rsg33 wrote:
A couple of you wanted pictures. This is a classic recall case. The first pic is what the owner saw from the exterior. The second is of the perc area with the insulation and outer housing removed. It's hard to tell exactly where the leak originated, but I suspect at the common weld between the 12V pocket and the 110V pocket. I'll know better when the cooling unit is actually removed from the box.
This is a RM3862 out of a 2002 5th and is on the recall list. The element is marked 115V-325W. Part # 173768-03 The ohms will be checked tomorrow and I'll edit this post with the reading. Dometic has supplied a new cooling unit and will warrant this defect for the owner.
First off thanks for the pics. You mentioned 12 volt pocket and 120 volt pocket. Did this one have the dual voltage?
Any more close up's would help. Now we are getting a lot closer to at least understanding the insides. Or what it looks like that is.
Another thing that jumps out of this pic's. Corrosion. Cyclic heat thermal expansion and corrosion combined. Given the right combinations this can add up to a crack initiation point due a stress riser created from the corrosion pit. Once started the thermal cycling works on it. And the heat affected zone of a welds get's worked on first. All negative trends.
H'mm and the PN you gave out. 173768-03 That is the same today PN. See page 11, item 68.
RM3862 parts list Seems maybe some substitutions may have come into play or they kept the same part numbers and upgraded the probe to 44 ohms, 325 watts.
Boy that RM3862 is one nice big fridge.
John
