Fridge not working

[Smcnitt]

Hi! I just purchased a travel trailer and we cannot get the fridge to work. It has a Dometic RM2652/RM2852 fridge. The light on the top of the fridge with on/off auto/gas works but it does not get cold and the light on the inside does not light up. We changed the 12v battery thinking that was the problem but it is still not working. We have checked all fuses. Can anyone point me in the right direction to what is wrong? Thank you!

[Smcnitt]

Thanks for all advice, had someone come out today and it was the fridge control board.

[wa8yxm]

Top of the fridge is the Eyebrow.. If the light comes on but the inside light does not you have one of three conditions.

1: BOB (Burned Out Bulb, Hey it happens)
2: Blown fuse Go outside and open the panel, lower left on the fridge is a black box. the fuse is under the cover (it just pulls off) on the LEFT, not the one in the center but the one on the LEFT, the other one bites so do not confuse them

4 Bad control board, Might be upper but more likely the one with the fuse.

Common wisdom is it takes 24 hours to cool..

[DPGBG]

Try to disconnect the thermister. It's the white wire that runs into your fridge and is usually connected to the fin inside the fridge. On the back of the fridge it should have a two wire plug. I had this problem and was ready to buy a new fridge. Found out the thermister was bad. When it's disconnected the fridge should run constant.

If it starts working.. then you need a new thermister. Or.. you can just run it that way. It could start freezing everything but I have found that usually with normal use the thing can run constant and not freeze up.

Good luck.

Another thing to check.. On the back of the fridge. You will have to open the outside compartment. See if the heating element is working. If it is you probably have a bad cooling element and then might as well replace fridge altogether. If it's not then could be the elec heating element or the thermistor. Or even control board. But first step is to see if it's heating.

[dave17352]

donn0128 wrote:
Not your problem. Check voltage at the receptacle the refer plugs into. Hookup a propane tank, purge the lines and select gas only and see what happens.

x2 this way you can find if your fridge actually works or is defective.

[donn0128]

Not your problem. Check voltage at the receptacle the refer plugs into. Hookup a propane tank, purge the lines and select gas only and see what happens.

[Smcnitt]

I checked and it is part of the recall...but what does that actually cover?

[Smcnitt]

Breakers are good.

[donn0128]

Check your breakers. If the refer breaker is tripped and when tou try to reset it immediately teips, good chances your electric heating element is burned out.

[Smcnitt]

We have it running off 120 and had it plugged in over night. The gas is not hooked up. The bulb looks to be in good condition, but I'll have to check the door

[DrewE]

How long are you waiting for it to get cold? It takes a day or so.

If you have AC power and the auto/gas switch is on auto, it will use the AC element; if it's on gas (or you don't have AC power), it will use propane. A failure of the propane burner to light will cause the check light to turn on and obviously it won't cool. Failure in propane mode can be due to many causes, but one that's perhaps easy to overlook is a little gas shut-off valve on the burner assembly. (If your fridge was part of the recall and had the recall work done, you need to remove the sheet metal protector over the burner to get at this shut-off valve.) The valve looks like a large setscrew on the side of the assembly, and turns a quarter turn to open or close.

The light not working could be the bulb. If it's OK, my guess would be the door switch is not making good contact like it should. The switch snaps in and out of the light unit (after removing the one wire that is attached to it), and you can either order a replacement from somewhere or, if you're feeling a bit handy, see about taking it apart and cleaning/polishing the contacts inside.

The switch (assuming it's like the one on my Dometic fridge) is held together by two or three plastic posts that are welded/upset; it can be pried apart at the seams with a little bit of effort. Inside, the lever arm moves a little metal rod along an arc; this rod makes contact with hook-shaped prongs on the two contacts that extend out of the switch body. Polishing the hooks and the rod with baking soda and an old toothbrush and rinsing and reassembling was what it took to get mine working decently again. Time will tell how permanent this repair is, but so far it's been successful. The switch body stays put together well enough without the rivet things being re-welded/re-rivited once it's snapped back into the light unit.

Do check to see if the fridge is part of the recall by looking up the serial number on the Dometic website, and if the recall work hasn't been done, see about getting it done. An authorized repair place will do it free of charge.

[donn0128]

How long did you leave it on?
Dometic refers require two or three things to work.
12VDC for control voltage.
120VAC for the electric heating element.
Propane for gas operation.

You have to have 12VDC and at least one of the other two.
Absorbstion refers generally require 12 to 24 hours cool down period before you can start using it.

[darsben]

you canlook here for the correct service manual

[BTPO1]

Does it have power either 120 VAC or 12 VDC? Is the propane turned on? I would check the voltage with a meter and see what you have. Is the fridge turned on? JMO