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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> RV Maintenance and Technical Tips -> Refrigerator Problem Fix
Post Info TOPIC: Refrigerator Problem Fix
The Bear II


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Refrigerator Problem Fix
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Our Dometic Refrigerator started acting up.  It stopped getting cold all together both refrigerator and freezer.  After fiddling with the connections it started working again.  So I fiddled some more with the connections just to make sure all had good contact and the refrigerator portion stopped getting cold.  Freezer still worked.  That old saying if it ain't broke don't fix it came to mind.

I unplugged the refrigerator and took each connector off of the control board and reseated each.  Both sides are working and have been working for several days. 

I nearly went to the local RV supply to buy a new $99 control board.  I'm glad I took the time to re-seat all the connections.



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GENECOP


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Good reminder, I am currently doing battle with our ice maker...

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Sean


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Thanks for the heads up.
The freezer works fine in my Dometic but the fridge is slow to cool. I'll give it a good once over this weekend and hopefully get lucky.

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Sean & Christine - and the pups,  Samantha and Apollo

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dream reachers


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Thanks for the tip

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Hina


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I was camping at Walmart for 2 1/2 days, and the frig on propane started getting "not cold". It's a 10 year old Dometic, not sure how much use it got.

Is it normal for the frig to not be cold on propane after 2-3 days? Should I get it tuned up? I have the button on "automatic", but there is also a button that says "gas", and it looks like if the button is up (not pushed in) it will be on gas? Maybe it's time to get out the book?

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2004 Fleetwood Fiesta 26Q Class A

 
Lonney Wade


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Hina, take a look at this site, I learned a lot from this site and video.

 

Rv Refrigerator Repair, No 1 Reason Why your Rv Fridge will not get cold  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3uj6oiWfKo   Have fun. 

Lonney



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Lonney & Angel and our fur kid a Sheltie (Wyatt)
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Hina


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I've been testing it, took the cover off the propane part, put the frig on "gas" with the button, and it lit OK, and the frig got cold again. Then last night, before bed, I put it on "automatic" again, and I think it's not as cold. I am judging this by the drips on the fins; they were liquid, I put it on gas, turned into ice, back on auto, liquid again. It looks like my RV is pretty level.

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2004 Fleetwood Fiesta 26Q Class A

 
Lonney Wade


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Jane, it sounds like the heater element in the back of the fridge is gone out, when you put it on automatic it will go to electric first, unless you are unhooked to shore power, or the heater element is burned out then it will go to gas, they are about $30.00 to $70.00 on Amazon.

Here's a site to look at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2zioJ7XwmM&list=TLe4Ndz6-SLE8MXzxcFy-QWRdJPvXjJxpm

    Lonney



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Lonney & Angel and our fur kid a Sheltie (Wyatt)
2010 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD 4x4 Duramax    

2010 Keystone Everest 345S 37' 5th wheel
50 gal. Aux Fuel Tank

Rear 5000 pound Air Ride

25K Air Safe Hitch
Powerupdiesel tuner or EZTurner

  

 
Lucky Mike


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your refrigerator will run warmer on electric.....it uses an electric cal-rod which is fastened to the side of the heat tube......the heat the tube receives a double amount of heat transfer with a flame applied ,that makes the gas in the tubes move faster and remove more heat from the refrigerator...the element on the electric side cannot achieve this type of efficiency....(similar to trying to heat your RV hot water on electric)........I try to never run my fridge on electric....always on propane , it has a better recovery of temperature when things are added and holds a lower temperature consistently

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Lucky Mike


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the heater element on 110 volts is only around 325 watts...heat production is low compared to an open gas flame.

when heating the ammonia gas mixture with a higher heat (propane) it causes the gas expansion to move faster to create a more efficient cooling process.

it would require a dedicated 20 amp service which is half of the power supplied to most RV's to use a 1500 watt heating element to just run the refrigerator at the same level that is produced using gas..

I run my fridge on propane always....cook , bake and sometimes run the hot water heater. during the warm season I use 1 onboard tank roughly every 4 to 5 months (40 gallon tank)

**hot water is subed by solar unit durring good weather...


even being plugged in in a park I still run propane for refrigeration...it keeps my fridge @ 35 degrees and the freezer 10 below....running on electric fridge runs 38 to 40 and has a slow recovery....freezer runs at 0 to 10 above and the ice cream is soft!!.................must save the ice cream at all costs!!!



-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Tuesday 24th of September 2013 07:19:00 PM

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 1998 ...Harney Renegade DP  class A

rers1@mail.com

 

My Service dog and life partner " Nikki"......Klee Kia Miniature Husky....(she Runs the ship!!)

We are not lost in the Woods.....Just Extreme boondocking!!!!!!
Hina


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I think Mikey is right... it was running colder on gas. I think the gas was not quite igniting, maybe due to the RV being in storage for years, and the propane on the frig hardly being used (I took off the housing for the flame, and it looks brand new). I'm not sure the automatic button switched it, but if I put the gas button on, it goes. Here's a 3 minute video of me fooling around with the frig. Probably nothing wrong with it, really. www.youtube.com/watch

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2004 Fleetwood Fiesta 26Q Class A

 
Lucky Mike


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you also might want to check the screen up on the roof for birds nests or leaf and pineneedle debri.....if you dont have a good chimney convection air flow it will back the heat up and slow the cooling process

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 1998 ...Harney Renegade DP  class A

rers1@mail.com

 

My Service dog and life partner " Nikki"......Klee Kia Miniature Husky....(she Runs the ship!!)

We are not lost in the Woods.....Just Extreme boondocking!!!!!!
Hina


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Wow, a 40 gal onboard propane tank? I only have 10 gal. That lasts me about a month, with just cooking and heating water.

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2004 Fleetwood Fiesta 26Q Class A

 
chiseye


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Some times I have had to turn it off and on to get it to recycle to gas.Give it a try cant hurt.



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