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Scottiemom's avatar
May 19, 2023

Dead Refrigerator

So in December I bought a "new to me" 2021 Coach House motorhome. Last week while prepping for a summer long trip coming up, I opened the refrigerator and it was dead. I checked all the fuses and breakers. Check behind the fridge outside to see if there was a visible problem. I called CH, which is 90 miles from me and their one tech said it was likely the fuse in the back that was inaccessible for me, but they could get it. The circuit board is in a sealed "power brick," so I drove the coach down there Sunday night and Monday morning they looked at it. They worked for 3 hours, but they aren't a Dometic service center so since there was no fuse on the back, there wasn't much they could do and suggested I find a Dometic service center.

I found a mobile RV repair business (former Prevost tech and highly recommended) and he did indeed track the problem to the circuit box. Power going in, none coming out. So he removed the power brick and is looking for a replacement.

He called last night. No replacements to be found. . . well, one in Poland and one in Nova Scotia, $1500, 6 weeks shipping time. The fridge is discontinued (I checked this myself and it's true). He wants to come out and measure to find a model that will fit into the spot.

Dometic lists a replacement, an RMD 10.5 XT or a Norcold N4150. Both fit the opening, which, being a B+, there isn't much wiggle room. My nonworking model is a Dometic RMD8555.

I spent last evening researching, trying to find a dinosaur board, etc. no luck. I plan on calling Dometic today and seeing what recommendation, if any, they have.

I plan to leave the 26th, but will be going to Melbourne, FL, first (90 miles away to visit son), then Virginia to visit daughter. Then I'm headed to northern Indiana. Will there about June 8, but calendar is clear after that.

I'm thinking I may just wait till I get to Elkhart and check the surplus places, although there are fewer ones than in years past. I feel like my chances of finding something there might be better. I'm also going to check with the Amish at National Refrigeration who used to do all our repair on our Norcold and replaced the last one.

In the meantime, I would use the fridge as an icebox. . . been there done that. No stranger to it. Inconvenient, yes, but do-able.

Any suggestions or avenues I may have overlooked? In reading through all the forums, I find this fridge has had major problems, which is no doubt why Dometic discontinued it and all the models associated with it.

Dale

24 Replies

  • Scottiemom wrote:


    I'm thinking I may just wait till I get to Elkhart and check the surplus places, although there are fewer ones than in years past. I feel like my chances of finding something there might be better. I'm also going to check with the Amish at National Refrigeration who used to do all our repair on our Norcold and replaced the last one.
    Dale

    Why not call the surplus places now to see if they have your part. If they don't, you can move to Plan B now instead of later.

    RV Surplus
  • No matter what you decide on be sure you can get replacement parts. I had to replace my Norcold and did so with a Dometic 12V unit. The fridge works, but it does not respond for temperature adjustments the way I feel it should. I found out to get a replacement thermostat it would take 6 months. No parts, not good. The temps in the fridge are keeping it cold on max. setting, but if I slightly change it then the temps are too warm. Be cautious. It is a shame that manufactures want to sell you a product, but don't want to back it up with parts in the event things go wrong.
  • Do you have room for a dorm-sized refrigerator? If so, maybe that's a short-term solution. Not sure if the draw would be a problem-someone else can probably answer that.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    You might try calling Dino but those boards are fairly standard. I'm surprised you can't find one .

    Alternative is a new fridge.. But again you might have size issues.

    They have an all electric models now day that only need around 30-50 watts running.. that's about the same as a dual lamp fixture with 1131 bulbs instead of modern LEDs.

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