Dometic refrigerator HELP!!!!

[JimM68]

So I brought home my "new to me" class A on the 12th. When I picked it up, the Dometic NDR1292 side by side with icemaker was cold as ice.

I left it run in my driveway for a week or 10 days. It worked perfect, switched automatically from A/C to gas, ice cold, no problem. During this time, I did not always have the RV up on the jacks. My parking spot falls away pretty hard, to the left front. Hard enough that the coach won't level side to side, the left jack is maxed, the right not even touching the pavement. With the jacks up she is pretty darned crooked.

I've looked at the manuals, looked at dinosour electronics, stufied rvrefridgeration.com, yada yada yada. I left it off for 2 days, drove it 40 miles to shake it up good, and fired her back up, first on propane then on the gen. Electrically, everything checks out perfect. The heaters are good (58 ohms each and not shorted to ground) unit has both 12v and 115 a/c. Heaters get hot.

Unit is not cooling AT ALL. If anything, the freezer shelf and fridge fins are a lil higher than ambient (ir temp gun check)

Did I kill my fridge?

What do I do now?

[JimM68]

So, as I'm putting away the manual, I look at the schematic on the back, wondering why my fridge light never goes off, and what the thrid wire to the light is for. And the schematic shows there is a wire from the low ambient sw to the light... So I looked at the switches with my reading glasses on, and saw both the low ambient and the climate control sw were ON, not off as I thought.
Flipped the switches, now when I close the door, the light goes off.
Hopeful, but not too much.

[TXiceman]

The reason the frig has to be realtively level is that there are levels to be maintained in trays and pans. If the levels are not correct the ammonia and chemical concentrations are correct and the unit can form hard deposits in areas where they are not intended to be. The manuals tell you how many degrees they can be out of level front to rear and side to side.

Yes you can destroy an RV frig operating it too far out of level. some have said the you can remove it from the Rv and rotate to all six side and let it spend 24 hours in each position. I don't know if this would help you problem or not.

As a check to see if it is controls or the cooling unit, disconnect the 120 volt wires from the electric heater and leave the frig controls off. Plug these connections into an extension cord and plug into a 120 volt out let. This bypasses all of the controls and runs the unit wide open. After 12 hours it should be cooling. If not it is a dead unit. If it cools start looking for a control board and control problems.

Ken

[JimM68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXiceman Plug these connections into an extension cord and plug into a 120 volt out let. This bypasses all of the controls and runs the unit wide open. After 12 hours it should be cooling. If not it is a dead unit.

Great.

How does this dead unit get fixed?

[JimM68]

ok, I disconnected the ac heater wires and hooked em into a hacked up extension cord and plugged it in. The heaters have power and are heating (they did off the board too) If she ain't cold by morning, she ain't gonna git cold.

Where can I get the fridge R&R'd and the cooling unit replaced within a days drive of Chicago?

[Route 66]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimM68 Great. How does this dead unit get fixed?

Let's hope it's not a dead unit.

However, if it is, a new cooling unit will be required, which may approach the price of a new fridge.

[TXiceman]

A replacement cooling unit will run about 70 to 80% of the cost of a new unit. How old is the original unit?

Most any RV repair shop is capable of the work. They may have to order an new frig and pretty sure they will have to order a cooling unit. Call several and get prices for the cooling unit and also the complete frig.

Let's hope that running all night on "bypass" will get it cold and it is just a controls problem.

[JimM68]

nope :(

[TXiceman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimM68 nope :(

The diagnosis is not good?

Can you check the heater element for resistance and whether either lead is shorted to ground?

When are you going to have the services for the poor dead thing?

[JimM68]

Heating elements (there are 2, wired in parallel) are 58 ohms each, and are not shorted to ground. Services are next week.

Camping world won't even talk to me. No warantee on used RV, period, ever.

Terry's in Joliet, IL can get it done next week for $2200 out the door. ouch

[RV Wizard]

Jim, sorry to hear that the sodium chromate in your cooling unit has been crystallized from unleveled operation and you now have a restriction in the system. Short of replacing the cooling unit you might try burping the unit. This is a process where it is turned on different sides for several hours at each position to try to allow the blockage to migrate out of the port into another chamber of the system. If you are lucky and did not cook the sodium chromate (rust inhibitor) severely, you might be able to buy some time before it fails again. There is now way to know if it will work or how long it will continue to work if is does come back to life.
In time the restriction will return depending on how bad the crystalliztion is. Some units have operated for a year or more before they clogged back up.

[JimM68]

So... We decided to go camping!
Filled that freezer up with containers of ice and got it good and cold for holding 2 days worth of food, and we're off to Mississippi Palisades State Parks for our first ever camping trip in a motorhome.

I really can't say enough about Terry's RV in Joliet. They are gonna send one of thier employees in a pickup truck to GET this cooling unit from dometic in Indiana, and get me in and done Tuesday. I came real close to buying a Seneca from them, had to pass cause of too many $$$, and they still treat me like this. Good People!

[JimM68]

Dropped her off at Terry's RV in Frankfort, IL this past Tuesday, picked 'er up Wednesday with a cold fridge!!! Yea!!!
It did cost $2300... but still well over a grand less than a new dometic side by side.

It seems they didn't get some of the shielding quite right tho, the AC elements are in a lil different place, and pushing on the shield. Propane flame blows out at around 40mph. I can fix that tho.

Nice to have a cold fridge again. Countdown now 14 days till west coast trip.

["007"]

Jim, there was a recall on Dometic's for flame outs and a shield was place around burner area to stop this, this THREAD has some links explaining this and links to Dometic for information.