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spreit64 · 07-13-2015, 08:06 PM

I am in need of some help! I just purchased a 1980 Holiday Rambler Motorhome. It has a Dometic Electric/LP Refridgerator that was working fine on Electric and worked ok on the gas this past weekend. When we got home the refridgerator was pretty warm and the Freezer was still cold when turned back on Electric. I unplugged everything last night and then plugged it in again this morning. When I checked it 4-5 hours later--the freezer was cold but there was no cooling in the fridge. Any help would be appreciated!

shaman52 · 07-14-2015, 07:52 AM

Check that you refrigerator is level both ways. This is critical in the older style Dometic which your unit may have based on the 1980 date. If not level, please level, shut-down refrigerator for a couple of hours and restart it.

If Dometic is level and still not cooling in your refrigerator compartment, you have good liquid ammonia thru your cold compartment coil, based on your statement, but there is a blockage in your tubing to the refrigerator coil. Liquid ammonia flows thru freezer compartment first then the remaining liquid ammonia, that has not evaporated, flows to refrigerator compartment. If this is the case you are neither looking at replacing your sealed cooling unit or replacing your entire Dometic refrigerator.

Good Luck

Playtime III · 07-14-2015, 08:38 AM

Do you have a thermistor that clips on the fins? Did it get bumped as you can adjust the temp by sliding it up/down the fin. Or the themistor died. IF so, a "Snip-the-tip" is an easy swap out.

Ret Syntst · 07-14-2015, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Playtime III

Do you have a thermistor that clips on the fins? Did it get bumped as you can adjust the temp by sliding it up/down the fin. Or the themistor died. IF so, a "Snip-the-tip" is an easy swap out.

The position of the thermistor determines how much ice buildup is on the fins. If the thermisor has failed then the unit will not turn off (causes ice on the fins). It works by sensing cold temperature. Once it's cold enough the resistance generated by the thermistor signals the circuit board to cut power (turn off gas) to the heater.

To check the operation of the thermistor, have the fridge running on gas. Remove the thermistor from the fins and put it in a glass of ice water. If it's working correctly the gas valve will be shut off from the circuit board.
If the fridge is not cold but the freezer works fine then it's probably a partial block in the cooling coils. This can sometimes be corrected by turning the fridge end over end (remove it from the RV first

). You will hear the solution repositioning itself as you turn it. Didn't work for mine but I've heard about it working for others. I guess it depends on how much is blocked and where the blockage is.

spreit64 · 07-15-2015, 05:02 AM

Thanks everyone for the input! Will certainly be testing the thermister and most likely be taking the unfit out and flipping it on end and letting it sit awhile to see if that helped free a clog. Someone at work told me the same thing last night. Will be sharing the results! Thanks!!

Ramets · 07-15-2015, 06:54 AM

If it's the original, could be that it's on it's last legs. I'm surprised it's lasted this long, 35yrs., whew that's a long time.

spreit64 · 07-20-2015, 06:36 AM

Well---after a few days of removing and flipping the fridge end over end and letting it sit for an hour or two between rotations---I reinstalled the fridge--- making sure the motorhome was 100% as close to level as I could get it---then letting it sit for 12 hours--I plugged in the fridge last night and to much of a surprise---It was working perfectly this morning with interior fridge temperature at 38 degrees! Thanks everyone for your input! Very helpful!