Forum Discussion

hhornig's avatar
hhornig
Explorer
May 21, 2014

Dometic Refrigerator will not stay lit on gas

I have Dometic Refrigerator that is about 15 years old and works fine on A/C. When I try to run it on LP it seems to light, but then clicks off and t he "CHECK" light comes on. My stove and water heater work so I think I have OK gas pressure. Does anyone have any suggestions?
  • Thanks for the help guys. A new thermocouple and cleaning of burner did the trick.

    I think it might be worth while to clean the chimney. Does anyone know how to do that?
  • I thought I recalled seeing a resistance value for thermocouple test online once upon a time but I don't seem to be able to find it now.

    I did find this http://www.rvdoctor.com/2004/11/cleaning-servicing-rv-refrigerator.html and it speaks of a thermocouple tester - I would bet it's quite a bit more expensive than a new thermocouple.

    My experience with older fridges and that symptom - one was a thermocouple and one was a controller board ...

    edit - guess I didn't look very hard - google shows a number of hits for testing thermocouples ...

    http://www.ehow.com/how_12163473_test-thermocouple-gas-refrigerator.html

    and others
  • Thanks for the advice guys. The burner area was grungy, but I had a nice flame for about 2 minute then it shut off. I suspect the thermocouple. Is there a way to test it?
  • Take the Control box cover off the control box behind the refer. Look at the epoxy that the circuits are imbedded in. IF it is yellow/beige, then your control module needs replaced. If it is greenish, then check the Thermocoupler or the spark ignitor which ever your unit uses. Dometic used both depending on the model number. Doug
  • Open the outside panel of the refrigerator and remove the sheet metal panel so you can see the gas burner. If the flame is light blue, almost clear, that's what you want. If the flame is slightly yellow or has small sparks then your burner if dirty. This video should help click. The problem could be a number of things.