Need help troubleshooting my Dometic 2652 fridge
A few weeks ago we were preparing for a trip when I noticed the fridge wasn't cooling at all. The RV was connected to 120VAC and the fridge was set to auto. The first thing I did was switch to LPG and listen for the igniter clicking. It lit immediately and within a few hours it was cooling nicely. Big sigh of relief - at least I know it's not the cooling unit!
On to troubleshooting, here's what I checked:
- confirmed 120VAC at the outlet that the fridge is plugged into
- checked all fuses on the board
- checked for a rise in amps on the Progressive EMS when switching over to electric and found no rise.
At that point I felt I had narrowed it down to a faulty electric heating element and decided to go ahead with the trip using only LPG. Worked perfectly on gas the whole time we were gone.
Now that we are home, I decided I just need to confirm the heating element is bad before I order a new one. Pulled the 2 leads off the board and connect to my DMM expecting it to test as open. Instead I get 45 ohms - almost exactly what it is supposed to be! So I hook everything back up and try running it on electric again, see a 3 amp rise on the Progressive and within 5 minutes feel noticeable heat on the chimney/top of the element.
Great, I have an intermittent problem, the absolute hardest kind of problem to troubleshoot!
Soooo, my question is this. Do you think it's possible to have a heating element that only fails intermittently? I read that these heating elements are actually a high failure item, but it seems to me that once it fails - that's it. Not going to start working again.
The only other possibility I can see is a bad board. Maybe the board has a relay that can stick? Could just go with the shotgun method and replace both, but... The board, although easy to change is pricy. The heating element is cheap, but more work to replace (from what I can tell I'll need to pull the fridge out to gain enough access to replace the element).
Sure, I could just say, it's working now, not going to worry about it. But I know if I do that, just a matter of time till I get up one morning to a fridge full of spoiled food :(
Anyone else seen an intermittent failure like this? Thank you in advance for any ideas/advice!
On to troubleshooting, here's what I checked:
- confirmed 120VAC at the outlet that the fridge is plugged into
- checked all fuses on the board
- checked for a rise in amps on the Progressive EMS when switching over to electric and found no rise.
At that point I felt I had narrowed it down to a faulty electric heating element and decided to go ahead with the trip using only LPG. Worked perfectly on gas the whole time we were gone.
Now that we are home, I decided I just need to confirm the heating element is bad before I order a new one. Pulled the 2 leads off the board and connect to my DMM expecting it to test as open. Instead I get 45 ohms - almost exactly what it is supposed to be! So I hook everything back up and try running it on electric again, see a 3 amp rise on the Progressive and within 5 minutes feel noticeable heat on the chimney/top of the element.
Great, I have an intermittent problem, the absolute hardest kind of problem to troubleshoot!
Soooo, my question is this. Do you think it's possible to have a heating element that only fails intermittently? I read that these heating elements are actually a high failure item, but it seems to me that once it fails - that's it. Not going to start working again.
The only other possibility I can see is a bad board. Maybe the board has a relay that can stick? Could just go with the shotgun method and replace both, but... The board, although easy to change is pricy. The heating element is cheap, but more work to replace (from what I can tell I'll need to pull the fridge out to gain enough access to replace the element).
Sure, I could just say, it's working now, not going to worry about it. But I know if I do that, just a matter of time till I get up one morning to a fridge full of spoiled food :(
Anyone else seen an intermittent failure like this? Thank you in advance for any ideas/advice!
