Dometic Refrigerator Issue

[cousin_eddie]

On our last trip out in our 2014 Rockwood 2514G, the Dometic refrigerator quit working on 110v. We had been out for a couple of days and everything was cold, the third day it was warm. We switched over to propane, and it started cooling again.

I verified there is power to the 110v outlet the fridge is plugged into, and that the switches were all in the correct settings. I turned the temp control knob back and forth to try and "clean" the connections, and it's still not working.

Wondering if anyone else has had this same problem, and if anyone has any ideas. I'm hoping I'm missing something stupid, but I have a feeling this will be expensive...

[f5moab]

From what I have heard, if it works on one fuel you have hope. The ammonia has not leaked out. Also, if it works on one fuel it is most likely not the thermostat. This is what I was told on the phone by a repair person in another state.
Have you tried operation on DC?

But you just MIGHT be still on warranty. I thought mine came with a two year warranty (on some parts not sure what).

[dcheatwood]

Mine went out in the spring and I found a blown glass fuse in the panel behind it. Had to remove the cover on the mother board, lower left in the rear, and it was a vertical fuse. I'll try to get a picture. good luck.

[dcheatwood]

My fuse looked good but when checked for continuity, it was bad. Hope this helps.

[SeaDog]

You may also want to do a continuity check of the heating element it may have burned out.

[Rexford]

Similar thing happened with us except that the 120v AC works now. We own a 2015 2514g popup. Love it! This summer used it for three trips. On our second trip the fridge stopped working on 120v AC so I switched to propane and it worked fine. Drove home with it on12v DC and it worked fine. Plugged it in at home and it worked fine. Our third trip used it on 120v AC and it worked fine. Don't know what it was that made it stop working. The campsite we were on was very level. Fuses were all good. Socket it's plugged into and GFI all good. It's one of those things that I'm not obsessing about because it works fine on propane. Many people use fridge on propane anyways. But it does sit in the back of my mind wondering "why".

[cousin_eddie]

Dcheatwood - Thanks for the heads up! I was hoping for something like this as a possibility, I will check it out when I get home from work.

Rexford - I had thought ours did that as well, meaning I thought it quit working on one trip but it was right before we left, and it worked when we got home so I never questioned it. This time it went out while we were camping, and it didn't come back when we got home.

The unit does work on 12v, but the inverter doesn't like to run it that long on 12v :-)

[Rexford]

Hmmmm. That concerns me now. Maybe I shouldn't ignore it then. We just bought the popup in March. I should check on my warranty for it then.

[f5moab]

Originally Posted by dcheatwood

My fuse looked good but when checked for continuity, it was bad. Hope this helps.

Exactly where is that circuit board located? I could not find one on my 2193. The 2193 is a very basic small 3-way fridge located in most popups. Also looked at the parts list for the fridge and no circuit board is listed. I'm going to throw out a SWAG that this small very basic fridge does not have one; or it just might not be a serviceable unit.

[f5moab]

Originally Posted by cousin_eddie

Dcheatwood - Thanks for the heads up! I was hoping for something like this as a possibility, I will check it out when I get home from work.

Rexford - I had thought ours did that as well, meaning I thought it quit working on one trip but it was right before we left, and it worked when we got home so I never questioned it. This time it went out while we were camping, and it didn't come back when we got home.

The unit does work on 12v, but the inverter doesn't like to run it that long on 12v :-)

Not sure if it will run on DC when connected to AC power. Not sure the WFCO converter would like it. So I used my two deep cycles mounted to the trailer and a battery charger to see if it works on DC.

[dcheatwood]

I guess it's different on those smaller ones. Mine is the typical tt size. Forget the model #. Something like 5265. Sorry it's no help.

[f5moab]

No problem. Besides, I turned my on AC last night again and this AM the water inside was frozen, and fridge is at 26 degrees. Looks like it decided to start working again. This fridge is more fickle than a politician.

[Bama Rambler]

This thread is a good example of why it's a good idea to include the appliance make and model when asking for help.

The RM2193 is a small 3-way fridge and it doesn't have electronic controls. It has a couple manual knobs in the back that regulate the gas and electric sides of the fridge.

You could have possibly had an intermittent connection issue that resolved itself. I'd recommend checking all the electrical connections in and to the fridge to make sure that's not the problem.

[f5moab]

Generally, popup users understand what is generally on a popup that is not on a large trailer/fifth wheel/or motorhome. So model numbers are not always required.
I knew what fridge the OP was talking about.

And all electrical connections have been checked from the Fridge to the switch to the converter. And it did not work and trailer was not moved, nothing jiggled, but I decided to try it on AC one more time, and it starts to work. Granted, it could be the actual switch. But for the DC/AC and propane all at once to stop, the suddenly the AC works? But at least if AC cools down, and the others don't work; I can guess it might be the complete switch assembly that is going bad.

Just got off the phone with a dealer and his statement was, "welcome to the world of Dometic;" the reason many campers drink warm beer.

[cousin_eddie]

The make was a Dometic (in the title of the post). The model number is a RM4223.

[cousin_eddie]

Couldn't find any fuses or a "motherboard" referenced on other posts. Looks like the 12 volt and 120 volt operate using the same thermostat, so it can only really be the switch or the heating element, right?

[Bama Rambler]

Correct, Your unit is basically the same as the RM2193. The controls are arranged a little different, but you don't have any electronic controls.

You have a good point about it being either the heating element or the switch. It could possibly be a loose or broken wire, but you should find that while troubleshooting the others.

I'd start by making sure that you have 120 volts to the switch. Then go from there.

[cousin_eddie]

Well, apparently it was a freon issue all along, as it now will not work on propane either. Propane flame is blue and fine, but the fridge can't get under 55 degrees, and I feel no temp changes on the coolers in back. At this point I'm shutting it down, as I feel all we are doing is wasting propane.

Wonderful. This makes it perfect - every Dometic product we have on our camper has failed within 2.5 years of purchase.

Oh, and the manufacturers warranty expired in April.

Not a big fan of Dometic.....

[cousin_eddie]

Saw online someone had said something about removing the unit, and turning it upside down for 24 hours to "mix the chemicals"? Anyone ever hear about this?

The only reason I ask is that we inspected it when we got home and found evidence of leaking ammonia anywhere. I have a good flame, and the chimney is getting hot, so I don't think the problem is on that side of things.

[Bama Rambler]

If you found evidence of ammonia leaking then the cooling unit is bad and will either have to be rebuilt or replaced. Turning the unit upside down won't fix that.