Atwood HE-0601R fridge not cooling

[Awasos]

Good morning, I am new to your site and I was hoping to find some useful information. My wife and I recently purchased a brand new 2014 Passport 2300BH. We have had several truck campers in the past and decided it was time to move to something bigger. We purchased the camper on 4/1/14 (perhaps a bad idea) and brought it home and plugged it in. The fridge was on auto mode and running on AC. The following weekend I was unloading the old camper to put stuff in the new when I realized that the new fridge was 56 deg as well as in the freezer. I spent the next few days checking level, running on gas, running in manual mode vs. automatic. Nothing changed, and called Atwood as well as the dealer I bought it from and they both thought I should have it looked at. I took it to my local dealer which is about 15 miles away and dropped it off. I called the next afternoon to see what they had found and they told me that they brought the camper in the shop plugged it in and the fridge cooled to 35 deg. So I made an appointment to pick it up last Friday but asked that they start the fridge on gas so I could see it cold when I picked it up. Sure enough it was about 35 deg in the fridge so I brought it home. I checked it again Saturday evening still about 34-36 deg, however I was in it last night and the fridge was 50 deg and the freezer was 18-20 deg. It was around 74deg outside at my house yesterday, the camper sits in the shadow of the house and according to a 4' level on the floor it is level front to back and a 0.5 deg lean towards the passenger side of the camper. Last night I put 4 20oz bottles of water in it to see if it helped regulate temp as well as a freeze pack in the freezer and this morning the fridge was 47 deg and the freezer was still around 17-20deg and it was 62 deg outside and the fridge has been set on level 3 since it got back. Does anyone have any thoughts or experienced anything like this? I look forward to any and all advice so I do not have to spend my summer taking the camper to the dealer so that they can tell me the fridge works fine in their shop!

[440justin]

Do you have the temperature setting all the way down? That is the first thing I would check.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[Awasos]

It has setting 1 through 5, 1 being the warmest and 5 being the coldest. I have it set on 3 which was maintaining 35 but today its almost 50. Before taking it the repair shop I did run it for a day on the highest and then a day on the lowest setting with no change.

[JRTJH]

There is a thread about a year old on the forum regarding this issue with Atwood Helium refrigerators. It seems the control board will switch from auto (electric) to gas one time, then when the refrigerator cools down and the gas cycles, it will not turn on again when the refrigerator warms up. If I recall correctly, it works as designed on electric, and only has issues on gas, and then, only if the refrigerator is in AUTO and cycles itself to gas.

When the RV is unplugged, the refrigerator resets to "AUTO" and when the refrigerator is plugged in or turned on, it will work as designed the first time gas is called for. Then, when it cycles, it will not turn back on.

So, your refrigerator was turned off for a time when being towed to the dealer. He plugged it in, it worked well, if he unplugged it, it would continue to operate. The issue is about 8 to 10 hours later when the thermostat calls for more gas operation. That's when it fails...

The fix is to remove and replace the control board. You might want to do a forum search for Atwood, or Helium refrigerator and find that thread to get more information.

Good Luck.

[Awasos]

Thank you for your for your comments. I am not sure my fridge is having the same issues. Since it has been home from the repair shop it has only been on electric. It is on auto so it might be switching to gas without me knowing, however it should have had no reason to as it has been plugged in. The comments from a Tech from Atwood was to put bottles of water in it as well as a bottle of liquid with a thermometer in it to check the actual temp of materials in the fridge not just air temp. I did all of those things and by 10:30 last night the fridge was 54 deg and the freezer was 42 deg. This morning the fridge was 50 and the ice pack in the freezer was completely melted and it was 22 deg outside. I guess it is time to take it back to the repair shop and hope that it does not work for them!

[chadws]

In march I just got a 2014 passport with the Atwood HE-0601R fridge it was doing the same thing took it back to the dealer they replaced it with a new one it did the same thing im on the 3rd one now its working good but the dealer said if this on goes out the will replace it with a different make of frig.

[Awasos]

chadws, that is not what I want to hear! Mine is going back on the 28th for its second time for the fridge and was told to expect at least 2 weeks before I will get it back. I have searched a lot on the internet and I could not find anyone that was having this issue with their fridge. Did they ever determine what caused the failure in the first 2 units? Any info you can share would be greatly appreciated so I let my service guys know. Thank you

[JRTJH]

I don't know if you've done a forum search for "helium" or "Atwood Helium" or "Helium refrigerator" but if you haven't, you might want to check the past threads. There are a number of members who have experienced many of the same symptoms as you. Their accounts of what worked to repair their refrigerator are contained in many of the responses.

You might want to start with this thread: http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12272&highlight=helium

Good Luck

[chadws]

They just replaced them both times did not tell me what was wrong. when I done the pre check before i signed my paper work the frig was at 50 degs. I told them i would be back the next day to sign and check temp of frig next day it was still at 50. so they replaced it with one from another unit or they said they did. it did not work so they told me three weeks to get another I told them i would not wait that long so they over nighted one from a supply house. on both of the other frig. the both showed no faults on the board.

[Awasos]

I must say that at this time I am not all that impressed with Keystone's customer service or the customer service of the repair center that I brought it to. I brought it in for a second time for the fridge a week ago and I can not get anyone from the service center or Keystone to call me back so that I can find out what the issue is or how long I can expect it will take to get it resolved. I understand that it is potentially a busy time for them however a little communication does not seem out of the question. It is a shame, my wife and I love the camper but after this experience I do not believe I would buy another Keystone!

[JRTJH]

Have you contacted Atwood to see if they have a service center near your location? They may have another brand of RV dealer's service center, a boat dealer or even a major trucking company that could (would be happy to) service your refrigerator. It's not a "Keystone specific" refrigerator.

[timkatavl]

I just read your postings and this thread. We are experiencing a very similar problem with our Atwood refrigerator. In March, we purchased a 2014 Premier 19FBPR. Our first extended trip for 11 nights ended last weekend. Fridge cooled down appropriately before we left and cycled to gas when we unplugged from our home. We had 30 amp power at the campground and it auto cycled to ac. However, the second day, the temp rose to near 50. We turned the fridge up to 4, but the third day, it still was around 48! Went to Wal-Mart and bought a cooler! Turned the fridge all the way up at this point but it remained 47 to 48 for days. We read the manual and changed the settings to manual and it still would not cool down below 45 with the temp turned all the way up. We also tried turning the unit off and then back on every morning. What is really strange... about two days before we left, it started cooling down again. It was in manual ac mode but it maintained 32 on our drive back when we manually changed it to gas. We have an appt. to take it to Camping World tomorrow but it seems to be working OK now (although it is set on 4). My question is....should we still take it in and ask them to replace the control unit?

[JRTJH]

timkatavl,

The Atwood "helium" refrigerator is a new product introduced (I think) last year. Chances are that if you take it in for service, the tech will have little or no experience with it. He will probably turn it on, put a thermometer in the freezer and wait a few hours. If it cools, he'll call you in a week to come pick it up and tell you he couldn't find anything wrong.

You might want to call the customer service line at Atwood and discuss the issue with the only "real experts" that you know you can talk to and get their recommendations. They have more experience with this model refrigerator than almost all the service techs at the dealerships. Besides, a phone call keeps your RV in the yard, not at the dealership for weeks unless there's really a problem...

[timkatavl]

Thanks for the advice! We will call Atwood!

[Awasos]

When I took the camper to the service center the first time that is exactly what happened. The tech turned the unit on and checked the thermometer and saw is was cooling and told me it was ready to be picked up the next day. Then 2 days after I got it home it started to warm up again. I called Attwood and they recommended that I out bottles of rv antifreeze with thermometer in them in the freezer and cooler and record the temps in both as well as the in the camper every 12 hours. I did that for almost two weeks while I waited for my next appointment. When I brought the camper in the second time for the fridge I brought all of that information to give to the tech. The service center requested authorization from Keystone to replace the fridge the next day. It took Keystone one week to grant the authorization which came this Tuesday and I was told today that the fridge might be sent this Friday or next Monday and will take a week to deliver.

[{tpc}]

Awasos, are they replacing the fridge with the same one? If so, wouldn't it have the same issue?

We too just bought a 2300bh. On our first trip, the fridge seemed to work fine, though, I'll probably pay more (and likely too much) attention to it now.

My observations after I turned it on the night before the trip (plugged into house ac and in Auto AC mode) and checked it in the morning was that it didn't seem cold after being on "5" the entire night (probably about a 10 hour period). I read in the manual that if its not level, that it will auto shut off, and I thought maybe that was what had happened. To my surprise when I got home later that day about 3, it was nice and cold in both the freezer and the fridge. I shut everything off before we left, down the the main breaker, and started it up after we got to the campsite and it was fine the whole time.

Maybe we got lucky, or maybe our luck is related to shutting power all the way off? I also remove the battery when we have it in storage, if that matters at all.

[Awasos]

{tpc} Keystone has authorized the replacement of my fridge, I have been unable to find out what was wrong with the first one but hopefully it was just rare faulty one. It will be another two weeks before I get it back to see how the new one performs. RV fridge to take some time to feel cool and it does help to have bottles of water or something for the fridge to absorb heat from. Also as far as monitoring the fridge I have purchased a wireless thermometer with two sensors so the freezer and cooler can be monitored without having to open the fridge and records high and low temps.

[timkatavl]

Thanks for keeping us posted. Our's is at the dealership now and we are waiting on their evaluation. Will let you know what they tell us.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

[{tpc}]

Thanks for the update! Interested in seeing how this plays out. We are going out again at the end of this month, so if I run into any fridge issues, I'll let ya know.

[timkatavl]

So....Camping World has had the camper for a week tomorrow. I called today to find out what the status is and they said the refrigerator works fine on gas, but on AC, it does not and the temp went up to 55 degrees. They checked the power intake, etc. and everything checked out OK, so now they are waiting on Atwood techs to let them know what the next step is. :( We too have a trip planned beginning the 23rd of this month!

[Festus2]

timkatavl -
If the fridge is not working on 110VAC and won't be fixed by the time you are ready to leave, it will still be operable on gas so you won't be without the use of your fridge.

[timkatavl]

Yes - that is true! :)

[timkatavl]

Called Camping World and found they are still waiting on Keystone to let them know something about repair/replace fridge. It is the control board. Problem was given to Keystone on 5-13 and they still have not made any decisions. I called Keystone customer service and found out they are conferring with Atwood. :( Rep said it is not likely it will be fixed this week!

[timkatavl]

Rob at Camping World called and said they heard back from Keystone yesterday afternoon after 4 pm. They are going to replace our refrigerator! :) It was ordered this morning but it will most likely not be in this week so we are picking up the camper today. We have our annual wedding anniversary trip to Cades Cove in the Smokies this coming weekend so we need to clean the camper and pack it. I guess we will take coolers and hope the fridge works on gas!

[{tpc}]

Good luck with the trip and glad that keystone is going to do you right with the new fridge!! :)

[timkatavl]

We went on our 4 night trip to the Smokies. Fridge cooled down to 32 degrees on ac before we left so we stocked it and also took two coolers with us. Unfortunately, it did not work on gas (auto or manual setting). So, the day after we left, we had to move everything to coolers. The coolers had to sit in the floor in front of the dinette. It was a mess to dig things out, buy bag after bag of ice, and repack items after each meal!

Good news is: Service department at dealer just called and the new refrigerator has finally arrived so we will take the camper back to them ASAP! :)

[timkatavl]

We picked our camper up Friday afternoon and turned the refrigerator on gas with a setting of 4. It cooled down to 42 but to get it below this, we had to turn it up to 5 (coldest setting). This morning, since it was around 38 in the refrigerator, we hooked up to 120v ac and it did "auto" switch over to ac, so we will see how well if performs on ac. My question to others with the Atwood Helium units is "Do you have to run them on the highest setting all the time?" Is this indicative of all the Atwood refrigerators or do we have another "bad" refrigerator?

[JRTJH]

We picked our camper up Friday afternoon and turned the refrigerator on gas with a setting of 4. It cooled down to 42 but to get it below this, we had to turn it up to 5 (coldest setting). This morning, since it was around 38 in the refrigerator, we hooked up to 120v ac and it did "auto" switch over to ac, so we will see how well if performs on ac. My question to others with the Atwood Helium units is "Do you have to run them on the highest setting all the time?" Is this indicative of all the Atwood refrigerators or do we have another "bad" refrigerator?

Just a thought, but your issues may not be the refrigerator but possibly the installation (in a slide vs having a roof vent) and/or the way you're using it. Absorption refrigerators, unlike what's in your home, don't do well if they are "sparsely filled" and if the door is left open for extended periods (like while kids are "grazing" for snacks). Since there's no inside fan to blow air around in the refrigerator, the cold will naturally settle to the bottom. This will leave the middle of the refrigerator section "warmer than the top (where the fins are) and the bottom (where the cold goes). When you open the refrigerator, all the "cold air" flows out around your feet and once you close the door, the "fins up top" need to absorb the heat from the warmer air as it rises. Packing the refrigerator so there is "limited cold air to fall out" and knowing what you're going to get BEFORE you open the door will do wonders for managing to keep the refrigerator cold.

You may have an issue with ventilation behind your refrigerator. Couple that with the "open door syndrome" and you can easily have a refrigerator that can't keep up. In most situations where the refrigerator "isn't doing its job" there are multiple reasons, not all of which can be attributed to the refrigerator. The "people input" is very often a major contributing factor to unsatisfactory performance.

Try looking at how you load the refrigerator, how long people leave the door open when getting things out of it, where the sun shines on the outside of the unit during the "hot parts of the day" and take a close look at how the vent stack behind the refrigerator is constructed. There may be some reasons for your disappointment that aren't related to the function of the "box itself"......

[timkatavl]

Maybe the problem is we have nothing in the fridge nor the freezer! But we have only opened the door one time each day to check the thermometer so I don't think that is having a big impact on the temps. We'll see how it does on the ac!

[JRTJH]

Put several gallon milk jugs full of water in the refrigerator. Don't use a thermometer hanging in an "open air space" in the refrigerator, it will not read correctly. Insert the thermometer into a clear water filled jug, then store it near the center of the refrigerator. Just pick up the jug and read the temperature. You'll get a much more accurate temperature if there's 6 or 8 gallon jugs of water and the "one with the thermometer in it"

Same with the freezer, put the thermometer in a bottle filled with alcohol, lay it in the freezer and check the temps that way. Trying to use a thermometer exposed to the air in an empty refrigerator isn't how the techs or the factory does it.....

[timkatavl]

Just put gallons of water in the fridge with the thermometer in one as you instructed above. BTW the temp on coldest setting was down to 32 so we turned it down to 4 after putting the water jugs in. We have a "dry camping" 3 night trip planned this weekend so we may turn it back to gas tomorrow to make sure it will maintain the temp at 40 or below before we start packing the trailer. It does appear to be working better than the first refrigerator :) And thanks again - I love this forum - you guys have been most helpful!

[{tpc}]

Just put gallons of water in the fridge with the thermometer in one as you instructed above. BTW the temp on coldest setting was down to 32 so we turned it down to 4 after putting the water jugs in. We have a "dry camping" 3 night trip planned this weekend so we may turn it back to gas tomorrow to make sure it will maintain the temp at 40 or below before we start packing the trailer. It does appear to be working better than the first refrigerator :) And thanks again - I love this forum - you guys have been most helpful!

Seems to be working better. Just my observations from the last trip. I had the unit running on propane for a week or so prior to leaving. Brought the TT home day before the trip, still running on the propane, but because we didn't have much if anything to put in the fridge, I turned it off. Got to campsite, it was still "cool" inside, but not nearly as cold as before but I attribute that to the 5 hour trip with it off. Put it on AC mode went shopping the next day to fill it up with goodies, and it was working fine, but still took about the entire day to get back to "cold". Ran it on propane the entire way home the following day, now that we had stuff in it, (and the tank was starting to run low anyways) and it was nice and chilly cold when we arrived at home.

FWIW, I run mine on max. I hate waiting for it to get cold, and I hate my beer warm...lol. There is a real difference though running on propane vs ac...the propane gets it cold faster.