Refrigerator Problems

[nicoley207]

We have a Dometic refrigerator that was diagnosed with a bad cooling unit. We found another repair shop that will replace the refrigerator at a much more reasonable rate than anyone else in our area, so moved the travel trailer there. The shop called to say that the refrigerator is working. It was plugged in at the time. The shop switched it to propane for the night and called to say that it was still cold this morning. Feeling like this was too good to be true, we stopped by to check the refrigerator ourselves this evening. The freezer is cold (feels like freezing temp, but no thermometer to be certain), but the refrigerator isn't. We left it on propane, but are going to call the shop in the morning to have it switched back to the plug in to see if that makes a difference.

What would cause the refrigerator to work intermittently? Or could it be working when plugged in, but not on propane? If so, why? Would the lower compartment cool down if the cooling unit is bad?

The repair shop hasn't been very helpful in troubleshooting so far.

[mkirsch]

I would suggest you reconsider allowing this outfit to work on your RV. They should know how to troubleshoot this without having to ask you to ask an online forum for advice.

They should absolutely positively NOT be "declaring victory" simply because the refrigerator has cooled down some after being plugged in. You should NOT have had to suggest they turn it to propane mode to verify that worked. They should be testing all available modes to make sure all modes working properly. If not to troubleshoot and fix the issue, but to charge you the most billable hours for the repair.

Cleaning the burner in a propane fridge is something they should have done automatically, right off the bat.

Now you know why they offered to "fix" it for far less than anyone else...

[dougrainer]

nicoley207 wrote:
So, best thing would be to see if we can isolate it as a propane only or ground power only issue, then go from there?

If the 120 element is working---You connect it direct to 120 power and run for 24 hours. Put a glass of water in bottom section. After 24 hours, the water should be below 36 degrees. Doug

[nicoley207]

So, best thing would be to see if we can isolate it as a propane only or ground power only issue, then go from there?

[dougrainer]

Freezer---The correct temp is BELOW 10 degrees. So, unless you have a thermometer you cannot know if it is 31 or 20 or 5 degrees. ALL are below freezing
A BAD cooling unit will freeze the freezer. The blockage is after the freezer, so the bottom will not get cold enough. Doug

[joshuajim]

Did they install new cooling unit or just a used one with a new paint job?

[midnightsadie]

you also need a temp probe to tell what the real temp is.just feeling cold won,t do.

[old_guy]

could be the burner needs cleaned

[MrWizard]

if the flame is too small, burner out of adjustment or jet clogged
then it might work better on the electric heating element
you need to check freezer and main compartment with thermometers

a bad / clogged cooling unit will create uneven cooling,
causing one section to be warmer than it should be

maybe the reason for the lower 'pricing' is the lack of experience with absorption fridges