We bought a 2002 Bigfoot trailer recently and I knew the fridge may be questionable because the rig sat for a long time without any operation of the appliances. The fridge cools a bit when running on 120AC but when on gas it does nothing. The gas burner lights and runs very nicely with a clean blue flame. It relights immediately when I blow it out and the flue is hot with lots of heat escaping out the top of the tube with the baffle in it. I unplugged the thermistor at the circuit board and ran it on gas for about 3 hours. At the end of that time the coils and the big canister at the bottom of the coils was just ambient temperature. I have wireless temp sensors inside the freezer and fridge and no temperature change whatsoever...still ambient temp. I'm not sure why it cooled some while on the electric heater???I am thinking the cooling unit is Tits Up. I would be interested to hear what you may think. I appreciate any and all views and opinions...thanks.John

The cooling unit is the same on gas and electric, so if it works on one it works on the other. Only difference is the heat source.You could have a dirty flue or partially clogged orifice. Could also be a regulator issue. Hard to judge a good or bad flame visually. There is a bit of a roar to a good flame that is missing if the pressure is low.

Your fridge is past due. Look around the rear at the bottom near the cooling coils for the unfortunate yellow residue left by leaking refrigerant. If you see it, you are done. Time for a new cooling section at the least.Chum lee

you do know that it takes at least 12hours for the frig to cool down? also theres companies that rebuild them.

If the cooling unit is failing,but the cabinet is in good shape replacing the cooling unit is a great way to get it working again.This is where I have gotten two cooling units and both work great.RV Cooling Unit Warehouse

Thanks for the thoughts fellas. I do know this fridge is old so if it is time it's time. The box is in good shape all except the plastic liner on the inside is yellowed due to age. Doesn't affect it's performance though. I do know it takes a day to get cooled down well but after 3 hrs I figured I should be feeling a little warming of the coils. I will leave it on tonite and see if it has a change of heart by tomorrow.Russ, thanks for that link.

Dometic RM2652 not cooling | Good Sam Community

Gjac
Explorer III
Feb 08, 2019
John you have done a very thorough job investigating, cleaning and documenting the problem. You know your cooling unit is fine because it cools on AC. Your flue is clean with a new baffle and you adjusted the propane pressure. The only thing left is the orifice and the burner tube. John Wilson already spoke about the orifice. The last thing to check is the slots in the burner tube. Is it the original one? I know on mine after about 17 years and multiple cleanings with a wire brush the slots became wide allowing more air to the propane mixture. Does the flame flicker at all? Try covering one of the slots with a screw driver tip does the flame get any brighter?
Travelin2
Explorer
Feb 09, 2019
Well fellas, I want to thank you all for staying with me and wading through this dilemma with me. When JKWilson said to check the orifice to make sure it was the proper size, I went right out and checked it and it was the proper one he mentioned and that was it, I called it a game and went to town and bought a new one. It's still sitting in my truck and I will unload it in the morning. I think I am close to a solution for melted ice cream and am looking forward to some cold brewskies at camp.
jkwilson
Explorer II
Feb 09, 2019
Sorry you had to take the kick in the wallet. I’d guess with all you’ve done you’d have shaken out the problem if it was repairable. Only guess left is a cracked weld for the flue pipe which means a new cooling unit anyway.
Travelin2
Explorer
Feb 09, 2019
John,

I would have replaced just the cooling unit but the inside of the refrigerator was all yellowed. We thought it was due to the previous owner using some type of cleaner that discolored it but one of the professional guys that work on these and help us out here on the forum,Chris Bryant, responded that the yellowed plastic liner is a sign that the ammonia has leaked into that compartment. If only I would have mentioned that earlier, it would have saved me lots of work. Because of the yellowing we decided to buy a complete unit. One really good part of this rigamarole that I went through, I discovered that the gas pressure was only 9.8 inches of water column. I turned it up to 11 inches and now the cook stove lights off much better. The extra pressure is evidently making the gas get to the sparker quicker.

Here is a link to the discussion that led to Chris figuring out the clue to reason for all my headaches...
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29836674/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm
jkwilson
Explorer II
Feb 09, 2019
Gaining an understanding of all this stuff is invaluable. I hate to spend money when I don’t need to, but it seems like you needed to and made sure of it.

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Dometic RM2652 not cooling

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