ausdoug
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Re: Dometic Refer Recall - Possible Fire Hazard -Update 2/13/07
I had the recall kit installed about 2 months ago and everything worked fine during a week long trip around July 4th. If I was on a trip and the refrig quit working and I suspected the thermal fuses, couldn't I just pull the red wires off of the circuit board? Haven't looked that closely at the installation but was just wondering.469Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dometic Refer Recall - Possible Fire Hazard -Update 2/13/07
I think you wouldn't want to make a change to the depth of the sleeve. At 120 volts, my old (Dometic) heater = 38.3 ohms.. 376 watts. My new rvmobile heater = 45.6 ohms.. 315 watts.. a difference of 61 watts. Plus I put the heater in the DC sleeve (which btw is about 1/2" lower than the AC sleeve.283Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dometic Refer Recall - Possible Fire Hazard -Update 2/13/07
When I called Dometic and registered, they ask me what dealer I wanted to use and I told them the name of the dealer where I bought the RV. Dometic then said that my dealer was an authorized dealer. The recall letter says this in step 5. The rework kit will be available on April 16, 2007. At that time, call your preferred service center and set up an appointment. For help in locating a service center, or for the most up-to-date recall information, call 1-800-446-5157. Please do not simply go to a dealer or service center without an appointment, since some facilities will not be performing this work, and the ones that are doing this work will need to the appropriate parts from us. Please bring this letter with you at the time of your scheduled service. So, my dealer took my name, address, and phone number, and added my name to the list of customers who need the kit and said they would call me when they have the kits. From what I understand I was added to a list and they would be working down the listed. I would believe the dealer has a Dometic number to call and tell them they need a kit for customer X and Dometic knows who customer X is since customer X registered. Included with the recall letter (which is a form letter) is a separate page with my name and address and it contains a bar code number. I expect this is what the dealer will ultimately used when I take my RV in.283Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dometic Refer Recall - Possible Fire Hazard -Update 2/13/07
My dealer has an on-line form you can ask a question. I ask the dealer when could I bring my RV in for the refrigerator kit. The dealer called me and said they have added my name to their list and would set up an appointment as soon as kits starting arriving. The dealer did not need to see my recall notice.269Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dometic Refer Recall - Possible Fire Hazard -Update 2/13/07
Last weekend I posted that I had ordered a replacement heater from rvmobile.com and installed it and it tripped my GFCI breaker. On Monday I called rvmobile and talked to TJ and he said it sounded like a faulty heater to him and he would send me a replacement. The replacement arrived yesterday. I installed it yesterday afternoon in the DC heater sleeve and ran it all night. It did not trip my breaker and refrigerator cooled well. The replacement heater resistance reading was 45.6.272Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dometic Refer Recall - Possible Fire Hazard -Update 2/13/07
This morning I put the new heater that was tripping the GFCI breaker back into the heater sleeve and powered it up. it was heating for maybe 15 minutes when I left for church. When I got back it had tripped the kitchen breaker. The heater was still slightly warm to the touch. So, I reset the breaker and tired it again and it ran about 5 minutes and tripped. I reset the breaker again and it tripped within couple of minutes. I repeated this again and it tripped the breaker. When the heater is warm or cold it still reads 44.2 ohms resistance. I've pulled it out and will call rvmobile tomorrow and see if they will ship me a new one. If I put my meter on one lead and the other on the heater house, I get no continuity. I believe it was Tim who said I might have a slight fault that is triggering the GFCI. I expect if I were to bypass the breaker it would heat the refrig. My old heater doesn't have a problem. Thanks for all of the posts.180Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dometic Refer Recall - Possible Fire Hazard -Update 2/13/07
And, Willis you are right, the check light was probably because I was trying to get it working with AC but the gas was off as well, and with the kitchen breaker tripped the was trying to use gas since it didn't have any AC. Tomorrow, I'm going to put new element back in and make sure I have a good solid electrical connection and give it another try. Sitting here tonight I believe the problem was caused by electrical connection. Like I said in original posting, the heater had heated for about an hour when this occurred. Now, I feel a little dumb for posting my original message so quickly versus continuing to think about what happened and taking it slower. Well, that is part of the learning process on matters such as this and the great thing about rv.net .. you can ask your fellow campers.208Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dometic Refer Recall - Possible Fire Hazard -Update 2/13/07
Yes, Willis, after I had the outside ground fault, I put the old element back in. Originally, I thought I had only triggered the outside breaker. So, when the check light came on it was because there wasn't any AC power due to the kitchen breaker being tripped as well. Then, sitting here in the house I remembered the breaker in the kitchen and sure enough it was tripped. I reset it and turned the refrigerator back on using AC. It is now working with my old heater. So, it is probably the case that the new rvmobile heater is faulting after it is heated for a while. My wife and I don't camp that often, probably 30 days a year, and I have never tripped the kitchen breaker before using AC and that is over the last 5 years.208Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dometic Refer Recall - Possible Fire Hazard -Update 2/13/07
Ok, I was sitting in my den watching a movie. I told the wife we had to pause for a second so I could run to the RV. Sure enough the rvmobile heater also tripped the ground fault breaker in the RV kitchen which I had forgot to check. So, when the new heater faulted it tripped both my kitchen breaker and my outside outlet breaker. I'll have to call rvmobile on Monday to see if they will ship me a new heater. Thank goodness I didn't mess up my control board. I rechecked the new heater resistance and it was 44.2 and I did the continuity check suggested and it passed. So, with a meter the new heater is passing tests.208Views0likes0Comments
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