is your issue but it's a good first start. I like to start simple and more than once it's solved my "no power at an outlet" problem.

Don't dig into the refrigerator itself until you've verified you have power at the outlet that feeds it usually loacated in the compartment that's covered by the outside grille.

No test meter? Plug in a light, power tool, or even a cell phone charger and check to see if it charges your phone. Usually SOMETHING available that can test an AC power outlet.

[cavie]

fridge should have an on/off button. Also gas button. Gas button in is gas off. Auto light will light and be on AC. Gas button out, fridge will be on gas. Auto light will not be on. Check light on means fridge is not on. Out of gas.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by cavie

fridge should have an on/off button. Also gas button. Gas button in is gas off. Auto light will light and be on AC. Gas button out, fridge will be on gas. Auto light will not be on. Check light on means fridge is not on. Out of gas.

If Auto light is on it should run on electricity if it's available as that's the priority. The key is to make sure that the electricity if reaching the refrigerator.

[Gumpster808]

We had a similar issue. Turned out the breaker for the fridge was bad and would not stay closed.

To verify I switched the line for the water heater electric to the fridge - fridge started working fine.

Replaced the breaker with one I found at Menards (I think).

The breaker was hard to see that it was not closed - could feel it closing and tripping when resetting though.

[Aspendog]

We had the same issue. Turns out the frig electric plug fell out of the receptacle. The recep is located behind a panel under the frig that had to be removed. Who would install an electrical receptacle facing down so the plug can fall out?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Aspendog

We had the same issue. Turns out the frig electric plug fell out of the receptacle. The recep is located behind a panel under the frig that had to be removed. Who would install an electrical receptacle facing down so the plug can fall out?

If the plug fell out all on it's own you need to replace the receptacle. Tension is required on the plug blades not just to retain the plug but to assure good electrical contact. If the receptacle had enough "tension" plug wouldn't just fall out.

BTW installing them like this is done all the time, especially for garage door openers.

Loose receptacles can lead to appliance failure (low voltage) or in worst case, fires.