Dometic fridge DM2852 No power

From the Escapees board:

"So i have identified the issue. There is a second control board where the LED panel is. That board was dead. Replaced the upper control board and fridge powered back up. I don't know if this is common or not. I know every tech I talked to was sure it was the circuit board on the back of the fridge."

Some have an on off switch on the side of the lower control board that is meant to shut off 12v so you can leave the door open with no light when not camping. (to keep the fridge aired out) Not easy to get at, so not likely to hit it by accident AFAIK.

Check the pos wire from terminal block to board blade and also the ground from the terminal block to chassis.

sgfrye wrote:
Ok am I missing something. My dometic DM2852 was running fine on this past weekends trip. Get home no power on 120 or dc. No lights on display, interior light nothing. What I’ve done so far:

Used multi tester on dc terminal block shows 13.7 volts. House battery is 1 12volt tests fine.

110 v outlet fridge plugged into cks out ok

Checked 3amp and 5amp fuse on control board checks ok with a “green light led” fuse checker.

Am I missing something or is next step replacing control board?

As always thanks!

There is NO on/off switch on your circuit board so don't bother looking for that


You have 13.7V DC at terminal block.....but no upper display OR interior light.

5A fuse is for the 120V AC circuit
3A fuse is the DC fuse for circuit board and all controls

Testing them with a 'fuse tester' just means the fuse is intact....but doesn't check that DC Voltage is present

Upper display is via 6 pin connector (P1---upper left corner) and the interior light/heater strip come from J2 connections----two completely different DC circuits.

You need to TEST using a voltmeter that you have 12V DC Voltage at J4......that is where the DC from terminal block goes to on circuit board AFTER going thru the 2 thermal fuses
(1 in-line down by burner and the other 1 on stack/which is resettable if tripped----RED wires from terminal to thermal fuses to J4)

W/O DC at J4 NOTHING will function

If you have DC at J4 then circuit board is most likely bad cause of different components being w/o DC
If you do NOT have DC at J4 then stack thermal fuse has tripped and cooling unit has probably failed.

Voltmeter.......test for voltage!

Thank you everyone. I will hopefully keep troubleshooting this weekend and update

I found the problem....

the inline thermal fuse close to burner is toast. good voltage going into the fuse, not good coming out. i removed the fuse and did a temporary splice to test without the fuse inline. everything came on and fridge is working on 120 and propane. fridge ran all night on shore power this morning temps were good. freezer and fridge. i turned off fridge and ordered a pack of new fuses off amazon. when they arrive i will install and see if it happens again. replaying in my mind last sunday when the fridge died i know it happened while we were towing home. i usually tow with fridge running on propane never had a problem. we had a 3 hour drive home and it was storming and had gusts of wind 30 to 35mph. wondering if the wind affected the flame enough to kill the fuse. i read a post yesterday on another forum concerning a fellow with the same problem but only happening "in transit" not when parked.

Please clarify the size, type, and location of the "thermal fuses". I can't find them on my S630 or in the RM2852 manual. Just the 3a on the main board for 12v. Is it inside the "ignition module"? Thanks.

Is it this "recall fuse" business, so that's why I can't find one on mine?

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/24549529.cfm

Thank you for reporting back.

BFL13 wrote:
Please clarify the size, type, and location of the "thermal fuses". I can't find them on my S630 or in the RM2852 manual. Just the 3a on the main board for 12v. Is it inside the "ignition module"? Thanks.

someone else may post the info sooner but if not i will take a photo to show location, and get fuse info. it is inline on red wire behind the chimney, coming out of chimney popup breaker, folded and on a small bracket, covered by a black moveable covering.

my fridge in a 2018 model.

the thermal fuse is not shown in my original owners manual, downloaded service manual, or parts list manual.

BFL13 wrote:
Please clarify the size, type, and location of the "thermal fuses". I can't find them on my S630 or in the RM2852 manual. Just the 3a on the main board for 12v. Is it inside the "ignition module"? Thanks.

Is it this "recall fuse" business, so that's why I can't find one on mine?

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/24549529.cfm

i believe so.

Thanks, I think it must be the recall.