Community Forums

deprived · 08-19-2020, 02:03 PM

Our old-ish Dometic fridge threw in the towel recently so I'm taking the opportunity to preemptively do some replacement of old parts (thermistor, heating element, fans, etc..) and other improvements while we have it offline to replace the cooling unit with a new Amish one.

I've seen people mention Dinosaur boards here on this forum, among other places, as an "upgrade" to the stock Dometic boards.

I can't seem to get a clear idea as to just how the Dinosaur board is an improvement over the stock board.

Is it less prone to failure? Does it make the refrigerator run better?

If anyone has a sense about what the advantages, if any, there are to replacing my existing Dometic board with a Dinosaur board, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

EDIT: My question is about Dinosaur boards, not diagnosing a fridge. All that has been done.

!!THANKS!!

TXiceman · 08-19-2020, 02:11 PM

Before you start throwing $$$ at the unit, make sure it will cool at all. Disconnect the heating element and make a temporary connection directly to a 120 volt cord. This will bypass all controls and let the unit operate wide-open. Let it operate this way for 24 hours. If the fridge and freezer gets cold, it is cooling and the problem is the controls.

For some reason as Dinosaur board has a longer life than an OEM board.

Ken

deprived · 08-19-2020, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXiceman

Before you start throwing $$$ at the unit, make sure it will cool at all. Disconnect the heating element and make a temporary connection directly to a 120 volt cord. This will bypass all controls and let the unit operate wide-open. Let it operate this way for 24 hours. If the fridge and freezer gets cold, it is cooling and the problem is the controls.

Ken, all that has been done, done and done. Money is not being "thrown" at anything.

My question wasn't about diagnosing a fridge failure, it was about Dinosaur boards.

Old-Biscuit · 08-19-2020, 02:33 PM

Dinosaur Electronic aftermarket replacement circuit boards ARE all that and more so over OEM boards

Better quality control, better construction, better soldering .....just a better made circuit board all around

YES I am a fan of Dino Boards.....no connection just like their products

hayward3411 · 08-19-2020, 03:05 PM

I replaced my OEM board years ago with a dinosaur board, worked great and I could adjust temps on the board.

deprived · 08-19-2020, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Better quality control, better construction, better soldering .....just a better made circuit board all around

Wow. Great info. The new Dinosaur boards aren't really all that much more expensive than the OEM (all things considered, such as a fridge full of spoiled food) so I think I'll get the Dinosaur and keep the old board as a spare.

We were lucky that the fridge didn't die when we were in the middle of nowhere instead of at our home base in Texas. I'd really like to avoid having to deal with this again for a long time.

Thanks for your input!

deprived · 08-19-2020, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayward3411

I replaced my OEM board years ago with a dinosaur board, worked great and I could adjust temps on the board.

Was this for a Dometic fridge or a Norcold? I've gotten the impression that Norcolds with OEM can be twitchy.

deprived · 08-19-2020, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

YES I am a fan of Dino Boards.....no connection just like their products

I meant to ask if you noticed any operational difference. I mean, does the fridge behave any differently? Colder? More accurate temps? Whatever.

Old-Biscuit · 08-19-2020, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deprived

I meant to ask if you noticed any operational difference. I mean, does the fridge behave any differently? Colder? More accurate temps? Whatever.

Dino boards provide consistent, reliable operation

Fridge temp is dependent on thermistor/thermostat functions

JFXG · 08-20-2020, 12:06 AM

I installed a Dino in my 18 y/o Dometic about 4 years ago when the then current board (OEM) failed.
I learned an interesting tidbit. Apparently, Dometic makes engineering changes now and then, and mods the card accordingly. So the card you need for your 2002 model may or may not be available, and the current model board may not be back compatible. To address this issue, Dometic sells what they euphemistically call a “universal” board. It is not. I went through two “universal” boards before trying a Dino.
Therein lies another point of value for Dino boards. They work. It’s just that simple.

deandec · 08-20-2020, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayward3411

I replaced my OEM board years ago with a dinosaur board, worked great and I could adjust temps on the board.

Me too!!!

deprived · 08-21-2020, 07:48 AM

Well, I'm convinced. My new board should be here in a few days.

One thing I really liked about the new Dino board was that it has a mod that allows the fridge to keep running even if the eyebrow board fails.

ga traveler · 08-21-2020, 08:08 AM

I met (Gus or Guy, I don’t remember which is his name) at the dealer show in Louisville. He is a great guy. He founded the company as a board repair company. He would repair company manufactured boards. He decided he could make a better board. Thus dinosaur boards was born. He said the main failure was because the boards were only soldered on one side. He soldered his boards on both sides. No more cracked solder joints. Next he made the three try board. The board would try three times to light before shutting down. (Now the factory boards have this feature.) The Dinosaur boards are the best.