Troubleshooting A Dometic RV Refrigerator That's Not Working On Propane
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- Опубликовано: 7 янв 2019
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Certified Mobile RV Technician, Darren Koepp, troubleshoots a Dometic RV refrigerator that is not working on propane. In this instance, the electrode wire was damaged and shorting out and therefore the burner was unable to ignite.
If you are in need of RV Repairs in the Olympic Peninsula area of Washington state, submit a service request on our website at myrvworks.com today!
Man you saved the day! Just bought this year old camper and the fridge wouldn't run on gas, watched the video and went to work trouble shooting, the gas valve was vertical not horizontal! Turned the valve, works like a charm! You da man! Love RUclips!
Thank you Darren, I was able to fix my fridge I had some technicians coming to check it out? They made me to get a new mother board, I had to change it myself, still didn’t worked and told me I had to change my fridge and the problem was very simple the valve was off I figured out just by watching your video , I can’t believe how simple the problem was and how people try to scam us new campers, thanks for the video once again and wish you lots of blessings
Same situation here, just turned the valve, I’m hoping that was the issue!! Replaced all new boards, front and back, turns out it was just this? I’ll be in awe.
Thank you for this video. I was able to make a simple diagnosis for my dometic fridge by watching this. Your information is clear and concise!
Minnesotan with a new (old) RV here. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us. Love your humor and your style!
Darren is amazing person, who has helped me via remote assistance from the USA! I am UK based and I have contacted him after my fridge stopped cooling. Unfortunately cooling unit is not reparable and getting part to the UK is very expensive. I would recommend Darren to anyone who has any issues with RVs, he is full of knowledge and knows 100% what he is doing! 5 *
Hey Bro-fessor Koepp, you're a gentleman and a scholar! You put out the very best of educational videos of any kind on the planet. Hands stinking down! You belong on national TV brother! Your work and productions are very much appreciated.
Thanks Darren. Your video was really easy to follow and will allow me to diagnose my fridge problems in the field the next time.
What a great tip on that reset button, i went 3 days trying everything including ordeing a new board. All i had to do is press that reset switch on the burner. Thank You Thank You
Hello Darren & thanks for the informative video. I hope you will do another in the future that would go start to finish on diagnosing issues on propane side of the refrigerator. This video was excellent but you found the problem so quickly there was no need to go further! Excellent video though and you are a wonderful instructor.
My fridge stopped working, I watched your video which gave me an understanding of the fridge, when I took the shield off the igniter, there were chunks of carbon blocking where the flame goes up. Cleaned those out and it works fine! Thanks for the help.
i didn't want to break the access panel to the burner compartment but you made it look easy. the high temp reset button was tripped and i had some trash near igniter. working perfect now. you were very clear explaining the troubleshoot. thanks!
I helped a friend with her dometic frig. After several minutes of head scratching the problem was staring me in my face. There was a mut daubers nest in the burner tube. It was so well formed that it looked like it belonged there. After I removed the plug, the burner lit and functioned well. Thanks for all the great information.
Thank you so much for your videos. I was able to repair my dometic refrigerator myself and saved tons of money!
I just had to tell you your video was more helpful than the forum post I put on RV net trying to get similar information. you analysis the system and come up with a logical solution. As an engineer I can relate to that. Which I followed along with and was able to repair my unit successfully. RV net people kept telling me to hard wire heating element. if I am not getting power to the jumpers supplying the heating element, that's my first issue …. if I am getting power and its still not cooling well then yes we need to check the element, Long story short replaced the main board upper board and thermistor and its working like new. turns out I think the upper board was all that was bad but I did it all. SO THANK YOU for your video!
I found it helpful to have an overview/summary of the sequence of what happens to start the flame: 1. a control unit, 2. activates ignition module, 3. generates spark & 4. opens gas valve, and flame then lights to 5. satisfy the flame being lit via ionization probe at the burner so the spark stops. Getting this from John B.: Ideal Boiler Function + . . . In addition to the VERY good videos at MYRVWORKS about how to check the various components made a big difference to me. ALSO: I suspect some of the online manuals may be a bit out of date because my Dometic 8501 on a 2018 R-Pod 179 has a Polyswitch showing Typ: P870 rather than the P860 and the display on front of the refrig is different. Gas burner lighting processes are very similar whether water tank heating, furnace, or refrigerator. Darren is my favorite RV expert!!!
Great help in this video. Solved my issue by watching. (It was the button between the two wires.). Thanks Darren!!
Thanks for the video! Mine quit on both 120v and LP, turned out the high temp cutout got tripped (was only 116*F yesterday) and shut the whole operation down! In this situation without the exact wire to replace you could easily butt splice a fresh section of appropriate wire in.
Thanks for the video, Darren. I recently bought a small camper and the refrigerator was working prior to moving it. Once I moved it over to my house to start cleaning and whatnot, the refrigerator won't turn on. I am learning a lot from your channel, sure hope it's something simple. Thanks again.
Hi Michael,
When you state it is not working - not working on electric, not working on LP or not working on either?
A simple thing to check - there will be 12 VDC feeding the control board on the back of the frig. Verify that you have 12 VDC at that point and you may find a fuse on the frig control board as well. Also don’t forget the breaker/fuse panel (in the coach) too.
If you do not have 12 VDC feeding the control board, try to determine where the trail stops. After you verify the fuses you may find on some Dometic refrigerators there is a high temp reset on the boiler (chimney looking thing). Also, on some there is a thermal fuse that is tucked back behind the main burner. Those are two areas you may find the 12 Volt trail ending.
Let me know what you find and what model frig you are working with and I can help take this further if you are still stuck.
Another resource for you is on my website we are creating an online manual library. Here is the link. I don’t have all my manuals uploaded yet but keep checking. myrvworks.com/manuals/
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
My husband followed your instructions and the refrigerator took right off and works perfectly now. Thanks for the info !!!!
What did yours end up needing to repair?
I always learn something. There is a magic when someone shares a point of view or makes you think a thought you've never thought before... I've never considered the drip line being a LEAK to the outside before. If I had a 10mm - 15mm hole in the front of my fridge door, you better believe I'd plug it.
Very helpful video, thank you! You recommended creating a P-trap with the drain tube. How do you recommend go about doing that? I don’t want to bend it too much, or weave it around the piping because it’s hot and I worry that the plastic might melt.
It is always best to watch a professional. Thanks, I learned something today!
Very informative. Thanks so much for posting this. I've got the same issue with a Dometic RM3804 and am here just doing a little research before I dig into it. I hope my issue is as simple as this one turned out to be. This is my first foray into RV fridge repair so I've got a learning curve to overcome, but I've been down that road before with RV furnaces, water heaters and solar/battery systems with good success, so am looking forward to learning about these fridges. I'm so thankful for RUclips and videos like yours. Thanks again.
A little more information on my problem. I bought this used Alpenlite in 2009 and the former owners had replaced the refrigerator right before I bought it. I took it home and turned it on and it has worked fine all these years, but it has always been on AC power. I am now going to take the rig on the road and discovered that if I switch it to LP, I get an error light and no flame. I never heard the piezo ignition coming on but then again I was inside the rig so am not sure if it tried to light or not. The manual gas valve doesn't have a knob on it so I am not sure if it's in the "on" or "off" position. I will do some troubleshooting on it today and hope to have better information later.
@@garylewis327
Hello, I have just gotten a used Alpenlite and am working through the glitches in the appliances, got the fridge working on 110v but not yet on the LPgas.... how did your troubleshooting work out???
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated !! Thanks
thanks for the video .My check light was on and I do not know what I did but I followed what you did and somewhere along the way it started working. Thanks again.
*Works great **Fastly.Cool** compact and Easy to install*
I don’t own an RV and I’m not sure how I got here but it was an interesting video with a good resolution in the end. 👍
My high limit thermostat button was popped out. Reset it and solved my problem! I am most grateful to you. Thank you for helping me solve my problem!
Pretty awesome. Nice you covered so much. I was able to get my gas side working I think, or it's only the pilot. The themistat was popped out and when I push it back in the gas side worked. The electric won't come on tho, as when on auto the gas seems to shut off, and the electric side if it's working I don't know.
Thank you so much you just fixed my refrigerator! It’s 110 F here thank you!!!
This video helped me find the *two* issues that were preventing my fridge from working on LP gas. Thanks!
Darren you nailed it, thank you Sir! I had no idea there was a dealio reset on that chimney above the pilot. Bingo! Muchos Gracias Amigo!
Just saved my bacon too.
I have a refrigerator has to freeze every thing in it. And tell what is & what do.wire in back of refrigerator
Awesome. Thank you so much. Mine was sparking but not igniting. I just blew and the pilot lit right up! So I blew the whole area and it works great now. 😊
Thank you. Your video helped me better understand how my fridge works. Very helpful 👍.
Thank you. The video was very helpful. My fridge stopped working at 5:30 am. Checked propane and it was fine. Put new hoses on and now to follow your video to see what the heck is wrong with mine.
THANK YOU! You helped tremendously. My fridge was powering on and I troubleshot it with your help. The problem ended up being that I had no gas in the tank, lol, but I went through your troubleshooting and I determined that the spark was good, so I knew the issue was not the refrigerator itself, it was something before it. Then me, being the dinklebrain I am, realized my propane tank might have been empty. So I exchanged it with a known full tank and voila!
Thanks for everything ... I’m pretty handy but your videos make it a snap. Keep up the great work and videos
That was awesome.! Thank you soo much. My domestic fridge in our new to us (1988 citation) isn't working on either electric or gas (bought it that way). It does however make fridge noises when turned to electric but still not cooling. I'm thinking it needs a new one 😆 but still cant wait to check points you showed here. Thank you for making it seem easy to a newbie!
Thank you for helping me fix my fridge!
Nice to see tech video that makes sense. Good Job!
Thank you my friend, I just fixed my fridge watching your video. You are awesome...God Bless You.
What was your cause of not working?
Wow! This video solved my problem! I have the same fridge and was having the same problem. My igniter wire was grounding too, I just moved it away from the gas line and it lit right up!! I just wrapped it with electrical tape and all good!!
Hi Tim,
We are so glad to hear that our videos were able to help you! If you would like to support us please consider becoming an "RV Community Supporter" on our Patreon site: www.patreon.com/myrvworks
Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team
Great troubleshooting. Easy fix.
much appreciated, it educated me and gave me the guts to check further and try to diagnose my problem! thumbs up!
Darren love your videos! I have a question regarding propane operation on a Dometic 2652. My gas valve solenoid reads open when tested with an ohmmeter. I also disconnected the leads and applied 12v as a confirmation it is not opening. My question is this. With the solenoid not working, would that also prevent the igniter from sparking? (I have no gas and no spark) or do I have 2 separate issues?
Excellent. I learned a few important things relating to my situation and how to fix it. Thanks.
Great video, and helped me determine my ac heating element was bad. Bought a new one, that appears to be an exact match. Although the bad one was a little difficult to remove, I was able to get it out. The new one is extremely hard to get pushed in all the way. I managed to get it about half way in after two hours of wiggling and pulling. Any tips on how to free it up so that it will go in easier?
I just had the same problem. Thank you sir for showing how to fix it as I am leaving in minutes to go camping.
Thank you, big help!
Darren, great videos, question the little window on the peep hole for the fridge LP burner should it be open or closed, if open how much? What’s it’s function…ty
Question: when you replace the probe, does the probe actually touch the burner, or is it above the burner; and if above, how much above?
Thank you so much! That little black reset switch got my fridge going again :)
Me too!!
Most helpful vid I've seen so far! Thanks for the help!
Nice break down of the unit. Very helpful
So if my eyebrow switch on the mother board is clicking and I can't even get lp going should I just replace the mother board
definitely a new subscriber here awesome instruction
Great video Darren! I'm trying to find out when they last made a RM 3807 Dometic Fridge anybody out there know? I've been looking at a used one they said it was pretty new, is that possible?
Awsome, and professional technician.Thankyou for being humble to get the job done!
Our pleasure!
Helpful video. Thank you. Did you notice what looked like a small dead bird on the lower right corner of the burner area?
Hi Dennis,
I watched the video again! Note: What I was looking for on the board is the DC fuse which this board did not have so it flustered me.
That ‘bird’ is a big glob of sealant. They have another one where the gas line comes through the base board. If it were a bird, I am sure I would have made some wise crack about it (and I am sure it would have smelled really bad)! LOL.
It was scary that that wire short was right at the gas fitting, if there had been a leak there it would have been a very different experience for the customer for sure eh’.
Thanks for watching!!!
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
Great video. My electrode wire is fine and flame looks good but I’m getting about 20 “clicks” and then the flame/propane shuts off. Thinking the signal from the electrode back to the board is not recognizing a sustained flame. Any help/ideas are appreciated. Thx
Hi Darren, great videos, very informative and easy to follow, especially to us laymen. My question to you is, I have a Dometic RM2862 that works great on A/C and LP while parked. However, when we hit the road and travel on LP only, the temp in the fridge raises from about 38-42 to a whopping 50-60, depending on how far we've travelled and the outside temp. The freezer section appears to change very little, only the Fridge section takes the hit. I'm guessing possible air turbulence to the burner or something similar. Your thoughts.
driving down the road on LP, the flame can be blown out and then system restarts and this can happen many times reducing the efficiency on running with propane while driving. Also this is how many rigs catch on fire going down the road
Awesome videos. I've learned so much from you. I'm having an issue with the dometic RM2652. It trips the GFCI in my garage every time I turn it on. Think you could do a video on diagnosing electrical problems?
Many thanks, just the information I was looking for.
The video will help me trying to solve the same issue. 2019 trailer where the Dometic freezer/fridge works on electric but not on propane. Looking inside helps immensely. Now to figure out how to remove the cover.
That was the best videoing I’ve seen on your videos. I could see where your probes were touching because of close enough- close ups. It’s not always easy to see close ups on videos that demonstrate control board diagnostics.
Thank you for the video. Fixed my fridge at 11pm. With a planned trip in the morning.
Awesome video. You helped me a lot. Thank you.
Hi Darren. Great stuff. My fridge looks just like the one in your video. She’s dead and I’ve run through all of the fuses. We had a storm that threw breakers and kicked off GFCIs but I ran through everything in the coach and the two glass tube fuses on the board and they’re good. I noticed the front of the fridge is very warm, between the doors. Not sure why that is but I shut the unit off just in case. Any thoughts.
Thank you. Fridge not working on LP, no ignition. Pulled the two connectors on the upper left of the c/b off, shortly had clicks & flame. Gas LED on the AUTO / GAS vertical LEDs not working, but oh well. If I had a rivet gun & some AL rivets, I'd investigate, but as they say, if it's not broke (other than the light) don't fix it.
Thanks for this vid. If the high limit thermostat keeps tripping, is there a sequence to diagnose?
thank you so much ...you just save my food and that was good stuff from polish deli .
Thanks a bunch. I disassembled the LP burner section to check for spark as in your video only to discover a chunk of carbon sitting on the burner blocking the flow of LP. It must have fallen from the "chimney" above on our drive home as the fridge had worked just hours before when we left camp. It works great now but I'm curious why that carbon deposit was there.
Great video! I was having the same problem, but when I poked around to investigate (I pulled the cover and reset the board) the fridge lit. I did not find a problem with the ignitor... Maybe I will have to wait for it to break again before I attempt any repairs as it is working now. Any ideas on what the likely intermittent component is? Do you have a link to the entire ignitor (with a new wire)? The link to your parts page isn't working for me.
2:48 "furgerator" lol. Video actually helped me out a lot. Thanks!
Thank you for all your videos !
Good video. Very informative. Like your style homie.
Great video, very informative. Thanks!
Thank you for this video. The problem I have been unable to solve is my refrigerator works on gas intermittently. I will turn it off then on and it will work on propane for 4 - 24 hours before the check light comes on again. It works on propane, but not continuously. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks for sharing
Many thanks, saving me grief and treasure!
Thank you now I can check my frige
good video - did not fix my issue but helped add some knowledge. My Dometic model DM2672LBX is not cooling on "Auto' or on "Gas". Auto light comes on, "Check" light comes on for a second, beeps and goes offl. I had a lighting strike hit near camper that blew out the converter which I just replaced, I'm guessingthe issue must be related to that - could it be that I need a new board? Thanks in advance
Do you recommend having a portable 12v compressor backup fridge in the event the RV fridge ceases operation when Boondocking? If yes what features would you recommend?
Super newbie question, but how long do these refrigerators last on one 40lb standard propane tank?
Hey Darren, I recently acquired a ‘96 Prowler 24M and the Dometic fridge didn’t work. Gas check light kept coming on. Interior bulb was missing and I got a pair for cheap at Napa. Installed it, nice light but still had to get her chillin. I removed the power plug going into the board, went inside and check light was still on, but now the bulb didn’t light. I kept wiggling the door switch and the bulb would come on and off as well as the panel light. I finally wiggled the right combination number and both bulb and panel stayed illuminated. I went out to the sidewall access and the burner had lit and check light is out!!! Am I correct in thinking there is a short at the inside bulb switch and it is wired together in series and that caused the other issues?
This Video Helped me Troubleshoot
Thank you!
Great video!!! Thanks brother!!
Thanks for sharing! You helped me troubleshoot my fridge!
Glad we could help!
Have one that diode wire from 12volt inlet to sensor on boiler keeps shorting out. Bad diode but don't know what wire is called so i can replace?
Super easy to install really fast deliveryThank you
You saved our camping trip!!!
I appreciate the video! I am currently having an issue with my dometic. the freezer works great, however the refirgerator does not. there is also a fan running constantly that didnt run before. i have messed with my thermistor but that didnt seem to fix it. i am running on gas and it worked fine last time we took it out. any advice?! thanks in advance
Thank you for helping me out.
Auto light is On. Fridge is moderately cold, no sound coming from unit at all. Used to frost up. Will check gas side and power side thx to your excellent advice:)))
My dometic rm2351 fan stopped working. I checked and the thermal switch seemed to have died even though it was working fine the day before I brought the trailer home form a camping trip. The fins and the whole system was pretty hot so it should have been running. I took it out and got some numbers off of it but it doesn’t list the temp. What is idea temp switch for using the ambient air in the fridge area to trigger it? Mine is mounted directly on the side of the fan and not in the heater area but it was like that when I bought it brand new.
Hi I have been watching all your videos they're very informative and I just ran into a problem this weekend my refrigerator won't start on gas mode but will in 120v. The only way I can get it to start running on gas is if the refrigerator is been running 120v and is cold but if I was to start in gas mode the refrigerator won't get cold. Have you ran into this issue in the past?
Just got started this problem on mine.. it will stay lit for a little bit only when it's got 110v... then goes out.. igniter will only click to when it has 110 but not 12 v.. it started doing that when I shut my generator off before unplugging the camper from it.. did you ever find out what was wrong with yours?
Great video i am getting 12 volts to switch on tube,got 12 volts on two red wires on the board when i unplug top 6 prong plug it clicks but the igniter will not click check wire seems to be in good shape
I am planning a much more detailed video on troubleshooting refrigerators where the lp does not work. Hang on a little longer and we'll get that one posted.
@@MyRVWorks looking forward to that video!
Do you have a video on what to do if your RV fridge has no power and doesn't work on either LP or AC power? The wall socket that the fridge is plugged into is working fine. I also have 2 lower control boards and nothing.
hi, watched a couple of your videos. Very informative. I've still got a fridge that refuses to work. I've checked the things you recommend but still doesn't get cold. On AC it the tubes in back get warm and I hear fluid moving around. On LP I have a fire and heat but no cooling. does this mean the fridge has gone terminal? I checked the resistance on the temp sensor in the fridge and it works. checked the ground wire. there is good air flow up the back of the fridge and it fits tightly in its place. any last possibilities? thanks for your time.
I got the same problem but now I’m blowing the 3 amp fuse on the control board, the front panel goes dark.
@@kevinfuelling45 yeah, haven't blown any fuses but after a lot of youtube vids and google questions it appears the cooling unit is shot. going to replace the fridge with a different one. good luck.
Great video. Thanks for posting. I have a 76 airstream with a dometic fridge that looks original. I almost exclusively use the lp. It has been working great for the 2 years I've had the camper, till a couple of days ago. The Overall (fridge and freezer) cooling performance dropped about 20 percent or more. Oddly, It happened right after I loaded the freezer with water bottles I filled for freezing. It doesn't seem to respond to thermostat settings. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you
Hi Tim, If you just placed 'room temp' water bottles in the freezer compartment then I suspect the frig is fine, it just needs time to absorb all that latent heat. If you remove the bottles I would suspect the frig will return to normal in a few hours. Is there any way to pre-freeze the bottles before you put them in the freezer?
I have a blog post where I placed a data-logger in a Norcold for a day and the results were telling. Here is the link: myrvworks.com/rv-refrigerator-cooling-performance/
In another data-log experiment I loaded up a frig with room temp water bottles (freezer and fresh food) and the frig did not achieve temp after 3 days of running!!! I think I will conduct that experiment again to show on this channel.
Hope this info helps. Happy Camping!
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
@@MyRVWorks thank you! I suspected that. But its been a couple of days and the bottles have yet to freeze up. When I just have food items in there, like bags of berries and the like, it freezes like crazy. Would a new version work any better for "mass freezing"? I full time in the airstream on solar power (960watts). So I can't pre freeze, (unless I buy a small electric freezer) .. I run the fridge on l.p because in electric mode its a bit of a pig. Would an electric only fridge use much less power? Thank you!!
@@MyRVWorks . Sorry, I just saw your notes on your data tests. That's a bit disappointing. I was hoping a new fridge would be up to the task. Thanks again!
Good morning Darren, if i have this type of refrigerator and the burner lights but it does not cool, no sign of leaks anywhere, the temperature here is about 15 degrees at night and 38 during the day.
Thank you for the RV refrigerator repair lesson...