Forum Discussion

caver's avatar
caver
Nomad
Jul 07, 2022

Dometic reefer check light

I have a Dometic DM2652RBX 2 way fridge in a small 16'camper bought new in spring of 2020. Right before a trip leading up to Memorial Day I kicked the fridge on a couple days ahead of time before my trip Maybe a day or two later I noticed it had kicked off. This fridge has worked fine since purchased and had been used several times this spring. I reset it, it lit off and thought hmmm that's odd. I checked my propane bottles and all ok there. A day later it kicks off again. I wasn't going to cancel the trip so had to reset it sometimes in an hours time. I took a cooler along and used the reefer for stuff that could get in the 50's and not make me sick. A couple weeks and I was back home frustrated. I turned it on in this heat wave and has worked for over 48 hours. What I know:A It always relights.B It's not a movement problem as it has kicked off while at camp.C The flame looks excellent. D I tugged around on wiring while watching the flame so nothing loose. I asked a place that sells units and parts but they just said the CHECK light only applies to failed to light on propane. They suggested possible low DC to the backside of the PC board and that the unit was likely farmed out to a manufacturer in Japan or Germany if it has no outside frame (which it doesn't) One clue I do have is a week or two before lighting the fridge for that trip I found my deep cycle batteries terminal corroded. I turned off the master switch and when I hooked it back up my propane detector was switching on and off and I'm think the fridge was turning on and off too. I then realized even though it was an overcast day I neglected to pull my solar panel fuse while cleaning the battery terminals. I'm tempted to replace the lower board but hate to spend money on a board only to still have the problem.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Apr 11, 2023
    wa8yxm wrote:
    There are basically two things that set off the CHECK light or fault light.
    One: failure of the flame sensor to sense flame after a set number of tries to ignite the burner..
    Two: A manual reset thermal beaker or a blown thermal fuse (I do not recall if there is a thermal fuse).

    Since this is the easiest I'll describe the breaker.. Go out and remove the access panel.. On the right side is a round "Tube" (chimmny/flu whatever you want to call it) the burner is at the bottom...
    Part way up. is a small round thing with two wires.. There is a button in the center. PRESS HARD and see if that fixes it.

    As for failure to sense flame.. That's a more complex procedure but you can LOOK have yoru partner activate the thin (While it's warm inside the cabinet) while you watch the burner.... If it's flame on you will see it.
    Common issues are poor flame (Caused by lack of maintenance or a spider)
    and sensor chip (This is on the control board) failure.. also bad electrical connetions.

    NOTE: There are two flame detector/ignigition systems Single wire and Multi wire. IN single wire the same wire that carries roughly one THOUSAND volts to make sparks... also carries about half a volt to say "I'm hot, Flame ON" if you can see a possible issue here.. Well I agree.


    Utter nonsense. The ONLY thing that trips a Dometic check light is lack of flame. Doug
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Apr 11, 2023
    There are basically two things that set off the CHECK light or fault light.
    One: failure of the flame sensor to sense flame after a set number of tries to ignite the burner..
    Two: A manual reset thermal beaker or a blown thermal fuse (I do not recall if there is a thermal fuse).

    Since this is the easiest I'll describe the breaker.. Go out and remove the access panel.. On the right side is a round "Tube" (chimmny/flu whatever you want to call it) the burner is at the bottom...
    Part way up. is a small round thing with two wires.. There is a button in the center. PRESS HARD and see if that fixes it.

    As for failure to sense flame.. That's a more complex procedure but you can LOOK have yoru partner activate the thin (While it's warm inside the cabinet) while you watch the burner.... If it's flame on you will see it.
    Common issues are poor flame (Caused by lack of maintenance or a spider)
    and sensor chip (This is on the control board) failure.. also bad electrical connetions.

    NOTE: There are two flame detector/ignigition systems Single wire and Multi wire. IN single wire the same wire that carries roughly one THOUSAND volts to make sparks... also carries about half a volt to say "I'm hot, Flame ON" if you can see a possible issue here.. Well I agree.
  • caver's avatar
    caver
    Nomad
    Apr 11, 2023
    Update: A few weeks ago I found a board on ebay for $75 listed as new and looked new. Fingers crossed I have not had a problem since and fridge has been on gas/electric and about 3 complete shut down cycles including a two night outing at my remote property. People might elect to swap the "eyebrow" board first but it is not really a board in that it has a couple switches and LED's. I pulled mine out as a curiosity and found there was nothing there other than switches you could just jumper out.
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Feb 14, 2023
    Plugging refer in to a direct 120-volt AC source does not exclude a 12-volt DC issue. !2-volts DC is still control1ing the refer. Only way would be to add a 12-volt DC source bypassing the converter.
  • caver's avatar
    caver
    Nomad
    Feb 14, 2023
    Old post but thought i would update. Dinosaur said they did not make a replacement board for this unit and yep it's an oddball when trying to reference parts. Remember this a was a new fridge in 2020. The gentleman at Dinosaur did suggest plugging the reefer directly into A/C to rule out a wonky converter supplying choppy DC. Also it has shut off on DC and AC. I took it over to my property back in Dec to do some winterized camping for one night. Sometime the next day while plugged in it tripped off. If it comes down to it I will swap the whole thing out for a Norcold. Any places out there have reasonable prices for a new/rebuilt fridge?
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Jul 08, 2022
    One power issue that could cause power to cycle is a bad 12-volt circuit breaker.
    Trailers commonly have one on the tongue where the umbilical cord from the TV connects to wire from the battery and 12-volt distribution panel.
    This would only happen when using battery and would not if connected to shore power.
  • caver's avatar
    caver
    Nomad
    Jul 07, 2022
    Yes it's a Sunset Park, Sun Lite 16BH with no slides. At one time during the trip I wondered if there was a problem with the propane tank as it faulted out and I discovered the other tank was empty. It's a bigger hassle around here to to get a tank filled than just pay to swap it out. Spark is good. battery voltage is good on my Tri-Metric and checked it at the board yesterday. Interesting as this is the longest it has ran and the temps outside have been upper 90's.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Jul 07, 2022
    enblethen wrote:
    Some propane detectors feed a solenoid on the propane tank feed that shuts off the propane. If equipped the propane detector must have a steady green LED before the solenoid is energized.
    Look for solenoid next to the propane regulator.
    Make and model of your rig?
    Make, model and age of propane detector?


    He has a 2020 purchased new. LP solenoid controlled LP detectors went away more than 20 years ago. The Op's problem is, his LP fails to stay lit. As he found out, the Check Light only tells you the refer failed to either LIGHT and stay Lit. His model was NOT farmed out to Europe. It is an American designed model for the USA. There are a multitude of things that will cause these type problems
    1. Lack Of LP or LOW LP pressure
    2. IF refer in a slide room, the rubber LP hose may be kinked restricting LP flow
    3. Bad Spark electrode
    4. Bad main control module
    5. LOW battery voltage

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