Fridge not cooling on electric

[TexBohunk]

Turned on my Fridge a few days before leaving for a weekend trip. Checked a day before leaving and noticed fridge wasn't cooling. Switched to gas and fridge cooled just fine. I suspect the electric heating element has gone bad. Anyone have an idea how much a shop would charge to repair, or can one DIY it? Fridge is just barely a little over year old. Any input is appreciated.

[CavemanCharlie]

TexBohunk wrote:
Just a few more details of the problem. The Fridge is not plugged into any outlet. I have a black square electrical block with leads going to the element, and separate leads from the same block going to the water heater. The element gets warm enough to heat the duct and some of the piping but not hot enough to get the cooling cycle going.

Can you take and post pictures ? I'm a simple man , and no expert, just another TT owner like you. But, I don't understand this part . I can't imagine what the block with leads going to both place is. Does the water heater work?

[mydazeoff]

The black square block is most likely contains the control board for the refrigerator. Somewhere close by that box is a 120Volt plug and a wire that leads to the control box. The only way to understand what is going with the heating element is to measure the voltage at the plug and then measure the amps draw going to the heating element. Multiply the two together and you get watts of energy producing heat to operate the refrig. Inside your refrigerator there may be a label specifying the amp or wattage rating for your unit. For example my unit requires 320 watts.

[TexBohunk]

Just a few more details of the problem. The Fridge is not plugged into any outlet. I have a black square electrical block with leads going to the element, and separate leads from the same block going to the water heater. The element gets warm enough to heat the duct and some of the piping but not hot enough to get the cooling cycle going.

[CavemanCharlie]

Johno02 wrote:
There should be a 120v outlet with the fridge plugged into it. Check voltage at plug, then make sure plug in inserted OK

Yes start here. If you can access the receptacle where your fridge is plugged into.

I once had a problem where the fridge quit and the receptacle in the bathroom was one of those GFCI types and the fridge was wired in on the same circuit. So when the bathroom outlet clicked out the fridge quit too.

[Johno02]

There should be a 120v outlet with the fridge plugged into it. Check voltage at plug, then make sure plug in inserted OK

[mydazeoff]

You should go to this site and watch the video on how to check and replace the heating element: http://rvrefrigeration.com/

[enblethen]

Don't condemn the element, yet!
What happens when you switch to 120 volts AC on control panel?
If it refuses to go, the receptacle could be dead, check it for power.
Next check the control board fuse.
Next check the output on the control board for 120 volts going to the element.
No out put could indicate the 120 volt relay has gone bad. replace board with Dinosaur Electronics one.
Check the element for continuity. Open would indicate element is bad. Fairly easy to replace. element should be around $75.

[N7SJN]

My Dometic was a DIY.

[TexBohunk]

Bob/Olallawa wrote:
Might check the paperwork for the unit. Some of them have a warranty for more than just one year.

Checked the warranty only one year (Norcold).

[Bob_Olallawa]

Might check the paperwork for the unit. Some of them have a warranty for more than just one year.