Intermittent Problem with Fridge

dougrainer wrote:
The rear cooling is probably your problem. What you need to do is verify that when the temp rises and you do have flame or the 120 is hot, IF you do not hear the fan then the fan tstat is intermittent. Common problem for Dometic rear fan tstats to fail. What you can do if you have easy access to the top outside side vent, remove it and you will see the fan tstat on the condenser coil, Install a 2 wire jumper to the tstat and run down the back side to the rear bottom. Then connect those wires together to run the fan continuously when this problem happens. You can also leave the jumper wire connected to run the fan 24/7 and your refer will be more efficient. Also, make sure the area above the condenser fins(ceiling) has a baffle or curved roof baffle to direct all the air out of the upper vent door. ANY gap that goes above the rear access door will allow hot air to stay trapped and you will lose some cooling efficiency. If not properly roof baffled, then when the fan fails to run, the convection hot air cannot be driven out the top and will cause the cooling unit to not operated correctly. Doug

I don't think it is outside cooling. This erratic cooling only occurs occasionally and can happen when outside temperatures are in the 40's or 50's and the exterior exhaust fan continues to work when needed. When the cooling drops off, I have measured a decrease in the condenser temperature with an IR thermometer which suggests that the heating section is not boiling up enough vapor. Then within an hour or two the fridge sometimes resumes cooling without any significant outside air temperature changing. I think the suggestion that the temp thermistor works erratically or something similar is more likely.

Mike