Frig Problems

rockhillmanor wrote:
,,,BUT you have to remember that you will have to be hooked up to shore power for it to work and it won't work when you are traveling.

While I agree the problem fridge should be checked before replacing, I'm afraid the statement is incorrect. I replaced a failed absorption fridge last summer with a residential. Very easy to support while on the road with an DC to AC power inverter pulling energy from the alternator or house battery bank. When stopped without shore support I can easily go 18-24 hours before I need to recharge my modest battery bank of Sam's Club Duracell GC2 batteries. I could probably stretch that out to days with favorable weather and a few hundred watts of efficient solar on the roof.

I had a 1402 in my previous coach an HR and it was in a slide. They stopped making this model by 2011...I had two issues, one a defroster thing when the coil on the pan somehow got split....pain the in rear to replace...but noticed that that fridge and freezer would heat up when winds would keep the air inside the slide and blow back the hot air...I bypassed the fans and had them run on a switch, which helped but did not get rid of the problem. If your 1402 is in a slide with a top slide vent...that might be it..

We installed a 1402 in our MH. It has a circ fan in the freezer, in the refg. and 3 on the back, all controlled by the fridge control board. It also auto defrosts every night at around 1:00am. We do dry camp in the summer and the freezer is 2 to 0 degrees and the refrigerator is 36 -37 degrees. This unit does use a lot of DC power, but between solar and the 2,000 watt generator, its all good. This has been bullet proof for us. The OP needs to come back to either give more information, or to let us know how it turned out.

dave_330 wrote:

Yup many go residential and are just fine with it, BUT you have to remember that you will have to be hooked up to shore power for it to work and it won't work when you are traveling. For me that's too much of a pain and inconvenience. Unless your RV is stationary in some park.

Residential fridges, made for RVs such as the Samsung are excellent choices to replace the Dometic and Norcolds on the older coaches. Many, if not most mfgs are now going residentials. Less fire hazard and better cooling results. If your coach has an inverter, you never have to worry about the fridge not working. When we travel, we switch over to the inverter and off we go. These new fridges are very efficient.

Now on to your question. Dometic, like Norcold have a trouble shooting guide to help you test everything. On my Norcold, I had to add four cooling fans to help it along in hot weather. I mounted them above the fridge to pull the heat out of the back of the fridge. If you decide to do that, I have some pics I can share. (If I can find them) If you decide to replace your fridge with a residential, it's much easier than you'd expect. I replaced mine, myself, in a campground. Took me about two days to do so. Below is a write up from my blog with pictures. One of the best mods I've ever done to a coach..That was four years ago and zero problems. I did add a filter for the ice cubes. It mounted to the rear of the fridge and is accessed via the outside inspection hatch....Dennis

Residential Fridge Install

dave_330 wrote:
Problems with my Dometic NDA 1402 Frig will not cool, has power to it.Any one done a residential replacement?

I personally would have a mobile rv repair come out and look at it first 'before' I went with a residential fridge. Could be a very simple repair.

Yup many go residential and are just fine with it, BUT you have to remember that you will have to be hooked up to shore power for it to work and it won't work when you are traveling. For me that's too much of a pain and inconvenience. Unless your RV is stationary in some park.

Dometic gas absorption refrigerator are gravity operated and MUST be level in order to run properly.
The second thing you need to understand is that the refrigerator will not cool properly if it is too hot outside (typically over 90 degrees F ambient). The refrigerator needs good air flow across the "condenser fins" that are located at the top of the cooling unit. If you remove your refrigerator's access panel on the outside of the RV you should be able to look up and see these fins. Make sure that there are no obstructions. If your refrigerator doesn't have good air flow it will not cool properly. Many models do not come with external fans behind the cooling unit. For the RVers that love the heat, we recommend installing some fans in the back to help with the air flow.
The next thing to check is your Thermistor (thermostat/ resistor) located inside the refrigerator. It has a 4-prong connector located at your light fixture at one end and the other end connects inside the refrigerator on one of the back fins. To test this Thermistor you don't need any tools whatsoever. Provided your refrigerator is not showing any fault codes, you can turn the temperature setting as cold as it gets and disconnect this Thermistor. If it cools properly, you have a bad Thermistor.

You just turned it on, it has been working, but now is not cooling? It takes a good 6 hours to start cooling, and really overnight to actually cool.

Have you checked the 12v, 120v and propane to the unit.

Could be as simple as a blocked chimney. Residental refer are becoming common, but not as cheap as some think to do properly. And not always appropriate for an RV.