refrigerator

[lexington03]

Originally Posted by doanshop

No sandpaper just hold it to absorption tank let it vibrate tank .you need to hold it not just wedge it in there move it from bottom to side as you do it . bumpy road will do more harm to rv .

thank you so much! well...could not find a DA sander and we live many miles from a store, so hubby took her for a drive last night - about 15 min.. not too bumpy of a road but dirt. Its working like a charm.. still VERY much appreciate the info!!!

[doanshop]

Originally Posted by lwbfl

I've removed dozens and turned them upside down and then tested them the next day. Worked 90% of the time, sure wish I would have tried to vibrate them loose first!

That was what I was faced with .I was going to have to remove my Dad's fridge . That's why I tried d/a sander and it worked . If it didn't work I was still going to have to remove his . But I got lucky and his worked then everyone he knew that had nonworking fridges came to me got all but one to work 20 out of 21 back in 1982 have fixed many others since then lost count .

[bob213]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

I've found that the plastic of the slider deforms with age and the thermistor falls out, even if the slider still holds onto the fin.

Binder clip holds the thermistor wire firmly on the fin.

[doanshop]

Originally Posted by lexington03

thank you so much! well...could not find a DA sander and we live many miles from a store, so hubby took her for a drive last night - about 15 min.. not too bumpy of a road but dirt. Its working like a charm.. still VERY much appreciate the info!!!

Your welcome !

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by bob213

Binder clip holds the thermistor wire firmly on the fin.

Now I finally have something to do with those binder clips I've had in my drawer for years.

[lwbfl]

Originally Posted by doanshop

That was what I was faced with .I was going to have to remove my Dad's fridge . That's why I tried d/a sander and it worked . If it didn't work I was still going to have to remove his . But I got lucky and his worked then everyone he knew that had nonworking fridges came to me got all but one to work 20 out of 21 back in 1982 have fixed many others since then lost count .

Yeah, I was purchasing damaged campers of all sorts and using the good parts to refurbish others and scrapping the rest. Found very few refers that couldn't be brought back to life!

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

Now I finally have something to do with those binder clips I've had in my drawer for years.

I use them to close bags of chips!

[heybarb]

We recently purchased a 2000 pop-up camper and found that the fridge did not work. My husband thought I was crazy when I suggested rolling it around in the yard, but he was willing to give it a try. Plugged it in and it still didn't work. Came back here and saw someone else (can't remember who on this post) suggested turning it upside down for a while. We tried that - and VIOLA - it's working!! Thank you so much!!

[JayB240]

We have a 2015 Micro Lite 19 foot trailer

Our refrigerator in the trailer is failing on
propane or 220 Vac power.

Propane: 12 vdc

Battery 12.5 volts
Refrigerator: Auto mode
Propane on: Burner lights
No cold in refrigerator
- digital thermometer in refrigerator

Done so far: Replaced the control card
Result: burner lights
Cleaned propane jet: isopropyl alcohol
Result: No change
Measured resistance of heater element
80 ohms

When plugged into shore power:
Propane valve turns off
Heater element feels warm outside chamber

[Chuck_S]

In the Auto mode the LP valve is designed to turn off in 120vAC (assuming 220vAC is a typo) so that's working as it should.

Are you giving this enough time? Burner lights? You should get cold in several hours on LP. Same on AC.

-- Chuck

[JayB240]

Originally Posted by JayB240

We have a 2015 Micro Lite 19 foot trailer

Our refrigerator in the trailer is failing on
propane or 220 Vac power.

Propane: 12 vdc

Battery 12.5 volts
Refrigerator: Auto mode
Propane on: Burner lights
No cold in refrigerator
- digital thermometer in refrigerator

Done so far: Replaced the control card
Result: burner lights
Cleaned propane jet: isopropyl alcohol
Result: No change
Measured resistance of heater element
80 ohms

When plugged into shore power:
Propane valve turns off
Heater element feels warm outside chamber

Refrigerator is Dometic RM2551

My current plan is to disconnect the thermister from the control
Board. If Refrigerator gets super cold I need a new thermister.

When connected to shore power it’s 220 Vac.
The 220 Vac is split to provide 120 Vac current
To the propane solenoid.

Jay

[NJKris]

If you are plugged into 220v shore power with your 30 amp rig, I'd be surprised anything works but smoke signals!

[Chuck_S]

This 2015 Micro Lite 19 foot trailer must be the only one ever made with a 220vAC (50amp) electrical system, all the the other ones are 120vAC (30 amp) albeit with a twist lock 3-prong plug.

-- Chuck

[faithie999]

Originally Posted by doanshop

How RV Refrigerators Work
There are 2 brands of refrigerators commonly found in RVs:

Dometic RV refrigerator
Norcold RV refrigerator
Both operate under the same principles.

This is how an RV refrigerator operates:

A sealed cooling element is heated — either with a gas flame or an electric heating element.
The cooling unit amounts to a series of tubes filled with an ammonia-based liquid — as heat is applied, the fluid circulates through the cooling unit drawing the heat out of the refrigerator.

doanshop--thanks for the explanation of how RV fridges work. we have a 2021 Surveyor 19BHLE with a norcold 10 cu ft fridge (12v only).

I had wrongly assumed that the fridge had a compressor, since whenever it kicks on, there is a fairly loud sound that I thought was a motor. then after a while, (I assume when the fridge has reached the temp set point) the louder sound stops and is replaced by a softer sound that I assume is the cooling fan for the 120 to 12v charger that is working to recharge the battery due to the fridge being on for a while.

is the "loud" sound a fan behind the fridge that exhausts hot air out through the roof vent? there is a small circulation fan in the fridge compartment but I doubt that is what I'm hearing.

thanks

ken

[NJKris]

I don't know which model Norcold you have, but those 12v models DO have a micro compressor.

Originally Posted by faithie999

doanshop--thanks for the explanation of how RV fridges work. we have a 2021 Surveyor 19BHLE with a norcold 10 cu ft fridge (12v only).

I had wrongly assumed that the fridge had a compressor, since whenever it kicks on, there is a fairly loud sound that I thought was a motor. then after a while, (I assume when the fridge has reached the temp set point) the louder sound stops and is replaced by a softer sound that I assume is the cooling fan for the 120 to 12v charger that is working to recharge the battery due to the fridge being on for a while.

is the "loud" sound a fan behind the fridge that exhausts hot air out through the roof vent? there is a small circulation fan in the fridge compartment but I doubt that is what I'm hearing.

thanks

ken

[faithie999]

it's a Norcold N10DCSSR.

It has independent settings for fridge temp and freezer temp.

[NJKris]

According to their website, it has a 12v dc compressor.

[doanshop]

Originally Posted by faithie999

it's a Norcold N10DCSSR.

It has independent settings for fridge temp and freezer temp.

Yours is not a absorption fridge .The fan you are hearing is most likely the converter mounted under your fridge keeping the batteries charged or supplying power for fridge .You would have to pull the access cover off and look to see if that is where the converter is mounted you should find it so you know where it is located in case of charging problems in the future . hope this helps .

[faithie999]

thanks. I assumed the "softer noise" that continued after the compressor shut off was the fan cooling the 120v to 12v converter/charger.