mondmn70
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Re: Refrigerator Issue
I checked the condensate drain line and although I could not see it, I could feel the last 2-3 inches of it. The line was soft and flexible and appeared still be attached to the fridge - I could pull on it and it would stretch a little but seemed to be firmly attached. However, there was no apparent "P" trap in the tubing in the amount I could feel and even if it has a trap in it someplace, I am not sure if the fridge is used enough that the trap would be full of water. So it is certainly a potential source of cooling loss for the fridge, but it's ID is only about 1/4 inch so not sure if the loss would be enough to account for the results I see. But it is easy to plug on the inside of the fridge to eliminate this as a possibility. Thanks for the suggestion.448Views0likes0CommentsRe: Refrigerator Issue
WA4HTZ wrote: Also, check the condensate drain tube which should be coming out of the lower vent. The cheap plastic tubing the manufactures use becomes brittle and breaks after 2 or 3 years and then you get warm air into the refrigerator. Go to www.rvrefrigeration.com (sorry, don't know how to post links yet) and look for a 3 part series of videos on replacing the condensate drain tube. These are very good. If you take the lower vent cover off, it is easy to tell if yours is cracked and falling apart. The bad news: you have to pull the refrigerator to replace it in most cases. That is a very good suggestion. I have not checked the drain as a potential source of heat intrusion into the fridge, but it would seem logical that if this is cracked or broken, it would allow more air (heat) into the fridge when traveling.448Views0likes0CommentsRe: Refrigerator Issue
Dr Quick wrote: Have you checked the "flame"? Sometimes dirt or scale can fall on the flame outlet and interfere with the flame. Make sure that it is working properly. Also wind inside enclosure, could be interfering with flame. On my previous trailer I had to wrap come aluminum foil around flame enclosure, otherwise it would blow out when moving. The problem actually developed a few year after I got trailer. I don't think it is wind interfering with the flame since I have the same result on 120 V (running the generator). The flame has a cover which would make it difficult to respond to wind but I could try wrapping the cover with foil to see if this improved the operation when traveling on gas.448Views0likes0CommentsRe: Refrigerator Issue
The condenser tube fins are less than 1/2 inch from the back panel of the fridge - is that the distance you are referring to? Nothing has changed on the installation or vent system since it was new (3 yrs) but this poorly operation when traveling has only occurred in the last 6-12 months. Any idea if the electronic control board could cause this kind of problem?448Views0likes0CommentsRe: Refrigerator Issue
Travelin2 wrote: I'm not familiar with your exact model but if it has a vent on the roof, I would guess that while under-way the airflow over the roof is somehow preventing the normal convection airflow necessary to cool the tubes on the back of the fridge. This is a side vent installation and I thought the same thing - I was not getting proper air flow across the condenser. I tried adding an air scoop to the lower vent grill but that did not improve anything even though I know more air was entering the lower grill. Nothing has changed in the vent system or the fridge installation so it is hard to understand how the airflow would have changed in the last 6 months compared to previous 2 years. I cannot think of why the main control board would cause such a problem but I cannot think of anything else that would affect both 120V and gas.448Views0likes0CommentsRefrigerator Issue
I have a 3-way fridge (Dometic RML 8555) which has operated reasonably well for the last 2 years on 120 V or gas as long as the outside temperature was not above 90 degrees F. But in the last few months while still working normally when on shore power or stationary on gas operates poorly (on gas) or not at all (using the house generator for 120 V) when traveling. On gas, the fridge temperature will increase 5-10 F during a 3 hr. trip while on 120 V the fridge will increase 10-20 degrees during the same time period with outside temperatures in the 70's. Upon stopping, the temperatures will drop back to normal (35-40 F fridge) on either gas or 120V over a couple of hours. I have added an exhaust fan (130 CFM) in the condenser vent which does improve cooling while stationary but not during travel. I am looking for suggestions as to what would cause the fridge to operate normally when stationary but not while traveling. I am thinking about changing out the control board although I don't have any explanation on how the control board could cause this problem. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Mike1.8KViews0likes11CommentsRe: Intermittent Problem with Fridge
dougrainer wrote: The rear cooling is probably your problem. What you need to do is verify that when the temp rises and you do have flame or the 120 is hot, IF you do not hear the fan then the fan tstat is intermittent. Common problem for Dometic rear fan tstats to fail. What you can do if you have easy access to the top outside side vent, remove it and you will see the fan tstat on the condenser coil, Install a 2 wire jumper to the tstat and run down the back side to the rear bottom. Then connect those wires together to run the fan continuously when this problem happens. You can also leave the jumper wire connected to run the fan 24/7 and your refer will be more efficient. Also, make sure the area above the condenser fins(ceiling) has a baffle or curved roof baffle to direct all the air out of the upper vent door. ANY gap that goes above the rear access door will allow hot air to stay trapped and you will lose some cooling efficiency. If not properly roof baffled, then when the fan fails to run, the convection hot air cannot be driven out the top and will cause the cooling unit to not operated correctly. Doug I don't think it is outside cooling. This erratic cooling only occurs occasionally and can happen when outside temperatures are in the 40's or 50's and the exterior exhaust fan continues to work when needed. When the cooling drops off, I have measured a decrease in the condenser temperature with an IR thermometer which suggests that the heating section is not boiling up enough vapor. Then within an hour or two the fridge sometimes resumes cooling without any significant outside air temperature changing. I think the suggestion that the temp thermistor works erratically or something similar is more likely. Mike748Views0likes0CommentsRe: Intermittent Problem with Fridge
dougrainer wrote: 1. Temp rise on your model will not cause any indication or beeping. 2. IF there is a failure, you will get a flashing LED stating what has failed 3. Should the door be kept open for too long (more than 2 minutes), the blue external LED starts flashing until the door is closed. Only with AES models an acoustic signal is initiated (pulsing whistle tone). ?? Should the electronic control detect any failure, an acoustic signal will sound (pulsing whistle tone) for 30 seconds (only with AES models). It is repeated every hour, if the fai lure is not resolved. At the same time the display starts flashing (for trouble-shooting, please refer to section 4.13). 4. For a problem like this you usually disconnect the Temp Thermister which will cause the refer to run full time. Then see if it stops cooling in your parameters problem. IF so, then replace the Thermister. 5. Does your model have the optional rear cooling fan? Not ALL of this model will have the rear cooling fan. If you have the fan, then your fan Tstat may be defective. Doug Doug, I do not see any flashing LED's when the fridge (AES model) is not cooling. The first couple of times that this happened, I did hear a beeping sound that was the same as the beeping sound when the door is not closed completely but no beeping the last few times it happened. 4. Disconnecting the temp thermistor is an excellent suggestion and one I can easily try the next time it happens. 5. I do have the rear cooling fan but it seems to work fine and runs when the fridge is not cooling properly. Thanks for the suggestion. Mike748Views0likes0CommentsRe: Intermittent Problem with Fridge
The fridge is not in a slide and this occasional problem occurs even when the ambient temperature is in the 40'5 and 50's and does not happen even when the ambient temperature is in the 70's or 80's. I have also used an IR thermometer to measure the temperature on the fridge condenser and when it is not working the temp of the condenser drops from about 140 F to about 120 F748Views0likes0CommentsRe: Intermittent Problem with Fridge
I keep a volt meter on the 12V system and it always showed between 12.3 and 12.7 volts during the episodes when the fridge was not cooling. The fridge would stop working but then resume working within an hour or so without any change in the 12 volt system.747Views0likes0Comments
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