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Dometic Problem

Yahoo Message Number: 16977
We are currently at Golden Shore RV Park in Long Beach, CA with no Dometic refrigeration. Thanks to cheap ice chests and expensive ice we are OK.
We have a Dometic RM 3863 top freezer model. The 3-way display lights indicate that everything is operating OK, but zero cooling. We are plugged into 50 amp service. The display indicates that the frig is in AC mode. When I unplug, the display indicates that we are on gas. I can even hear the spark electrode snap and the flame start and the shield gets hot. No cooling. I checked the AC plug at the back of the frig and find 120v. I've checked the 3 fuses in the power module and they are OK. I've checked the fuse at the main fuse box in the fuel bay and it's OK. I'm stumped. Any one with a similar experience?

Tom & Joyce Newman, 99 Allure 36 ft, Kitchen Slide 30288

Re: Dometic Problem

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16988
Tom and Joyce:

Yesterday my Dometic did the same thing with all the same "everything is OK"indications. Mine is a side by side NDR 1492. I shut it off for a few seconds and then turned it back on and a few hours later it started working OK. It has been running "normally" for about 12 hours and the freezer reads 3.7 degrees while the refer side is still in the upper 40s. When I first noticed the problem, the freezer was a soggy, drippy 29 and the refer a balmy 54.
I called Dometic and got a recording which gave me the name of the local dealer (I'm presently in Fairbanks, Alaska and they are located in Anchorage). I spoke with them and they said sometimes the "brain" gets confused and to try shutting it off for 15 minutes then back on. You might try that.
Also there is a thermistor in a plastic slide located on one of the fins in the refer side. As I recall, sliding it down makes the refer cooler and sliding it up raises the temperature. I could have it backwards.

Good luck and please let me know if anything more concrete.

Chuck Penque

03 Intrigue 11673

Dometic Problem

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 17027
Hi Eric & Chuck

Thanks for the responses on your experience with frig problems.
Over the past several days I have tried both of your suggestions. No luck.
Yesterday, I spoke to Long Beach RV. After listening to what I had done and checked, they said it was the cooling unit. They stated that it was common for Dometic frig's to go out between 7 to 9 years. Our unit is just shy of 7 yrs from delivery in 98.
I then called Carrier & Sons and spoke with Tom. He concurred that it sounds like the cooling unit is the problem.
Since we're heading back to OR, I was willing to wait a week and a half and detour to Carrier to have it done. Wrong, the boss would like to have it done NOW. Sooooooooo, reluctantly I have scheduled the cooling unit to be replaced this coming Monday by L.B.RV.

If anything changes, I'll let you all know.

Tom & Joyce Newman
99 Allure, 30288
I

Re: Dometic Problem

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 17030
Tom,

I'm curious: has your refrigerator spent some time in the off position? I've heard about the 7 to 9-10 years on a Dometic, as a matter of fact, in our last coach, the refer lasted 8 years, but it was sitting unused for almost two years. We keep our refer in the current coach running all the time, and it has lasted about eleven years so far. I suspect running it makes the difference.

Per

95 Affinity

tpn115@... wrote:

Re: Dometic Problem

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 17031
Tom, be careful about replacing a cooling unit. I found out the hard way several years ago that a RV dealer charged me almost as much for a new coolong unit ( which turned out to be a re-built one from Mexico ) as Camping World wanted for a whole new refr. That RV dealer is long since out of business. I suggest you check on prices before proceeding.

Walt Rothermel
03Allure30811

Dometic Problem

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 17145
Since my last update on our Dometic problem we received a couple more questions and suggestions.
In response to Per, we run our frig about 7 to 8 months of the year since we purchased the rig 1/01. Prior to our purchase, it sat idle for almost 2 years because of the original owners health issues. He had it plugged in to keep the battery's up, but the frig was off. So none op may have had some impact on the early failure of the frig.
In response to Walt, we did check the price of a new unit instead of replacing the cooling unit. It was considerably more expensive to buy new. However, by the time we got the final bill, the price gap had narrowed. The labor was several hundred more than estimated because of a problem we witnessed with the removal of the cooling unit from the back of the frig. After a phone call to Dometic, it appears they used an adhesive on the original installation rather that a sealer. Guess who got to pay for this.
After 8 days without a working frig we took the rig to LB RV on Monday, to have the cooling unit replaced. That evening we were back at Golden Shores RV Resort. As soon as we plugged in, the frig switched from gas to AC. The frig continued to get cold. By morning the freezer was at freezing but the frig was at 42. However, by afternoon it was at 50. Hum. It has been warm here but not that warm. Called LB RV who said to put it on gas move the temp control to 5 and let them know the temp readings over the next day. Back to the ice chest. After 2 days of monitoring the temp (40 at 7am, 50 at 12, and 55 at 10pm, and 40 at 7am), LB RV said the frig most have air leak around the seal and to bring the rig back in. We did this Friday. After 4 additional hours, this time at their expense, we pulled out with we our fingers crossed. We headed out towards Oregon. By 7pm and after a 7 hour drive up the hot central valley of CA, the frig was already at 45 and by morning it was 38. We immediately went out to buy new provisions. This morning, everything is working as expected.
We probably should have purchased the rebuilt cooling unit (as Ron did) which had a fixed price that included installation. Instead, we wanted to stay original and purchased a new cooling unit from Dometic for more money plus the cost to install it. Big mistake. Or for a few hundred bucks more than what we paid, we could have purchased a brand new frig. We live and we learn.

Tom & Joyce Newman

99 Allure, 36' kitchen slide #30288

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