Dometic fridge won't stay lit

[Riverdog]

I have a Dometic fridge (propane/electric) in my pickup camper. The unit is a 1993. Last year the fridge (when on gas)would occasionally "blow or go out" but it would start right back up.

Recently I have found that the gas portion of my unit will no longer stay lit. It lights right up when I turn it on - I can hear the gas start & see the flame but after a few minutes it quits. Fortunately, my check light works so I'm able to salvage my food & put it in a cooler.

Any advice from anyone???????

[Riverdog]

I have a Dometic fridge (propane/electric) in my pickup camper. The unit is a 1993. Last year the fridge (when on gas)would occasionally "blow or go out" but it would start right back up.

Recently I have found that the gas portion of my unit will no longer stay lit. It lights right up when I turn it on - I can hear the gas start & see the flame but after a few minutes it quits. Fortunately, my check light works so I'm able to salvage my food & put it in a cooler.

Any advice from anyone???????

[RV Wizard]

The most simple area to address first are the connections on the control board on the back of the refrigerator and the lp gas supply. Make sure gas is on and no air is in the system to the ref. With some electronic cleaner remove clean and reinstall wiring, making sure all connections are tight. If this does not correct the problem you probably have a bad control board. You might be able to have a repair facility test it before buying a new one. Good luck and let us know.

[Riverdog]

Thanks & I will try your suggestions this weekend. Do you know if I can remove the control board to have it tested or if it need to stay intact with the unit?

[RV Wizard]

Anyone with a PAL tester should be able to test the board out of the refrigerator. Be sure to mark all the connections is you need to before disconnecting them all. THere should be a schematic on the back wall of the ref., if not mark the wires!

[Riverdog]

I did check with a couple of RV shops to see if they could test my control board. One shop said they could but they said that they found that they often get false results with their tests (maybe they have bad equip? or don't know how to test properly? or that's just how it is sometimes??). The other shop said sure they can test it but wanted $50 (minimum charge). With a new board being only $100 I thought this was excessive.

Anyway, I think I got real lucky on this one! I also posted this problem on another RV forum and was referred to www.bryantrv.com/docs.html to get a manual for my fridge. I printed out the manual and found the instructions on how to clean it. It was filthy.....I pulled the burner out & dumped out at least a teaspoon of rusty dust. This may not sound like a lot but given the burner is a tube about 3/8 in diameter and only 3 or 4 inches long, it's quite a bit. I then blew the flue out with compressed air, removed the orifice & soaked both the orifice & burner in alcohol. I put it back together and it lit right up. I let it run for about 6 hours with no problems. My only cost was the $3.50 for the alcohol.

RV repairs can be costly - it's fun to be on the receiving end of a cheap fix for once. I also read in the manual that the burner should be cleaned once a year. I didn't realize this but will do so now going forward. I know preventative maintenance can save large costs in the future.


Thanks for your suggestions - it's nice to have these resources to make an easy fix simple for the average Joe!

[Riverdog]

RV Wizard ... I think I spoke too quick on this one. I was out this weekend & the unit kept cutting out. I think you may be correct that it is the control board. I can "wiggle" the control board & actually make the unit click on & off....you can literally hear it click when it engages.

I didn't find any obvious loose wires so I guess the next step is to replace the control board, unless this symptom rings a bell for you and you have any other ideas.

Thanks for your input.

[Doggie]

Dometic boards are notorious for unreliability. Get a Dinosaur board as a replacement.

[RV Wizard]

Dinosaur does make the best board and I use them when I can. Good luck and let us know the outcome.

[Riverdog]

I received my new Dinosaur board on Monday & installed it right away. I ran it Mon night & Tue am on AC & it worked perfect followed by running it Tue afternoon & night on gas - also worked perfect. Looks like the problem is solved. Thanks for the comments everyone!

[RV Wizard]

Riverdog, thanks for letting us know that all is well now. Take care