Refer problem

[Sparky 10]

I just bought a Cougar 29RLKWE 2021 2 months ago. My refer has been plugged in at my house for 30 days, today it quit working on both gas and electric. Any suggestions before I haul it to the service center?

[markcee]

Originally Posted by Sparky 10

I just bought a Cougar 29RLKWE 2021 2 months ago. My refer has been plugged in at my house for 30 days, today it quit working on both gas and electric. Any suggestions before I haul it to the service center?

We have the same trailer and for me this problem ended up being a blown thermal fuse. This fuse can be found inline on one of the two wires that run from the resettable fuse on the chimney to the control board.

Here is a great post by member MikeC557 (when he was a Grand Design owner) that describes the issue and fix. Replacing this fuse did the job for me. Unlike Mike (who had to buy a 50 pack), I was able to find a 10 pack of the required fuse here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[spicercars]

Welcome from northern MN.

[crmiller]

Just posted this to another thread on this type of issue:

Hope this helps someone else from this frustrating issue. Brand new 22 Cougar MLSWE with refer in slide. Purchased in late June 2021. We are now on our 4th Dometic Thermal Fuse Thermocoupler! Dealer would replace and run the refer on propane for days with no problem, yet if we picked it up and went for a trip, the Dometic Thermal Fuse Thermocoupler would blow. Finally had a 30 year RV tech finally be assigned our unit. He did some head scratching and discovered that either Keystone or Dometic changed the shape and molding profile of the black rectangular vents for the outside of the refrigerator back. He pulled an older model trailer unit so both were side by side so he could compare build and parts. He put both old and new black vents together and you can see how the moldings were done differently. His theory is with the new cover design and placement in the sidewall, when moving down the road a steam of air is directed right at the location of the flame of the gas unit creating sort of "blow torch" effect which created the burn mark on the chimney - hence, the excess of 305 degrees and the blown thermocoupler(s).

He created a metal shield or baffle that sits in front of the opening of the chimney where the gas line and other items go into the bottom of the chimney. It is short in height and attaches to the bottom of the refer unit and the protective metal cover plate for the chimney. It runs perpendicular to the outside wall of the trailer blocking the stream of air while moving down the road.

Just tested with a freeway run of 60 miles plus. Kept my speed a little lower so the big simi's would blow past me at their speed and buffet the trailer with an air rush. Refer is on the drivers side of the trailer. Refer is still working! That is the longest this refer has lasted without blowing the thermocouple since we bought it.

I know that it my be hard to visualize the part, The trailer is at the dealer still for another issue. I will go out there ASAP and take a picture and post. The baffle is no bigger than 1/2 a playing card if that..

[mikec557]

Originally Posted by crmiller

Just posted this to another thread on this type of issue:

Hope this helps someone else from this frustrating issue. Brand new 22 Cougar MLSWE with refer in slide. Purchased in late June 2021. We are now on our 4th Dometic Thermal Fuse Thermocoupler! Dealer would replace and run the refer on propane for days with no problem, yet if we picked it up and went for a trip, the Dometic Thermal Fuse Thermocoupler would blow. Finally had a 30 year RV tech finally be assigned our unit. He did some head scratching and discovered that either Keystone or Dometic changed the shape and molding profile of the black rectangular vents for the outside of the refrigerator back. He pulled an older model trailer unit so both were side by side so he could compare build and parts. He put both old and new black vents together and you can see how the moldings were done differently. His theory is with the new cover design and placement in the sidewall, when moving down the road a steam of air is directed right at the location of the flame of the gas unit creating sort of "blow torch" effect which created the burn mark on the chimney - hence, the excess of 305 degrees and the blown thermocoupler(s).

He created a metal shield or baffle that sits in front of the opening of the chimney where the gas line and other items go into the bottom of the chimney. It is short in height and attaches to the bottom of the refer unit and the protective metal cover plate for the chimney. It runs perpendicular to the outside wall of the trailer blocking the stream of air while moving down the road.

Just tested with a freeway run of 60 miles plus. Kept my speed a little lower so the big simi's would blow past me at their speed and buffet the trailer with an air rush. Refer is on the drivers side of the trailer. Refer is still working! That is the longest this refer has lasted without blowing the thermocouple since we bought it.

I know that it my be hard to visualize the part, The trailer is at the dealer still for another issue. I will go out there ASAP and take a picture and post. The baffle is no bigger than 1/2 a playing card if that..

That's interesting. And a picture of that shield would be great. We bought a 26RBSWE 2020, built in 2019, and I noticed the outside black plastic fridge vent covers were a little different, but gave it no thought. The new design eliminated the fridge condensation drip hose from sticking out through the grill. I wondered why that much redesign work for not much (if any) gain. I never thought about it deflecting the wind differently. We've pulled a few thousand miles with the fridge on propane without any thermal fuse issues. RV is in storage and I can't get there for a week or two. I'll take a picture of whatever shielding we have when I can.

[travelin texans]

Does any other 12 volt items such as lights or awning work?
Is the factory battery disconnect, if equipped, in the on/connect position?
Your fridge, & water heater, require 12 volts to operate their control boards.

[mikec557]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Does any other 12 volt items such as lights or awning work?
Is the factory battery disconnect, if equipped, in the on/connect position?
Your fridge, & water heater, require 12 volts to operate their control boards.

When the thermal fuse blows, everything except the refrigerator operates properly. The Thermocoupler feeds only the fridge control circuit board. When the circuit board loses power, it shuts down the fridge regardless of fuel source (propane or 120vac).

[crmiller]

It's part of the thread, but not. Want to post the pictures of the new baffle, but can anyone tell me how to post to this thread? Can't seem to find a simple attach a photo option here.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by crmiller

It's part of the thread, but not. Want to post the pictures of the new baffle, but can anyone tell me how to post to this thread? Can't seem to find a simple attach a photo option here.

bIf you are replying to a particular post it helps if you quote the post. To post a picture you must be in advanced mode so click on "Go Advanced" below the window you type in. Then click on the paperclip icon, choose the file, upload it, then click on save. You can click on "Preview Post" if you want to see what it looks like before posting it.
Pics will only show up in landscape formatting so if your opic is in portrait it will show up "on it's side".

[crmiller]

Note: This is a solution our dealer created. Image without baffle is on an identical 22MLE that was on the lot. The other image is of the installed baffle to prevent the excess airflow while the trailer is being pulled. Prevents the direct blast of air that is being directed towards the flame at the bottom of the chimney. Hope this is the final solution!

[mikec557]

Originally Posted by crmiller

Note: This is a solution our dealer created. Image without baffle is on an identical 22MLE that was on the lot. The other image is of the installed baffle to prevent the excess airflow while the trailer is being pulled. Prevents the direct blast of air that is being directed towards the flame at the bottom of the chimney. Hope this is the final solution!

Interesting. Now I've got to go open the picture on my laptop instead of my phone so I can see better. LOL.
Thanks for posting the pics.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by crmiller

Note: This is a solution our dealer created. Image without baffle is on an identical 22MLE that was on the lot. The other image is of the installed baffle to prevent the excess airflow while the trailer is being pulled. Prevents the direct blast of air that is being directed towards the flame at the bottom of the chimney. Hope this is the final solution!

I would put a little more protection around the wire transitioning thru there. Maybe take a rubber grommet and split it and wrap it around.