New TT and Dometic refer/freezer is dead on AC?!

[EstorilM]

I JUST got this TT as a "used" 2016 a month ago with basically zero miles on it.

Our two trips totaling about 1400mi (incl. going to buy it) have been fine, but now that we're back at home after the last trip, apparently the fridge isn't happy now.

I've turned it off / on again and reset the power, and after about 5 minutes or so the "check" light turns on. It's been WARM the past two days, as in zero cooling at all.

At the camp sites and such it was fine, including the 10hr trips when I used propane, it was also fine. This seems to be something recent since we came back. All other AC devices are working fine.

I have a warranty on the TT but REALLY don't want to haul it over to the nearest $tealership and have them running around inside of it guessing.

Has anyone else encountered this? FWIW it's a Dometic DM2652LBx according to the build sheet.

[tinner12002]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
AC Outlet mounted UP vs on Side??

Might want to use a couple of Zip Ties around outlet box and fridge power cord plug after cleaning up blades so it can't fall out

Yes, that was what I was going to suggest also.

[Old-Biscuit]

AC Outlet mounted UP vs on Side??

Might want to use a couple of Zip Ties around outlet box and fridge power cord plug after cleaning up blades so it can't fall out

[EstorilM]

tinner12002 wrote:
With the click OP is hearing, pilot trying to light, it sounds to me like the frig is trying to go to gas because of not having elec power. Just my thoughts of what mine has done.

Bingo.




Definitely not what I was expecting to see. Based on the corrosion it's probably been loose for a while and finally came out through the mountains on the VA-KY-VA journey.

Maybe it happened even before that, seeing as how BOTH my propane tanks are empty. Probably been sucking it down since I bought it a month ago when they were filled at dealer. :M

Now I know.. pre-delivery-inspections don't really mean much, gotta go through everything yourself.

Thanks everyone for their help, and yes Biscuit was right about the clicking - I (stupidly) assumed it was on AC and that was impossible. Once the tanks ran out it was still trying to use gas and tripped once it gave up. 😞

I feel like an idiot, but I guess expensive mistakes are the ones you don't usually ever repeat.

I'll clean off the contacts and see if I can bend the prongs so there's no chance of it happening again - though it was probably not in all the way from day one.

[tinner12002]

With the click OP is hearing, pilot trying to light, it sounds to me like the frig is trying to go to gas because of not having elec power. Just my thoughts of what mine has done.

[Old-Biscuit]

Rig is plugged into 120V AC and battery FULL.....that's a start

BUT have you verified that the 120V AC outlet fridge power cord plugs into actually has power?

Fridge in 'AUTO' AC is Primary......no AC then fridge controls swap to GAS

No gas flame lighting off and PROVING it lit..no flame/no proof W/I 45 sec 'Check' Light


SO with the service manual and owners manual you should be able to follow the troubleshooting and narrow down your issue.

Best of luck...

[lenr]

Behind the outside cover you will likely see a black plastic cover which is over the circuit board. May find that the screw at the top will remove it. Unplug the 120 volts to the trailer and take the negative lead off the battery and you will not have to worry about electricity. Remove the cover and see if the small glass fuse under it is blown. If so, your electric heater is likely bad and will need replacement, but you could try replacing the fuse to see how long it lasts. The electric heater will be in the stack over on the right side (from the outside). The stack (maybe not the correct name--Doug will correct all errors on line) has the gas flame at the bottom and the electric heater on up in it. There may also be an over-heat reset button on the stack. You may have to remove a cover to get to it. I think that it will kick out both gas and electric so a blown fuse or bad electric heater is more likely.

I would google for RV fridge repair in your area. Around IN we have small specialty shops that only work on RV fridges, and I'll bet they are better than the typical camping service department--which is not to disparage the few really good camping store service departments.

Since it has been brought up, IMO you'll die richer if you never buy a RV extended warranty. The extended warranty companies in the RV business have a poor reputation.

[EstorilM]

bob213 wrote:
Old Biscuit, along with Doug Ranier and Chris Bryant will probably offer you the best advice on this forum for appliances. You may not like Old Biscuit's delivery but YOU need to read what he wrote because what you are saying is not what I have seen on any refrig. I've seen. Depressing the gas button usually locks out the AC function. In auto mode you don't need the gas button depressed on any model I've seen. Your's could be different but having an attitude when asking for help is not going to solve your problem. Good luck!

Oh I respect everyone on here and they time they put into helping everyone out, on a daily basis (and I realize some questions get old) - and I apologize if I was a little frustrated after reading that.

In any event I'm familiar with forum etiquette (MANY other forums) and people shooting down advice - not what I was trying to do, I just wanted to see if there were more technical things I could check.

Of course having said that, I'm starting to confuse myself on the buttons at my desk here (and I'm staring at the manual again). But yeah I called it the gas button, but they call it auto - with it down it's going to try both. Auto light turns on.

I think the opposite operation may have confused me, but as long as it said auto I should be fine. Again was fine on camp sites, home, and on the road w/ propane.

I'm thinking about it too much. I'll pull the panel in a bit here when I escape work. 🙂

OH and to answer the other persons question about just swinging by the dealer - I was just referring to my nearest "authorized" dealer (about 25mi) but they aren't who I got it from (and have a fairly bad reputation around here, especially service dept). Beckleys in MD is about a 130mi rnd trip. Definitely glad I got it from them though, awesome experience - just a bummer they're so far.

I feel like an idiot for getting the extended warranty sometimes, as I'm not going to spend $30 in gas to fix the $5 seal that's popping out around storage compartment door for example. I guess it's peace of mind.

[SidecarFlip]

Old Biscuit's delivery is just fine IMO. When you repeat and repeat and repeat the same thing over and over countless times, your delivery can get coarse.

Nice little box in the upper left corner of the forum page called 'search'. There are literally hundreds of threads on this site that address about every issue with ammonia fridges from every builder. Pretty easy to use too.

I let Mr' Biscuit dissect the issues, I just like to help fine tune the 'keeping it cold inside issues.... I have to say that Doug goes so far and then blows a poster off when they don't listen. I just pull my thread subscription, some posters haven't a clue and never will. To them I say...'Take it to your nearest CW facility and get your wallet out'.... When they get done with ya, your wallet will be empty. The issue may or may not be fixed but you'll have the satisfaction that you paid for everything, plenty.

[bob213]

Old Biscuit, along with Doug Ranier and Chris Bryant will probably offer you the best advice on this forum for appliances. You may not like Old Biscuit's delivery but YOU need to read what he wrote because what you are saying is not what I have seen on any refrig. I've seen. Depressing the gas button usually locks out the AC function. In auto mode you don't need the gas button depressed on any model I've seen. Your's could be different but having an attitude when asking for help is not going to solve your problem. Good luck!

[rsaylor3]

I had mine start doing the same thing after a year. It ended up being something on the circuit breaker that controlled the auto feature. Not sure if that it what's wrong with your unit, but it's behaving the same way.

First tech that looked at it for me, said it's was fine. I emailed the manufacturer and they diagnosed it right away. I used it for months on gas only until I took it back in for other work and they fixed the board. It's all good now.

Good luck man!

[MrWizard]

Open the outside cover
You will see the 120v outlet

If outlet has power unplug fridge and check fuse on control board

After that it is either the control board
Or
The 120v heating element in the stack

Some people have a phobia about Lp gas

Better off saying up front
It works on gas, but i won't run it that way
In the first post, and getting that out of the way

[KD4UPL]

I don't know your nearest dealer, maybe you've had a bad experience with them, but that's the first place I'd go with a new unit under warranty. The shouldn't charge you one dime for a warranty repair.

[EstorilM]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

EstorilM wrote:
I've checked most of this but not all (thanks for the quick replies!)

It's definitely plugged in to 120VAC right now (batt full) and everything else works fine, all the breakers are fine as well. I haven't actually pulled the cover and checked for power at the refer plug, but I'll do that tomorrow.


I'm pretty sure propane is fine, but I haven't pressed the propane button as I just got this thing and don't entirely trust it yet (I know, it's stupid - but if it's plugged in I just leave the gas button off.. can't hurt)

I'll check propane just out of curiosity, but again I didn't press the button so that's probably a different issue. I need the thing to be working on AC anyways. 😞

It is level on all axis.

It seems strange to me that it takes about 5 minutes for the "check" light to illuminate. I feel like that's probably NOT a good sign if it's trying to run on AC.

Edit: FWIW after about 15 seconds of turning the switch ON again, I can hear a click or two in the back of the refer unit. Not sure if this is significant or not, but it appears to have power.

In all the paper work when you bought this new/used....zero mile TT did you get the manual for fridge?

Now would be a GOOD time to read it and HOW fridge operates.

In 'AUTO' firdge controls select AC 1st.
If AC NOT available..swaps to GAS
'Check' Light comes on after fridge tries to light main flame and fails 3 times

IF you select GAS....that is the only mode fridge will attempt to run on. 3 tries....'check' light

Clicking could be AC heater relay making up
OF
spark electrode firing lighting off propane cause AC not available

Manual...READ IT

Easy killer.

Yes I have both the installation manual as well as the user manual, and have read both (in addition to being familiar with these types of units).

Speaking of READING as you say.. if you read my posts, you'd realize that 1) it's been working fine on AC power till now - it's not "user error" and 2) I have no desire to use propane while it's plugged in at the house. I can SEE if it'll work on gas, but at the end of the day if AC is inop then I've got problems. 3) Click noise wouldn't be ignition / spark, as I said the GAS button was not enabled/depressed.

You're also incorrect about the check light - the "gas" button hasn't been depressed at all during this entire process, yet after ~5 min the "CHECK" light comes back on, AC power only. In addition to a failed ignition attempt as you mention, it appears the unit will display "CHECK" for AC-related faults or other problems.

You also seem to be confused about the GAS button as you say

IF you select GAS....that is the only mode fridge will attempt to run on. 3 tries....'check' light

"
With GAS button depressed, the unit will always attempt AC first, not gas only as you say. Pressing the GAS button is the only way to enable AUTO function/illuminate AUTO light on this unit (and all others I've seen).

The manual is for ~8+ different Dometic models by the way, some of which have different switch and light configs. Mine's the normal 2-way. ON/OFF switch, and GAS switch (which turns on AUTO light, blah blah, now it can choose which is available).


Anyways - the manuals don't want you to touch anything.. typical. Troubleshoot guide says "If unit fails to cool, turn off immediately and call dealer"

Mention of a fuse, which they also tell you to call dealer for. This obviously for DC power, and since the DC-powered controls work it's probably not that.

Didn't get a chance to check for AC at the plug yesterday, where would it be? (outside access panel or underneath / kick panel?) Again breakers all fine.

30-day dealer warranty expired like 4 days ago. Dometic may have a warranty but probably 1-yr and expired as it's a 2016, which leaves me with the Keystone warranty (probably dead too or not transferred) and my extended warranty, which does cover the unit but has a decent-size deductible and nothing else is really broken on the TT.

I'll tinker with it tonight, check AC, plus anything else you all might suggest - in addition to seeing if it works on propane just for the hell of it.

[Old-Biscuit]

EstorilM wrote:
I've checked most of this but not all (thanks for the quick replies!)

It's definitely plugged in to 120VAC right now (batt full) and everything else works fine, all the breakers are fine as well. I haven't actually pulled the cover and checked for power at the refer plug, but I'll do that tomorrow.


I'm pretty sure propane is fine, but I haven't pressed the propane button as I just got this thing and don't entirely trust it yet (I know, it's stupid - but if it's plugged in I just leave the gas button off.. can't hurt)

I'll check propane just out of curiosity, but again I didn't press the button so that's probably a different issue. I need the thing to be working on AC anyways. 😞

It is level on all axis.

It seems strange to me that it takes about 5 minutes for the "check" light to illuminate. I feel like that's probably NOT a good sign if it's trying to run on AC.

Edit: FWIW after about 15 seconds of turning the switch ON again, I can hear a click or two in the back of the refer unit. Not sure if this is significant or not, but it appears to have power.

In all the paper work when you bought this new/used....zero mile TT did you get the manual for fridge?

Now would be a GOOD time to read it and HOW fridge operates.

In 'AUTO' firdge controls select AC 1st.
If AC NOT available..swaps to GAS
'Check' Light comes on after fridge tries to light main flame and fails 3 times

IF you select GAS....that is the only mode fridge will attempt to run on. 3 tries....'check' light

Clicking could be AC heater relay making up
OF
spark electrode firing lighting off propane cause AC not available

Manual...READ IT