Dometic RM1350 refrig issue

[airman1]

My Dometic RM1350 refrigerator stopped working in the gas mode and was also displaying "E1". When I removed the outside access panel and attempted to start the refrigerator on LPG, I could hear the igniter working, but I detected absolutely no LPG odor as the igniter cycled. Sense of smell isn't my strong suit when it comes to troubleshooting, so I disconnected the electrical terminals that connect to the gas solenoid valve and did a resistance check of the solenoid coil. I had read somewhere that the coil should have approximately 60 ohms resistance. Resistance on my RM 1350 solenoid coil indicated "infinite" resistance or an open solenoid coil.

Now for the sad part...I called and ordered a new solenoid valve from Dometic in Elkhart, IN. This little part is costing me about $245 with shipping, but it should be here tomorrow. I'll probably just slide the old coil off the old valve (there's an e-clip that holds it in place) and slip the new coil onto the old valve housing....an easy but expensive fix....

I agree with the premise that solenoid valves are, for the most part, trouble free. Their operation is very simple and they don't have many moving parts, but they do have a coil that can "short" or "open" and they do have a spring (keeps the valve in its "normal"/un-energized position) that can break.

I guess the moral of my refrigerator troubleshooting experience is "leave no stone unturned" and shop on-line before purchasing refrigerator parts.

Hope that my experience may be helpful to someone else. Have a great day!

Steve West
Fort Wayne, IN

[missourijan]

Well, that's better than replacing the cooling unit! We had nothing but problems with our 1350. After 3 cooling units and Dometic replacing the entire unit we gave up when it failed again. We installed a residential frig, expensive but figured Dometic would not continue to cover it.

[Solask]

Wow, expensive part for sure. Seems like robbery actually. I have your same refer in my MH. Hopefully you will post your results when you swap the solenoid. Good luck!

[airman1]

The solenoid valve repair/replacement on my Dometic 1350RM refrigerator was successful and my refrigerator is now operating in the gas mode. I would encourage anybody who is suspecting a solenoid problem with their Dometic 1350RM refrigerator to go ahead and do this repair on their own. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most difficult repair, this particular repair is a "1".

As I mentioned in the previous post, I just removed the solenoid (electromagnet) from the newly purchased valve body (an e-clip holds the solenoid in place) and placed it onto the already in place "old" valve body (I had removed the malfunctioning solenoid), dropped a positioning ring onto the solenoid and installed the new e-clip onto the new solenoid. I then re-connected the electrical terminals, replaced the tin shield that serves as wind/draft protection, and replaced the outside access panel.

When my wife turned the system back on inside the RV, I heard the igniter operating and it ignited the newly-flowing LPG on the first "click"....Mission accomplished!

Again, I'd encourage anybody who is mildly technically inclined to do this repair themselves. If you hear your igniter operating and you don't detect any LPG odor during the lighting cycle, your solenoid could have a problem! Take off the blue electrical wires that operate the solenoid and perform a resistance check (ohms) on the solenoid. My multimeter actually indicates "1" (infinity) when there's an "open" on the solenoid wires (some digital multimeters display "OL" with an open). If your multimeter actually registers measurable resistance (somewhere around 60 ohms), you probably have another issue (no voltage)...maybe a board failure...

Thanks for following the thread and I hope that it's helpful to anybody who may be experiencing refrigerator problems....

Steve West
Fort Wayne, IN
2012 Tiffin RED 36'