So this is the second season with our 'gently used' camper.
It's a 2004 Springdale 26' bunk. Every time we go to use it for a weekend/week or two, the fridge acts up. It's a Dometic RM2652, and I have the DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE MANUAL for reference. Here's my pattern:
I plug AC in about 48-72 hours before, pop on a freshly charged deep cycle battery and bleed the propane lines.
Turn the fridge button to ON and AUTO. After 12 hours the flue is hot to the touch, not just warm, but HOT! Based on that, I feel the electric burner is working. The fridge and freezer are at ambient temperature after the 12 hours. If I unplug any portion of the shore line (from the wall, from the plug converter, or the cooling unit itself) the propane fires up successfully. Also, if I push the AUTO/GAS button the lights change as they should, and the gas burner again successfully lights.
Again, I check 12 hours later and the flue is HOT, but the fridge is still at room temp.
So we had a little tantrum, bought a bunch of ice, and figured we would cooler it. We drove 45min-1 hour and set up camp, and on a whom I checked out the fridge, and it's cooled off considerably. 3-4 hours later, it's normal refer temp, and the freezer can hold ice cream without becoming milk.
I have a few friends who suggested something about the ammonia crystalizing, and if I were to rap on the Absorber Vessel, it should clear up the problem in the future.
Well, it happened again- plugged in the trailer Wednesday, not cool 12 hours later, switched to gas, not cold 12 hours later- flue is hot again.
The one thing I noticed, once the fridge had gotten cool, the absorber vessel was hot to the touch- is this normal? When it is NOT working correctly, the A/V is room temp, and the Liquid Temperature Exchanger is hot very close to the boiler, but only about 3-5 inches, and then it cools of. Should the whole system warm up? Is it a flow problem- could it be the ammonia crystalizing? What's a permanent fix for this?
