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RoyBell's avatar
RoyBell
Explorer
Sep 08, 2015

Fridge stopped working

My new Radiance fridge stopped working on me. Camper is only about 4 months old. I checked the breaker and wasn't tripped. 12 volt lights are on, it's set to AC. I am going to bring it in for warranty, but is there anything I might be missing? I keep it plugged in on my driveway when not out camping. Not sure when it stopped working, sometime between The end of July and Last week.

Should I bother seeing if it works with propane? My neighbor said he smelled a strong odor of gas/propane a couple weeks ago around my camper. I checked when I got home and did not smell anything and I had my propane tanks turned off. Is it possible something leaked on the fridge causing that smell? I didn't check the fridge at that time because I had no reason to be in it.
  • I've had the camper plugged in since I got it and this was the first time I had any issue with it.

    I ran 5 days on propane no problem.

    I acquired it in June fwiw. I know it was on their showroom floor so I imagine it's had a lot more run time on the fridge than when I got it. It's a 2015 model built late 2014.
  • Ah, the dreaded Atwood Helium Fridge...

    My new 2015 (delivery April 2014) Fun Finder had that joke of a fridge (at least mine sure was, and I have read of others problems with it, too).

    Far too many issues to cover here, but the thing NEVER once worked properly - it was either the propane side or the electric side and each issue would stop then reappear. It has (as do some others) a problem that is known to Atwood and which they cannot fix. I was given some song 'n dance from a higher-up at Atwood about a supplier in China, blah, blah, blah, but "it is fixed now"...she was quite wrong.

    After my big trip to Oregon a couple of months ago, during which the Atwood never worked right, Atwood paid to have its POS replaced with a Dometic (this was just a few weeks ago). I keep going out to check on it and it's cooling its little heart out. The loss of 1 cubic foot was worth a hopefully worry-free fridge.

    Good luck. I hope yours is not the lemon mine was.
  • Ended up being the heating element he said. It worked on propane so they knew the gas didn't leak out. All fixed ready to go.
  • Might be a failed circuit board. Did you try unplugging the shore power for a minute and plugging back in?
  • I never have it perfectly level so the water can drain off a little. Nose down a little. Never had an issue before.

    I took it to the dealer and he said it's not even ammonia anymore. It's some new helium stuff. http://www.atwoodmobile.com/refrigerators/

    Helium Refrigerators
    Atwood Helium Refrigerators are designed to perform where traditional RV refrigerators fail. When used in an out of level situation, traditional RV refrigerators with hydrogen gas in the cooling system can generate excessive heat and compromise system integrity. Atwood refrigerators utilize a helium based cooling system strategically engineered to minimize excessive heat while providing superior durability and performance.


    Say it has tilt sensor built in. When I unplugged the power to the fridge, I could hear the gas ignition tying to start (gas was turned off). I did jack up the front to see if I did anything and it didn't.

    So who knows. As long as I was bringing it in, I told them about a couple minor warranty items to get done too so it's not a wasted trip if it's something silly with the fridge.
  • was your trailer "perfectly" level front to back.... if not, then you may have an issue that caused the "coolant" (ammonia?) to not circulate properly which then might have "spiraled" into a full failure. :-(
  • Im gonna check power and behind the fridge. Already talked to the dealership and I am just going to drop it off so I don't burn the thing down, or my house!
  • propane orsmelled amonia?Look for a yellow substance in the back of the fridge before you do anything if the amonia leaked out you could chance a fire if you try it on propane
  • Yes, see if it works on LP.
    Check to make sure the outlet that the refer is plugged into has power. This is located in the exterior access. Use known good item to test such as drill.