Forum Discussion

J_Money's avatar
J_Money
Explorer
Aug 21, 2021

Dometic Fridgge NOT Working

Hello All

In a sense of panic since we’re heading out to camp again tomorrow. I have searched the forums and web thoroughly.

I have a 2018 Winnebago 245BHS and this Dometic fridge is driving me nuts. I have searched very thoroughly on here, the web, YouTube, and everything I can think of.

The Fridge Model is DM2652.

This past week we used the trailer and I put some time into diagnosing the fridge. I have to be missing something here.

Finally I surrender…. And I’m asking for some help :)

The fridge wouldn’t switch to gas when set on “Auto” and then disconnected from Shore power. I would hear the igniter clicking but the burner wouldn’t fire.

I could always get it to work when plugged into shore power.

I figured it was the board or the igniter…. They didn’t have replacement boards in stock so grabbed a new igniter to remove that variable.

That didn’t work. Still no spark from the igniter (I took it apart and couldn’t see it spark). I disconnected each plug on the board and made sure to clean the connections and plug them back in.

Deductive logic says it would be the board now. (Now I have no idea)

I watched some videos on YouTube to troubleshoot. I used a voltmeter and I’m getting 12V to the board.

I began to think it was maybe the house batteries were old but those have been replaced now.

Over the past week camping I tapped on the flue and watched bunch of debris fall so I cleaned everything out, removed the burner, cleaned that with a brush, cleaned the burner jet etc. I couldn’t get the fridge to work off electric but after cleaning everything…. Voila I was able to light the fridge with an Aim Flame.

The fridge was running off gas no problem and the next morning the check light was back on.

What I am NOT hearing right now is a “CLICK” of the gas valve or something engaging.

I cannot hear any gas and am not sure how to check, but since I can’t ignite this thing with a lighter I think it is safe to assume the propane isn’t flowing.

At the moment I cannot get this thing to work on Propane or Shore Power.

Potential Issues:

The thermofuse isn’t “tight” against the flu baffle but it doesn’t seem to have been an issue in the past. I have also made sure that the reset button on the thermofuse has been pressed down…. I have not seen that been tripped yet.

The solenoid on the gas valve does seem to have some play. Is that supposed to be tight or is that possibly causing a leak?

Thank you all in advance for your help!
  • I did check for continuity and it was a-okay. I couldn’t find any spare 5 amp fuses laying around, I’ll keep looking.

    The gas stopped flowing again, back to square 1. I LOVE and HATE camping at the same time. Pretty much spent the whole day throwing darts at a wall and somehow haven’t had a single beverage.

    To be fair this Winnebago has been excellent thus far and this fridge is the first problem I’ve had to deal with. My wife would say I love to “tinker” so I guess this is par for the course with RV’s.

    Maybe time to order that new board huh?
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    One of the big issues with DSI (Direct Spark Ignition) is the spark gap

    This is not to scale but I've seen two, out of 3, that I looked at (Both were furnaces the Dometic fridge

    What they should have been - -
    What they were - . . -
    the spark voltage is roughly 1,000 VAX as best I can guess. It can jump about a 1/4" gap just fine but at 1". no joy. No snap either

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