Refrigerator Problem

danberg36 · 10-23-2015, 06:16 PM

Hey all. Our 2014 Montana HC frig is having fits of non operation. It worked fine the first and second trip. Then the next 2 trips the freezer part worked fine, but the frig failed, (only cooled to about mid 50's). Both times we took it back to dealer and when plugged in to 110v it works fine. Same at home, when getting ready for trip, frig cooled down to 35 degrees. Got to campground (plugged in to shore power), and temp starts rising, until into the mid to upper 50's again. This scenario has happened the last 2 times. Now at dealer, and cooled down to low 30's. Obviously an intermittent problem, but very frustrating. Still under warranty, but dealer states it works fine, and they can't diagnose a problem unless it fails. All the other 110v appliances work fine, (AC, TV, etc.). Out of ideas, but don't want to go camping and have to fight an igloo cooler to camp. Any help or suggestion is appreciated. (Dealer isn't being very helpful).

gearhead · 10-23-2015, 07:53 PM

My selling dealer tried 3 times to fix mine. They thought the problem was ventilation/heat removal. They played with the sheet metal that directs the heat out above the box, but it still didn't work right.
After 3 months of back and forth to the dealer, I took it to a Dometic authorized mom and pop repair shop. They said the chemicals had crystallized and replaced the refrigeration system. It took 3 try's to get the right parts from Dometic. So we were out of service from July to October of last year.
You don't have to take the trailer back to the dealer you bought it from. Any Dometic authorized shop can work on it. Same with the A/C or any other component. Try to find a shop that only repairs RV's and doesn't sell them. They have to fix them or they won't be in business very long.
It sounds simple, but be sure the door is staying closed. Check it when you have stopped to camp after traveling. I think that may have contributed to my failure. I had to adjust the door and the shop worked on it some more.

bsmith0404 · 10-24-2015, 03:59 AM

Just out of curiosity, are you loading it with warm or cold items? i.e. loading with a 12 pack of warm soda. When are you loading it, before you leave, once you arrive at the campground, the night before....

The refrigerators are not very efficient, they will cool down pretty quick when they are empty, but if you add a bunch of warm items to them, they have a difficult time keeping up. We learned the hard way. Had ours nice and cold with all of our refrigerated items loaded, got to camp and put a bunch of warm soda/water into it and within a few minutes it was up to 60 degrees and took about 14 hours to get cooled back down. Luckily my parents had room in theirs for all of our items that would spoil while we waited.

danberg36 · 10-24-2015, 04:51 AM

Thanks Gearhead. I was thinking the same about a repair facility. The dealer (Mike Thompson RV in So Cal) is pretty close to useless about this problem, so I'll seek help elsewhere. BTW, ours is the same model as yours 305RL. Also, as a side note, when the coach is level, the frig is about a third of a bubble out of level. Not sure if this is pertinent, but can't believe we have to be that precise on the level to make it work. Love the coach, not so much the refrigerator.

danberg36 · 10-24-2015, 04:58 AM

Brent - Before leaving we turn on the frig overnight. Started in the morning with 35 degrees. We load the RV frig right from our home frig. About an hour and a half to the campground. Through the trip the frig got to 41 degrees, and then continued up to the high 50's and never recovered. Has to be a failure of the cooling system, I think.

larry337 · 10-24-2015, 05:11 AM

Danberg which fridge do you have? I have a Dometic 1350 4 door side by side and it's doing the exact same thing. Freezer works fine, fridge works when it wants too. I have started it and 24 hours later it's still 60 degrees. Can't pinpoint the conditions. It's very erratic. I park it at home so last time it did this I unplugged the fridge from the coach and ran it straight to my house with an extension cord and cooled to 33 degrees. Then I plugged it back in to the coach and it was still 33 24 hours later. Other times I switch to propane and it works, but not always, it had a mind of its own. I have an appointment in a couple weeks and I'm sure the dealer will say they can't find anything wrong.

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Javi · 10-24-2015, 05:18 AM

So far the only problems we've had with the refrigerator in the Cougar has been the occasional failure to automatically switch from shore power to propane and back again without going into fault mode.. A quick punch of the on/off switch fixes this..

Over the years we've learned that "for us" the fridge works best if we turn it on at least 24 hours before we start loading it and we load the larger items like drinks precooled from the home fridge a few at a time over several days. The last thing we load is the perishables like milk, cheese and vegetables.

A couple of years ago we started storing the trailer at a covered facility with power and now we usually leave the fridge on and stocked with drinks and nonperishables during our camping season. This seems to work even better than cutting it off between trips.. And as an added bonus...

whenever I go to the trailer to fiddle with little projects there is always cold beer..

larry337 · 10-24-2015, 05:32 AM

I have a cougar but it has the 12 CF 4 door fridge. If it were in fault mode it would display a code right? I park it at home and also leave it on. I can't pinpoint the conditions, various power sources including my home, camp grounds, generator, and propane, it works when it wants to, but the freezer always works. Has nothing to do with how I load it, sometimes it's empty. This is my 4th rv and I've never had this problem.

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Javi · 10-24-2015, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larry337

I have a cougar but it has the 12 CF 4 door fridge. If it were in fault mode it would display a code right? I park it at home and also leave it on. I can't pinpoint the conditions, various power sources including my home, camp grounds, generator, and propane, it works when it wants to, but the freezer always works. Has nothing to do with how I load it, sometimes it's empty. This is my 4th rv and I've never had this problem.

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If that is a Norcold you might want to check for a recall..

larry337 · 10-24-2015, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javi

If that is a Norcold you might want to check for a recall..

As previously stated its a Dometic.

I have an appointment scheduled at the dealer in a couple weeks.

**JRTJH** · 10-24-2015, 06:51 AM

This may not be a factor in the problems being discussed, but most Dometic refrigerators will usually work OK on electric and if they are going to fail, they will fail on gas. The gas burner orifice is a "ruby drilled" port and is extremely small. Any debris in the propane lines during construction that "find their way" to the burner assembly will often cause the gas cooling to fail or be problematic.

Also, there is a "twisted plate" diffuser that hangs in the burner tube above the flame. Its purpose is to "spin the heat" so it contacts the sides of the chimney to help "perk" the ammonia solution. If that diffuser gets shifted out of position during trailer assembly (they often "load" the appliances on their side with a forklift or using the "two man carry" method), the refrigerator will not function efficiently. Sometimes this can be "mis-diagnosed" as a failure when actually the refrigerator gas system is working "properly" but the diffuser isn't in place to "spin the heat".....

One other consideration is the drip pan under the refrigerator fins. If it is not properly positioned, the cold air will not "drop" evenly and the convection currents won't keep the thermistor at the proper temperature. If the cold air isn't dropping, the thermistor "thinks" the refrigerator is "too cold" and shuts off the gas burner. Also, check to make sure the wire from the thermistor isn't pinched between the drip pan and the fins. It should be routed so it doesn't touch any of the fins as it "exits" the refrigerator box.

These may not be a problem for any of you, but might save a trip to the dealership and the frustration of hearing, "We can't find anything wrong, it worked great for us"......

As for the refrigerator being "installed in the RV" in an unlevel position, most aren't "exact" and many are out by a little bit. Older refrigerators were very "level sensitive" but the newer models are much more tolerant and essentially, if the coach is "level enough for comfort", the refrigerator is "level enough to function properly"...

larry337 · 10-24-2015, 07:06 AM

Thank you I will look for this difuser, will it be out in the open or do I have to"dig" around for it? I suspect a venting issue, bad circuit board, I just don't know. I remember in the summer the cooling fans were constantly running, now they never come with the cooler weather. I've checked the fuse to the fans and it is good. I'm also limited right now with a broken leg. This has been very frustrating never knowing when it will work and when it won't.

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**JRTJH** · 10-24-2015, 08:08 AM

The "diffuser" or "flue baffle" is located inside the cylindrical chimney attached to the back of your refrigerator. When you open the lower rear vent, you'll see the back of your refrigerator, the "electronic black box" and wiring/plumbing. On the lower right side is the gas burner and above that is the "chimney". The diffuser is located inside that chimney. The only way to get to it is to remove the refrigerator from it's RV cabinet and remove the top cap from the chimney. The diffuser is located inside the chimney, hanging there by a "coat hangar" type of wire.

It's not something you can "casually check" with the refrigerator installed in the RV, but when you take it in for service, it's something the RV tech "should check"... If they have the refrigerator "out of the RV for service" the baffle is one of the items they should be checking to make sure it's installed correctly. I've "fixed" a couple of Dometic refrigerators by reinstalling the diffuser when the plan was to replace the cooling unit since nothing else seemed to be malfunctioning.

Here's a drawing of the back of one style Dometic refrigerator. The diffuser is the "twisted thing" drawn inside the chimney on the right side of the drawing.

It's not accessible or visible with the refrigerator installed in the RV.

larry337 · 10-24-2015, 08:11 AM

10-4, that's definitely above my pay grade, especially in my current condition!

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**chuckster57** · 10-24-2015, 05:09 PM

Dometic refers can tolerate up to 3 degrees off level when sitting.

I don't recall any specific tests for COLD freezer/WARM refer but I can look in the book they gave me during a day of training.

danberg36 · 10-25-2015, 08:09 AM

Larry - I have the same frig (Dometic 1350). Very frustrating. I went over yesterday to the dealer (and they are a big dealer in So Cal) Mike Thompson RV, and found the General Manager of the whole operation. Nice guy, that seemed generally wanting to help. He thought it might be a "switch" problem? Any way, I will see if he gets any results out of the not so helpful service department. If I get the answer, I will surely post it.

larry337 · 10-26-2015, 12:10 AM

I hope they find it for you!

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billstuart · 10-26-2015, 04:08 AM

We've been fighting the same issue with the Dometic 1350 in our Alpine. Right now it's 49 deg. F outside, 68 in the rig and the fridge is at 42. It's set on 4, so it should be at 34.

Been back to the dealer 3 times with no solution. I'm about ready to trade for a 5er with a residential refer in it.

**JRTJH** · 10-26-2015, 05:44 AM

Bill Stuart,

Changing to a residential refrigerator brings a whole new "set of issues" to camping in an RV. Essentially that change "limits" you to campgrounds with electric utilities or to packing a generator for most "dry camping" situations. For some people, it's not an issue but for many, it simply won't work.

As for your dealership not being able to diagnose your problem, have you contacted Dometic Customer Service? They have a technical service department that should be able to provide you with solutions for your refrigerator problems. Believe it or not, the dealership is not the "only place in town" that services Dometic products and in many situations, depending on the training of their "Dometic technician", they may be the "worst place in town" to get your problems addressed and repaired....

I'd urge you, before trading your RV for one with a residential refrigerator, talk to Dometic, see if they can direct you to someone who can get your refrigerator "up and running" so you won't need to spend the money on a new fifth wheel.

larry337 · 10-26-2015, 07:10 AM

I completely understand Bill Stuart. I'm in the process now of installing an inverter. I already did the 6v battery bank. I've googled the 1350 for a month now and the results are not favorable. It's been around a long time and you would think the bugs have been worked out by now. Some say it's just too big for an RV style fridge. I rarely if rv erer dry camp without a generator. With my battery bank, inverter, and a gennie I could get by switching my fridge to a residential if it comes down to it. I have a bad feeling the dealer is going to tell me they can't find anything wrong at my appointment. My next step will be an independent Dometic dealer and/or a call to Dometic.

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