Refrigerator not cooling

I got a Dometic refrigerator the freezer is cooling good but the refrigerator only gets to 60 degrees, what could be causing it? it's been doing fine just noticed it this past weekend.

The first question I always ask is "How are you measuring the temp"? A pocket thermometer in about an inch or so of water in a glass, or a wireless remote works best. As soon as you open the fridge door, a regular thermometer or fridge thermometer will skyrocket up, giving false readings.

I'm using a thermometer that's hanging from the racks in the refrigerator. Everything in the freezer is Frozen, I put a fan on the outside by the coils blowing upward and that don't seem to help much.

Try putting the thermometer in a glass of water, it will give you a better reading. I've seen thermometers jump 15-20 dregrees by the time they can be looked at correctly.

firstly check the alignment of the door to the unit....the door should match up to the seal area perfectly....check the rubber seal around the door by sliding a dollar bill all around the perimeter..should be an even easy pull.. be sure to clean the bottom of the seal really good, foodstuff seems to accumulate in that area...if there is an internal light bulb in the unit, be sure it is going off when you shut the door...If still no improvement, then we get really radical and remove the unit..give it a good cleaning ( dog or cat hair etc.)...invert the whole thing .. (this will stir up the refrigerant chemicals) a couple of times and then reinstall...good luck hope this helps..

I don't understand why the freezer is doing fine but the fridge side is 60 degrees.could a bad thermistor cause the problem or a board be the issue?

Are you still reading the temperature from a thermometer hanging down, or have you put it in a glass of water as I suggested?

I put it in a glass of water today at lunch,gonna check it tomorrow.ill let you know where its at tomorrow night.

Got up this morning and read 55 degrees in a glass of water

Not good. If it's the same on gas or electric, time for a new cooling unit (or swap for a residential-style compressor based fridge).

shawn 8586 said:

I don't understand why the freezer is doing fine but the fridge side is 60 degrees.could a bad thermistor cause the problem or a board be the issue?

Click to expand...

The way absorption refrigerators work is the freezer has to come down in temperature first, then excess cooling flows to the refrigerator.

The thermistor on the refrigerator coils regulates the operation of the cooling unit, turning it on and off as needed, determined by the temperature of the refrigerator cooling fins.  Mark the position of the thermistor on the fins so you can put it back if this doesn't work.  Unclip the thermistor from the fins and let it hang in mid-air so it's not touching the cold fins.  If the refrigerator gets colder, the thermistor is turning off the cooling unit too soon.  If it stays the same, the thermistor isn't the issue.

If you have an impaired cooling unit, it may produce enough cooling to cool the freezer, but not have any excess to migrate down to the refrigerator fins after the freezer has taken it's share.

Or you may be getting normal cooling, but it's being lost from the refrigerator by leaky door seals that allow the cold air to leak out.

An old trick to verify if the door seals are working is to trap a dollar bill between the refrigerator and the door seal.  With the door closed, pull the dollar bill out.  If you feel resistance, the seal is working.  If it just slips out, you have a leak.  Do this at several points all around the door.

Note that leaky seals on the freezer door will also impact the refrigerator temperature by letting warm air into the freezer,  thus making it hog more of the available cooling, but this is usually accompanied by rapid frost buildup on the freezer walls.

I am no expert on RV refrigerators and this could be totally rong, but...

Have you tried defrosting your freezer?  The last time my freezer was cold and my fridge wasn?t was when a wall of ice had formed on the back wall of the freezer and was (I believe) blocking the flow of cold air to the fridge compartment.

Again, this could be wrong - but it?s cheap to check...

There is no "air flow" in an RV absorption fridge, Jim.  There is a chill plate in the freezer back wall and a second-stage chill plate in the fridge back wall and each cools it's area by direct conduction.  Unlike a residential fridge, there is no air circulation between freezer and fridge. In fact, no internal connection between them at all.

Ice on the wall over the embedded chill plate actually acts as insulation and reduces total cooling in the freezer, resulting in a higher freezer temp (usually around 30-32 degrees). If the ice insulation effect is enough, it might interfere with the evaporation cycle on the primary stage evaporator behind the wall and conceivably inhibit the second stage evaporator that chills the fridge portion as well. That could cause what you experienced.

Thanks, Gary - I think there?s an article in the forum library somewhere I?m going to have to check out.  I realized I don?t even really understand why the freezer gets colder than the fridge compartment.  I appreciate the info.