Fridge not cooling down?

[Rdowns]

I just bought a 2015 Fuzion 371, and first and we took it out for our first shake down trip and the fridge would not cool down. All of the lights came on, no error codes on the led screen, propane would fire on, ac works and has full power, but after 5 hours it did not cool down, 10 hours still nothing! We noticed that the temp actually was getting hotter inside of the fridge, even the rubber on the doors was getting hot like it was over heating.

We have the 6 point level up, when we set up camp we hit the auto level and went about our business - had the problem with the fridge. But when we broke camp down and went to hook back up, I hit the auto level button one more time just to see if anything got out of wack. And sure enough the front lifted up about an 1-1/2". (I checked for hydro leaks and did not find any)

So would this cause the fridge not to work? The fridge manual says that it only has a small tolerance for being out so many degrees.

[JRTJH]

That small increase in height should not interfere with the refrigerator cooling. Older units (in the 60's and 70's) were very sensitive to being unlevel, but the newer refrigerators will operate properly as long as the RV is "level enough to be comfortable". So, that wasn't your problem.

As for the rubber door seals getting hot, there is a dehumidifier circuit in the door frame that warms the door surface to keep condensation and frost from forming there. There is a switch under the eyebrow control panel (very hard to see) on some models. That switch will turn the dehumidifier circuit off. There is a section in the owner's manual that discusses this feature. On many refrigerators, the switch has been eliminated and the circuit is on all the time with no way to turn it off.

That "warm door surface" is a normal part of the refrigerator operation and isn't the cause of your problems. Have you checked the fuses in the rear of the regrigerator? There are two inside the "black box" on the rear of the refrigerator. They are located "behind the lower grill" on the outside wall of your RV. Additionally, there are fans located in the upper part of your refrigerator, near the evaporation fins. From that same "black box" you should see a red wire with a fuse holder molded into the wire. That fuse protects the fan power and while it doesn't stop the refrigerator from operating, if it is blown, the fans won't work and the area behind the refrigerator will be "warmer than normal" which could affect refrigerator operation, but probably wouldn't stop it from cooling completely, rather it would just not be as efficient in hot weather.

[Rdowns]

That small increase in height should not interfere with the refrigerator cooling. Older units (in the 60's and 70's) were very sensitive to being unlevel, but the newer refrigerators will operate properly as long as the RV is "level enough to be comfortable". So, that wasn't your problem.

As for the rubber door seals getting hot, there is a dehumidifier circuit in the door frame that warms the door surface to keep condensation and frost from forming there. There is a switch under the eyebrow control panel (very hard to see) on some models. That switch will turn the dehumidifier circuit off. There is a section in the owner's manual that discusses this feature. On many refrigerators, the switch has been eliminated and the circuit is on all the time with no way to turn it off.

That "warm door surface" is a normal part of the refrigerator operation and isn't the cause of your problems. Have you checked the fuses in the rear of the regrigerator? There are two inside the "black box" on the rear of the refrigerator. They are located "behind the lower grill" on the outside wall of your RV.

Good info!! No I have not checked the fuses... I will do that today! Thanks

[GaryWT]

Did you try to run it only on gas or did you try the electric as well?

[JRTJH]

Although there are some different configurations, essentially all the control boards look similar to this. The fuses are a 3A and a 5A "glass fuse". The one is the red "in-line" fuse holder (to the fans) is a 3A if I remember correctly.

Anyway, once you remove the black cover (one or two phillips screws) you'll see them attached to the board.

A number of people have reported the 3A fuse has been the problem with their refrigerator malfunctions. Here's hoping your issue is this simple :)

[Rdowns]

Thank you for the responses!

I have ran both on propane for 10 hours and on ac for 10 hours with no response on either side to cool it down.

I will most definitely check out the mother board and see if the fuses are in tact. I have heard that if those glass fuses come in contact with skin that it will make them go bad instantaneously when turned on. I was told to use a paper tissue or glove to install them... not sure how accurate that is?

[hankpage]

Thank you for the responses!

I have ran both on propane for 10 hours and on ac for 10 hours with no response on either side to cool it down.

I will most definitely check out the mother board and see if the fuses are in tact. I have heard that if those glass fuses come in contact with skin that it will make them go bad instantaneously when turned on. I was told to use a paper tissue or glove to install them... not sure how accurate that is?

Not accurate at all. That info is for halogen lamps.

[Rdowns]

We did a fast trip for one night over the weekend. While we were out I started to investigate the fridge issue. I popped the side panel on the outside with intent to see control board and fuses and LOW AND BEHOLD I find the ground wires hanging.... not connected to anything! (see picture) It turned out that the wires were not even crimped in to the connector! Not sure what these wires came from, they came down with a group of wires. Two 12V power wires, Two grounds which plugged in sided by side on the board.

Does anyone know exactly what these wires are and what they control??

[JRTJH]

The picture you posted is the main 12 VDC power connection for the control board. There are several wires entering from the bottom that connect to different sensors to monitor functions such as AC availability, GAS control, GAS Ignition, Thermostat operation, Function/self check, etc. The two "big wires" that enter are +12VDC and -12VDC. The wires that pulled out are the ground wires for the main DC power source.

Reconnect them (use a new crimp connector) and you should be back in business.

[Rdowns]

The picture you posted is the main 12 VDC power connection for the control board. There are several wires entering from the bottom that connect to different sensors to monitor functions such as AC availability, GAS control, GAS Ignition, Thermostat operation, Function/self check, etc. The two "big wires" that enter are +12VDC and -12VDC. The wires that pulled out are the ground wires for the main DC power source.

Reconnect them (use a new crimp connector) and you should be back in business.

Thanks for the response. I will get these things plugged back in and fixed up. Hopefully this answers the problem!

[Rdowns]

Well... still disappointed, got the wires hooked backed up and ran the fridge for 10 hours and......nothing! Went through the fuses, all of them were good. But I did notice that when you remove the outer fridge panel, the whole inside of the area is covered with a Very fine yellow powder.When you look up you can see that it looked like it ran down the coil behind the fridge. If you look back at the picture I posted on this thread you can see the powder in the pic....any thoughts?

[chuckster57]

You need a new cooling unit. Warranty repair, so make an appointment.

[ftrupe]

Rdowns

You are not alone. I have a 2015 Passport 23RB that was picked up in October 2014 and then parked by the side of my house. Never used. Last week, I de-winterized and tried the AC, hot water on both electric and propane, and then I turned the fridge on. During the PDI, we asked for the tech to turn the fridge on before we arrived. He had it on for 3 hours and the freezer was cooling down so we assumed it was working properly. However, now the freezer only cooled to 52 degrees and the refrigerator not at all. The dealer is 320 miles away, so bringing it back was not an option. I contacted Dometic and they told me to call one of the dealers in my area who is listed on their website. Today the mobile tech came and said the cooling unit needed to be replaced. There was a gurgling sound, the unit was hot, and there was just a small bit of yellow powder at a pipe coming out of the large black cylinder. He called Dometic and they are sending him a cooling unit by Wednesday and he will put it in next week. The catch: The service call was $108.62 and the install will be another $108.62. Similar to what I have been reading online, diagnostics is not covered and Dometic will allow 3 hours for the install. I am sure Dometic is not paying $100/hour, so I guess I am subsidizing. It is better, and less expensive than a 640 mile round trip and the tech came 3 days after I called. On a brand new unit, never used, however, one would think that the cooling unit should have been tested before the install and working properly. I owned 2 previous trailers, but never towed, and never had a repair that wasn't a simple fix I couldn't do myself. Replacing the cooling unit is a job beyond my scope. Good luck.

PS: I will send Dometic the bill for the $217 along with a nice letter and perhaps they will pay. Can't hurt to ask!

[Rdowns]

Rdowns

You are not alone. I have a 2015 Passport 23RB that was picked up in October 2014 and then parked by the side of my house. Never used. Last week, I de-winterized and tried the AC, hot water on both electric and propane, and then I turned the fridge on. During the PDI, we asked for the tech to turn the fridge on before we arrived. He had it on for 3 hours and the freezer was cooling down so we assumed it was working properly. However, now the freezer only cooled to 52 degrees and the refrigerator not at all. The dealer is 320 miles away, so bringing it back was not an option. I contacted Dometic and they told me to call one of the dealers in my area who is listed on their website. Today the mobile tech came and said the cooling unit needed to be replaced. There was a gurgling sound, the unit was hot, and there was just a small bit of yellow powder at a pipe coming out of the large black cylinder. He called Dometic and they are sending him a cooling unit by Wednesday and he will put it in next week. The catch: The service call was $108.62 and the install will be another $108.62. Similar to what I have been reading online, diagnostics is not covered and Dometic will allow 3 hours for the install. I am sure Dometic is not paying $100/hour, so I guess I am subsidizing. It is better, and less expensive than a 640 mile round trip and the tech came 3 days after I called. On a brand new unit, never used, however, one would think that the cooling unit should have been tested before the install and working properly. I owned 2 previous trailers, but never towed, and never had a repair that wasn't a simple fix I couldn't do myself. Replacing the cooling unit is a job beyond my scope. Good luck.

PS: I will send Dometic the bill for the $217 along with a nice letter and perhaps they will pay. Can't hurt to ask!


Crazy, pretty dead on as far as the symptoms... Never noticed the gargling till I just read your post. Same thing, unit is hot, gargling, yellow powder all over inside the outside access area! I made an appointment to take it in to a dealer. I got an appointment for a month from now. Every dealer I called had a 1 month lead time. :( sucks.... Maybe I should call a mobile repair to. Other downside I have other items to be fixed, broken toilet seat, broken generator exhaust, etc. and all the dealers have max 4 to 5 items on repairs on the visit. At this rate my warranty will run out before I get everything repaired!!!!

Also you would think that dometic would cover the whole thing considering its still under manufacture warranty?? Crazy....I love America, but jeez we need to pick up on customer service and standing by your product!

[ftrupe]

Rdowns:

I purchased my RV at the Hershey, PA show from a dealer with 3 locations in upstate NY, the closest being in Syracuse. I knew when I bought from this dealer that I wouldn't be bringing it back for any warranty work. There is only one dealer on LI that sells Keystone and if you didn't purchase from them, you will wait months, if ever, to get a repair. There is an RV facility that only repairs and rents RVs near me, but the service manager told me that Dometic doesn't pay for diagnostics and reimburses little for warranty work. He was able to get me in in 2 1/2 weeks. The mobile guy was great and he does everything. I even asked about axle service and he will repack the bearings with new seals and adjust the breaks for $225, when needed. Long Island prices are more expensive, but at least I now have someone who is reliable and I think fair priced, especially since he comes to you. I don't have any other issues at this point, but we go on our initial voyage the Thursday after Memorial Day for a long weekend. I hope there are no other problems with major things.

It does seem crazy, but perhaps it is better to pay a bit to get the refrigerator working rather than lose a lot of camping time. Good luck and keep us posted. I'll let you know how my repair turns out and if I receive reimbursement from Dometic.

[ftrupe]

Refrigerator was repaired with a new cooling unit on Tuesday and it is now working great. Freezer is about 8 degrees and refrigerator is about 36. I actually was with the tech and helped, since it was heavy for one person. However, there was another potential problem that I would not have known about if the refrigerator were not removed. The drain hose was much longer than necessary and made 2 large loops ABOVE the drain hole, before exiting through the vent. The tech said that never would have worked since it is gravity that allows it to drain. The hose was shortened and repositioned so that now the water will go straight DOWN into the hose and out.

The "old" cooling unit was also different than the one it was replaced with. The "old" one came right out and there was no mastic, but what appeared to be a flat cover made from plastic and a foil material covering the foam. I was wondering if that was some sort of shipping packaging and should have been removed prior to installation. Oh well, it is working and cost me about $217. I will update this post after I send the bill to Dometic and see their response.

Two weeks from today will be our maiden voyage for a four night weekend. We are looking forward to it."bouncey:

[JRTJH]

ftrupe,

You should monitor the drain hose that was "shortened and reinstalled" closely. The corrugated plastic drain hoses tend to become brittle after one season and will crack with the vibrations from towing the RV. When that happens, then you're right back where you "would have been" with the loops. It will leak into the area behind your refrigerator rather than through the access door and outside. That can lead to wood rot and other problems.

If I were you, once it becomes brittle (or now if you choose) replace that "cheap hose" with a piece of quality vinyl hose that won't crack or leak. Remember, there is a small "plug" in the end of the hose with 4 holes in it. That plug needs to be transferred from the old hose to the new one. It's an "insect guard" as well as a "plug" to help prevent outside air and dirt from contaminating the inside of your refrigerator compartment where the food is stored.

As for your concern with the type of "mastic" that was on the old refrigerator cooling unit. That was assembled by Dometic and shipped to Keystone already installed on the refrigerator. I'd be very surprised if only "one" got through the assembly line with the "wrong mastic" installed. I would be more inclined to believe that the original installation, done in a controlled assemblyline environment, uses a different technique than the "replacement in the field" process. When CW replaced the cooling unit in our Springdale, the mastic they used wasn't the same as what was originally on the bad unit, so I don't think that had any bearing on your failure, nor was it an "error during assembly".

[{tpc}]

ftrupe,

You should monitor the drain hose that was "shortened and reinstalled" closely. The corrugated plastic drain hoses tend to become brittle after one season and will crack with the vibrations from towing the RV. When that happens, then you're right back where you "would have been" with the loops. It will leak into the area behind your refrigerator rather than through the access door and outside. That can lead to wood rot and other problems.

If I were you, once it becomes brittle (or now if you choose) replace that "cheap hose" with a piece of quality vinyl hose that won't crack or leak. Remember, there is a small "plug" in the end of the hose with 4 holes in it. That plug needs to be transferred from the old hose to the new one. It's an "insect guard" as well as a "plug" to help prevent outside air and dirt from contaminating the inside of your refrigerator compartment where the food is stored.



JRTJH,

Not trying to hijack the thread but it seems related. Anyways, we have never had a problem with out fridge cooling, other than maybe it takes longer on electric than propane?

But the thing that concerns me is that I've never seen water drain from the "drain" hose.

Granted, when we are done with unit for whatever trip we always leave the fridge "cracked" open with the little tabs they have that keep the doors in an open position. I then lay paper towel down into the area underneath the condenser (metal thing inside the fridge...not sure if thats what it is called) to catch water that forms. I also do the same in the freezer area.

Since I usually check on it in storage often enough, I will pull these paper towels out at a later date. Most times they are dry.

Am I basically removing the water before it gets the chance to come out the hose? Or should I be pulling apart the outside access door and looking around?

[JRTJH]

If you want to check to be sure your drain hose is operating, just pour a bottle of water (about 8-12 ounces) into the evaporator drain pan under the cooling fins in the refrigerator compartment. The water should flow down the drain and out the hose. If you don't see water dripping out of the end of the hose, then yes, you should "explore" to find out what's wrong. You may have a "coiled hose" that won't drain, a broken hose that is dumping that water into the interior of your refrigerator mounting cabinet, a plugged hose or ???? There is no drain in the freezer compartment on the DM 2652 or 2662 models. All water from frost or melting ice will collect on the floor of the freezer compartment.

If you're in a very "dry" area, you may not get very much condensation in the evaporator drain pan, but when you turn off the refrigerator, as it "warms up" you should be getting some moisture collected in the pan that would flow into the drain hose. Usually there isn't a "drip, drip, drip" type of drain, but there should be a "few drops a day" that do collect on the plastic refrigerator vent on the outside of your RV. Normally all you'll see during refrigerator operation is a wet spot on the plastic vent or some dirt that looks like it's collected where water has dried up and left the "stain".

[{tpc}]

Thank you for the info. If you remove the vent is it easy to "explore" in there? Or is that something that the fridge has to come out from the inside to do?

I'm pretty certain there is an open area or panel underneath the fridge on the inside that could be explored as well...

[JRTJH]

When you remove the outside vent cover, you can "peek around" some, but to really see what's there, you'll need a mirror and flash light. It's not "impossible" to get to, but skinny arms and good flexibility go a long way toward being able to reroute the drain hose without having to remove the refrigerator.

Take off the outside vent, use your vacuum cleaner to get the dust, dirt, cobwebs and sawdust out of the space, then explore. You won't hurt anything back there if you're careful and you'll learn much about your refrigerator by exploring.

Good Luck

[{tpc}]

Thank you John, I appreciate the guidance. I actually have a flexible mirror and small flashlight (actually have it attached to the mirror) for something I was doing with my truck. So should be able to peek around and see tonight.

Was considering cancelling camping this weekend due to weather but have since changed my mind!

[ftrupe]

John:

Thanks for the reply. The end plug was replaced and I'll keep an eye on the hose. I guess to change it, the refrigerator has to come back out. Hopefully not until the next year or two.

Ftrupe

[{tpc}]

Well I took a look at mine this weekend. The hose wasn't coiled up but hwen I played with it a little bit, some water came out.

So after the trip this weekend I cleaned out the fridge, but didn't put the paper towel down like I used to. As I went to take the trailer back to storage, I see water on the ground...I go over to investigate cause I thought might have been from underneath...nope...was already coming out of the hose.

The only fridge issue I had was getting it to light on propane. Didn't seem to want to at first but I think it was because I only had one tank on at the time, and the tank was empty. Eventually I corrected it and it fired up on the gas. :)

[ftrupe]

The camping season ended and I sent the $217 refrigerator repair bill to the dealer, Ballantyne RV in Syracuse NY. Within 1 day, Stefanie worked with Dometic, and I was notified that I would receive a check for $117. Dometic would not cover the service call, which I knew. I asked Stefanie if Ballantyne would pay the $100 balance since if a proper PDI were performed by Ballantyne, the defect would have been repaired prior to my taking delivery. She said she only works with warranties, but would send the request to management. After not hearing from management for a week, I asked Stefanie who I should contact, and was given the name Greg Jones. I e-mailed him and then received a response. Here is his e-mail:

"I have reviewed the e-mails that have been forwarded, In an Rv, just like a home , it is filled with appliances from many maunufacturers, all with their seperate warranties, We as a service center are required to follow each one when performing warranty service in order to be reimbursed for our work on their appliance. You the consumer need to be aware of their rules also. Dometic does not pay for service calls as a travel trailer is towable. You should have been advised of this by the service center. Testing the refrigerator is part of pur PDI process as it is prior to Dometic selling it to the the trailer manufacturer. If we had broken the refrigerator then this conversation would be a bit different. All repairs to the fridge have been reimbursed by the company who built it and warrantied it. The Service call you asked for is not covered and was never authorized, therefore it will not be reimbursed"

Below is my response, which was also copied to the President and Sales Manager of Ballantyne:

"I understand that all the appliances have their own rules and separate warranties. I was also aware that the service call was not reimbursable from Dometic, which is why the request for the balance from Ballantyne. Perhaps my issue is not with Ballantyne's service department per se, but the Dealership. One could argue that I was sold a defective trailer. Had the refrigerator been checked, as it should have been, and repaired as it should have been, this conversation wouldn't even exist, and I would not be out $100. Not to mention the aggravation. Two weeks before a planned trip, the trailer is de-winterized, and the refrigerator does not work--on a brand new, never used trailer! Try to bring it to a dealership in May, especially if it wasn't purchased there. Good luck.

RV dealers rely on "word of mouth" recommendations. This is a very poor business decision."

I have not heard back, and don't expect to. Based on my experience, I would highly recommend that any PDI done by the customer include requiring the freezer to make ice and having a dish of water in the frig and then check the temperature with a thermometer.

Kudos to Stefanie:); I received my check from Dometic about 10 days later!

[Ken / Claudia]

That's to bad the dealer would not step up and do the right thing. By paying the 100 everyone would be happy and you would talk of how good they were. I understand they do not want to pay or maybe do not have to but, the right thing would be to pay it and move on. For 100 bucks they likely lost you as a future buyer.