Dometic Model 1402 NDA Ice Maker Problem?

[dmason]

Ice maker accumulates water in bottom (assume it comes from defrost cycle??) and then water freezes. It continues to make ice but after 3-4 days the automatic dispenser has problems pushing the cubes through the door due to the ice buildup. I have to dump the tray, remove the buildup and start over. Realize this isn't a big problem but was wondering if any one else has this problem.

[Drifter]

Come see us in Quartzite in January and see a couple of Samsung installs along with all the info you need to know about your 1402 fridge.

[Adam Hunter]

The 1402 in our 2008 had been used very little when we purchased our Scepter - and it was problematic ALL the time.

It has a couple of defrost elements that like to fail alot. When they do you will get Error messages. If I recall Err 11 and Err 13. I replaced both with new and both proceeded to fail the next time we used out motorhome.
It would work ok on AC power, better on gas but would never defrost properly. The defrost function had to be initiated manually by us.
Twice the water fill valve failed on the Fridge and flooded the floor, fortunately both times we were in the coach and caught it early!

The following weekend my Dometic 1402 was in the dump. I followed the various threads about residential replacements here on the forum.

It was hands down the single greatest upgrade we have done to the interior of the coach.

Perhaps another user can throw some light on your issues if you have your mind set on keeping it.

[ShapeShifter]

I had some serious ice build-up on my icemaker:



Note the wall of ice on the back. This water would also flow into the hopper bin and freeze up, which sounds like your issue.

The dealer found the freezer door was warped, and replaced it under warranty. That helped a lot with the frost that was building up in there, but only slowed down the icing up problem, didn't solve it.

I tried adjusting the water level and that helped. Pull off the square white cover of the icemaker, and there is an adjustment screw with plus and minus markings. Turn it so the indicator moves towards the minus side. If you're overflowing the icemaker, this may help.

Turn off the icemaker (lift the wire bail arm) a few hours before hitting the road. If the ice hasn't yet frozen over in the mold, or if it cycles and re-fills, unfrozen water could slosh out of the mold and splash all over.

Later, the gears on the icemaker stripped, and I replaced the whole icemaker. That's when I made the most significant discovery. The water fill tube extends through the back of the fridge. The icemaker has a cup to catch the incoming water and funnel it into the mold. On my fridge, the fill tube didn't extend far enough into the fridge, so some of the water never made it into the catch cup, it dribbled out short of it. I put a short length of rigid tube into the flexible fill tube so that it extended out another half inch. Since then, I still need to manually de-ice the freezer, but only once or twice a season, not every month.

Here's a pic of when I had everything torn apart to replace a burned out defrost heater (the dreaded "ERR 13")



On the back wall, you can see the small electrical junction box (also visible behind the icemaker in the above picture.) Immediately below that is the fill tube - before extending it, it didn't extend beyond the sealant putty. Now it does.

Don't know how many of these issues may apply to you, maybe none, but they are some places to look. Good luck!

[Adam Hunter]

Hey Adam,

I will go hats off to you for your dedication to the Dometic.

I had the dealer do the defrost elements twice and I did one once. It wasn't easy.

I hope you get it sorted out to your satisfaction.


Just in case you throw in the towel on it, Lowes and Home Depot put the Samsung product on sale quite often. I even purchased the extended warranty plan for the new fridge from Lowes for 4 years for under a $100 bucks. Bumper to bumper coverage as far as fridges go. Lowes said as long as my motorhome was in my driveway they would cover it.

Adam.

[ShapeShifter]

Originally Posted by Adam Hunter

I hope you get it sorted out to your satisfaction.

Thanks. It's been working quite well this year. Finally.

Just in case you throw in the towel on it, Lowes and Home Depot put the Samsung product on sale quite often.

I've considered it, but am concerned what that will do to the battery life. We spend much more time dry camping than we do with hookups. And even if we have power, it's often only 15 or 20 amps. So being able to run on propane is a consideration: either to conserve battery power when we have no power, or to have some power left over for other uses when we have very limited power. (There was one dog show we were at in Canada where two rigs had to share a single 15 amp circuit - ouch! )

My batteries are getting up there in years, but still going strong. When it's time to replace them, I'll see if I can relocate the chassis batteries and go from four to six house batteries. Maybe then I'll be comfortable giving up the propane fridge?

My DW just does not understand power conservation. As is, we usually need to run the genny every morning and evening to keep the batteries up. I'd hate to have to run the genny three times per day because of the fridge!

[wa8yxm]

I am suspecting one of two things

1: Water pressure is too high causing overfilling of ice cube mold on ice maker

2: Improper adjustment of the fill control causing same thing.

To adjust.

Remove front cover from U-matic ice maker, usually you use your right hand, grab the right side and pull toward yourself.

You will see the screw near the top (Lies sidewise) and instructions for adjusting stamped in the metal.

now I have an electrical problem to fix.

[Adam Hunter]

While I haven't done it yet because the way we use our coach hasn't dictated the need, I think that 2 more chassis batteries and 1 more full size solar panel would do the trick nicely on the Scepter.

Again, FWIW the Samsung fridge while its not propane, It uses a fraction of the electricity that the Dometic uses - even on compressor start up. Its really easy on the battery bank.