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digNbubbs · 12-19-2016, 02:57 PM

Greetings! I have a Dometic RM1350WIM that was installed in mid-2011. It has been working fine up until yesterday morning. It has slowly started warming up, and behaves the same on gas and 120V.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that the freezer temp has been very cold. Way colder than I am used to seeing. It typically sits in the single digits, but during the last couple of weeks, it has been between -15* and -18*. Refrigerator box has been around 36*. Ambient temperature has been pretty cold. Two days ago we had a high of 3* and a low of -11*. The day before that got pretty low as well.

I have tested what I can, and everything seems to check out so far. Measured voltage at all the points referred to in the service manual. Tested the thermistor and got correct readings. Checked both fuses in the power module. Ran through the diagnostic test on the control panel, and all returned normal. No error codes have shown. I am level, and have inspected the coils for ammonia leakage. I have checked door seals for proper fit.

The unit is cooling, but not sufficiently. I have turned it off for several hours and turned it back on. It cools a little, but not much.

As mentioned, it seemed to be "burning brightly" the last several week. I believe I had the setting down to 2 or 3, but normally have it at 4.

Has anyone experienced similar symptoms? I am a few hours away from any service center or mobile repair, and would like to troubleshoot myself if possible.

Thanks!

puttin · 12-19-2016, 04:01 PM

If the temps outside have been below freezing for a while, the fridge will have difficulty maintaining the kind of temps that would be typical. The fix would be to try to move the rig so that the fridge vents on the outside get as much heat and light as possible (sort of the opposite you'd do in the summer time). Basically the cooling unit isn't able to heat enough to make the fridge cooler.

digNbubbs · 12-19-2016, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puttin

If the temps outside have been below freezing for a while, the fridge will have difficulty maintaining the kind of temps that would be typical. The fix would be to try to move the rig so that the fridge vents on the outside get as much heat and light as possible (sort of the opposite you'd do in the summer time). Basically the cooling unit isn't able to heat enough to make the fridge cooler.

Thanks for the reply. It has been rather cold, and the irritating part is that it did fine during the cold snap. Started getting bad once it started warming up a bit. I will re-position the coach to get full sun on that side to see if that makes a difference.

digNbubbs · 12-20-2016, 11:11 AM

The past couple of days has seen ambient temps in the upper 30s, which has been much warmer than the past couple of weeks. I don't think outside temp is affecting the operation at this time.

When I turn on the unit with gas, I don't hear the burner light up. Gas mode has always been pretty easy to hear the burner going. When I have it on electric, I don't feel any heat from the chimney, but I am not positive where those elements are.

I have a feeling it might be in a control - like the control module board - but I have no way of telling for sure. I know there is power there, and no error messages are being thrown. I would hate to do a $200 guess on a board, but it would be easier than swapping out the cooling unit as a guess.

If I were able to get it to a shop, does anyone know if there are definite tests to determine if a board is bad, or do most places just play swap-tronics until they get it to work?