Dometic refer goes off

[chunker]

Just got a call from my GF who went down to her 5th wheel. The Dometic 8 cuft refer was off. The power light and the "reset" light was on and no cooling going on. I saw it happen a couple weeks ago when I went and it was still quite cool in it and the freezer section still frozen. For her it was warm and freezer stuff was thawed and rotten. We've been gone from 5 days and it has been warm in NW FL. Hurricane Delta went through but no flooding in her lot. There were thunderstorms as the tail of it went through Thursday. When it happened to me I turned it off and that apparently reset whatever glitch happened and it resumed cooling. This on a/c not gas. So apparently it has happened again but this time losing the food in it.

Trailer is the 2012 Crusader 5th wheel. To date it's been working well but the fins in the refer section have been frosting/freezing up the last few months. We defrost it and keep going. Any suggestions?

[Old-Biscuit]

What MODEL is the Dometic fridge?

Have you checked what the DC Voltage to fridge is?

Did it have a 'check' light on?
*what 'reset' light are you referring too?

Did you check if any AC outages had occurred?
*was propane available if AC lost/ AUTO swaps to LP

Could be circuit board?

As for the frosting up of FINS....
*door seals leaking --dollar bill test
*drain tube 'check valve' (plug in end of drain hose missing...allows warm air back into food section via drain hose (cracked drain hose does same thing)

Model would be helpful! (of fridge)

[towersk]

Is it possible that you lost shore power?

Does the refrigerator switch to gas and light when the 120Vac to the refrigerator is disconnected? If the refrigerator temp is normal, it may take some time to warm up and light the gas flame. There should be a circuit breaker for the refrigerator so you can easily disconnect the 120Vac.

I'm thinking you may have run out of 12V battery or propane, the flame didn't light and the controller went into a fault mode.

[chunker]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

What MODEL is the Dometic fridge?

Have you checked what the DC Voltage to fridge is?

Did it have a 'check' light on?
*what 'reset' light are you referring too?

Did you check if any AC outages had occurred?
*was propane available if AC lost/ AUTO swaps to LP

Could be circuit board?

As for the frosting up of FINS....
*door seals leaking --dollar bill test
*drain tube 'check valve' (plug in end of drain hose missing...allows warm air back into food section via drain hose (cracked drain hose does same thing)

Model would be helpful! (of fridge)

I'm not there but I think it is a 2865 Dometic and yes it was the "check" light lit. I didn't have the gas turned on so it wouldn't have been able to switch. It will switch if the gas is on last time I checked it. The trailer is more or less stationary only going to my place in AL if we take a long trip during hurricane season.

Hurricane Zeta hit the Louisiana area last week and Thursday night/Friday morning a feeder band went through with some thunderstorms. I don't know if there was a power outage there or not. I'll ask her if the microwave clock was flashing. I don't think the drain plug check vale is there but the hose does extend out of the outside vent. I haven't checked a/c voltages to it or the board. Door seals are flexible but I haven't done the dollar test on it yet. Probably the weekend I'll go down there and do some troubleshooting. I had her turn it off, wait a short bit and turn back on and the "check" light went out and it appeared to be on.

[Old-Biscuit]

In Auto...
Lost of AC controls swap to gas
No gas valved in...flame can't light so after 3x attempts controls lock out and trigger 'Check Light'

Turn fridge OFF then back on resets controls and with AC available it swaps to AC ....AC is priority source

Dometic drain hose is typically installed thru lower fridge vent/access cover to drip outside
If plug is missing warm air (and bugs) can come in via drain hose to food compartment ...warm air has moisture which causes frost on FINS


Here is a Service Manual for common Dometic Fridges
http://techsupport.pdxrvwholesale.co...ice-Manual.pdf

[Kluffinator]

I had a similar issue with my Dometic reefer. It would operate sporadically and then finally stopped working at all. Did all the troubleshooting and ended up being the circuit board in the lower exterior compartment. Took about 10 minutes to replace and all is good.

Used a Dinosaur product to replace.

[chunker]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

In Auto...
Lost of AC controls swap to gas
No gas valved in...flame can't light so after 3x attempts controls lock out and trigger 'Check Light'

Turn fridge OFF then back on resets controls and with AC available it swaps to AC ....AC is priority source

Dometic drain hose is typically installed thru lower fridge vent/access cover to drip outside
If plug is missing warm air (and bugs) can come in via drain hose to food compartment ...warm air has moisture which causes frost on FINS


Here is a Service Manual for common Dometic Fridges
http://techsupport.pdxrvwholesale.co...ice-Manual.pdf

Thanks, the refer is on the south facing side and when the storm line came through there would have been strong winds and rain from the south. I suppose the rain/wind could have contributed to the malfunction. When I found it we had had another strong storm line come through the previous day but perhaps I caught it quick enough to save the contents.

I'll be back in a few days and will refer to the troubleshooting you sent and see if there is a discoverable problem and hopefully find it's still working. I don't have any literature at home as to the exact model but that number stuck in my head when we were looking for some shelves and trays. It has the 4? buttons on the front top and no temperature adjustments, just the thermistor inside.

On another note, a few months back we had a discussion about loading, payload, and weight ratings on the SRW Ram I had. While on the trip loaded, motorcycle, tools everything heavy in the Raptor garage, I was at the "ragged edge of RAWR and payload" That was with about 30-40g fresh water, the onboard and aux fuel tank full also. I wasn't going to get the margin I wanted with the fuel I wanted to carry so when I got to the COE park that night I started searching. Thus the DRW in the garage now. Thanks for the input. You were right.

[towersk]

It's easy to try to all the different scenarios to see if you can duplicate the fault. Let us know what you find.

[Old-Biscuit]

'Check' light only comes on when:
AC Power has been completely LOST
Propane failed to light (swaps to GAS on loss of AC and with your propane valved out...no flame Hence the 'Check' Fault Light)

Dometic doesn't have a '2865' model
And with 'Auto Temp Control' yours will be a 2652/2852 0r 2662/2862

[chunker]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

'Check' light only comes on when:
AC Power has been completely LOST
Propane failed to light (swaps to GAS on loss of AC and with your propane valved out...no flame Hence the 'Check' Fault Light)

Dometic doesn't have a '2865' model
And with 'Auto Temp Control' yours will be a 2652/2852 0r 2662/2862

It's a 2852 model. Monday she first checked it and it was not working, with the check light on. Food bad. She reset it and today both the power light and check light were on and it was cold, frozen "ice bags" in the freezer. She turned off and back on and check light went out. I'll do some reading about it and go down in a couple days to see what's going on.

[chunker]

I'm heading down to the bayou where the GFs trailer is and the Dometic refer that's given us problems. I have downloaded the tech support from Old-biscuit and will take a variety of tools and electrical diagnostic items. We haven't run in on gas in a while and I think it was balky the last time we did so clean up in that area too. Too clean the flue a semi stiff wire brush would seem to be best bet. Finding one is another thing. I though about perhaps a gun cleaning brush, shotgun likely. How effective would a 12ga brush be in getting rust and debris out. I can tie a string and do a two way pull. Or would a nylon brush on a flexible wire handle be best?

On 2 occasions the "check light" was on with the power light and the refer cold. On one occasion only the check light was on the contents warm and starting to rot.

[Kluffinator]

Keep us posted.

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by chunker

I'm heading down to the bayou where the GFs trailer is and the Dometic refer that's given us problems. I have downloaded the tech support from Old-biscuit and will take a variety of tools and electrical diagnostic items. We haven't run in on gas in a while and I think it was balky the last time we did so clean up in that area too. Too clean the flue a semi stiff wire brush would seem to be best bet. Finding one is another thing. I though about perhaps a gun cleaning brush, shotgun likely. How effective would a 12ga brush be in getting rust and debris out. I can tie a string and do a two way pull. Or would a nylon brush on a flexible wire handle be best?

On 2 occasions the "check light" was on with the power light and the refer cold. On one occasion only the check light was on the contents warm and starting to rot.

12ga brass brush works very well
Just use the gun rod with extension to sweep the flue
Just need to access it from top...pull spiral baffle up/out and brush the flue
Wire brush the baffle

[chunker]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

12ga brass brush works very well
Just use the gun rod with extension to sweep the flue
Just need to access it from top...pull spiral baffle up/out and brush the flue
Wire brush the baffle

Got here Saturday mid day and the fridge was working good. Yesterday
I turned on the gas bottles and it fired up right away on propane. I removed the covers so I could see the flame and also used the thermal gun to check and a good consistent flame. I tapped along the flue and no rust flakes fell. Pretty clean except dusty. When operating on gas as selected on the control panel, no lights are on the upper inside which seems strange, but the burner operating. When operating on 120vac the auto light is on. Didn't get a chance due to more pressing things to do any circuit checking. Later today.