Dometic Automatic Refrigerator Temperature Control

http://www.snip-the-tip.com/cgi-bin/articca.cgi

One dealer told me that was "normal" as most folks want to have a really cold refrigerator for their weekend beer. Not.

Thermistor is what thermostat uses to sense food compartment fin temp. The t-stat preset to control 38*F-42*F (fin temp 10*F colder)

Moving thermistor/clip UP----COLDER
Moving thermistor/clip DOWN---WARMER
But moving it will only make minor adjustment (4*F-6*F) and you need to wait overnight to see affect.


IF placement of thermistor has no affect..then thermistor is bad. Can replace whole thermistor/wiring harness with OEM

Or 'Snip-The-Tip' one which has a rheostat knob to make fine adjustment

This past week while camping our fridge kept getting colder. I tried sliding the thermistor down (warmer) to stop this. That is when I noticed that the thermistor did not move with the clip. When I pushed it back into the clip the temp increased and stabilized. Unfortunately it would continue to creep up. I am going to contact Dometic and try to find out where in the clip the thermistor should be and glue it into that position.

filthy beast wrote:
This past week while camping our fridge kept getting colder. I tried sliding the thermistor down (warmer) to stop this. That is when I noticed that the thermistor did not move with the clip. When I pushed it back into the clip the temp increased and stabilized. Unfortunately it would continue to creep up. I am going to contact Dometic and try to find out where in the clip the thermistor should be and glue it into that position.

IF you glue it then that is it.........no adjustment at all.

Dometic is going to tell you......
Tip (bulb) of thermistor should just stick out of top of clip
Clip should go on far right fin...mid position
Then after 24 hrs.....check food section temps.
Adjust thermistor as needed>>>>>>>>>>>>>

BUT they will NOT tell you to glue clip in place

Moving the Thermister will ONLY change the temp in the refer about 4 degrees. So, IF you do not like the preset of 38 degrees. Moving to get it colder will only result in about a drop to 34/35 degrees. The adjustment on a Auto Temp Dometic does not change the temp that much. So, if the refer is sub 33 degrees, then you have a control problem(usually bad Thermister), not an adjustment problem. Doug

An OPEN thermistor circuit will cause the system to run full time. I was testing one. Thermistor checked OK. That's somewhere in the range of 30K-Ohms with the tip in an ice/water bath approximating 32-degrees. Anyhow, checked OK but I accidentally fixed it. There was corrosion the connection between thermistor connector and control board (under a cover on the back/outside of the fridge). Might just look for that, unplug and re-plug.

Replaced my thermistor with the snip-the-tip and I still have the same problem (sometimes). When the motor home is parked in the yard I've run the refrigerator for days on gas or electric and it holds rock steady. As soon as I travel it starts freezing stuff again. Could it be that when the coach isn't level for sometime that the unit goes on constant run? Do I have to replace the circut board?

tedp wrote:
Replaced my thermistor with the snip-the-tip and I still have the same problem (sometimes). When the motor home is parked in the yard I've run the refrigerator for days on gas or electric and it holds rock steady. As soon as I travel it starts freezing stuff again. Could it be that when the coach isn't level for sometime that the unit goes on constant run? Do I have to replace the circut board?

NO, There is no such feature or features on a Norcold or Dometic refer. When traveling, the units will sometimes cool BETTER due to the fresh air flowing in and out and the rocking of the refer while in transit. The Freeze Thermister just senses the temp and sends the signal to the control board to start the refer on and off. Doug