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Can't get frig to work

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Rayzen:
Can't get my Dometic refrigerator to come on. I have tried 110 VAC, as well as on propane, and, finally, just the "house" battery. Nothing happens in any mode. No heat being generated, when I put my hand on the boiler, in the back of the fridge.

When I unplug the househod a.c. and turn on the propane, the fridge should sense the lack of a.c., then "search" for gas and, if sensing it, should then try to ignite itself, but I don't get any arcing and sparking at the igniter, like I should. So that would indicate some kind of fault that is common to both a.c. and gas modes.  Same with trying just the "house" battery.

When I put my digital meter on the voltage terminals, in the back of the fridge, I'm reading 120 v.a.c. in the socket where the fridge plugs into, and 13 v.d.c. on the terminals, where the house battery wires enter the fridge, so I know my voltage sources are good. 

When I turn the fridge on (while plugged into the house 110vac), the little green light comes on as it should, but stays on for only about four seconds, then goes out. The temperature/thermostat switch (on the left) is set for "4," like the instructions call for, when first starting the fridge. I have tried cranking both switches back and forth rapidly, thinking that one of them might be a little corroded/dirty, and and I might be able to clean it up a bit, but that didn't help. 

I'm thinking that there might be a problem somewhere in the printed circuit board; something, such as a low-resistance ground, a leaky capacitor or whatever, but I'm not sure about how to get at it.  Anybody have any instructions as to how to access that?

Is there a website, somewhere, where I might be able to chat with an RV fridge technician?

I have leveled the RV perfectly in the port-starboard axis, and to within a 1/2 bubble in the fore-aft axis, so I don't think leveling is a problem. It's a pretty old refrigerator, a model Rm663, although, looking in the back of the fridge, it has a round cover over the boiler tube, which, according to the manual, means that it's one of the "newer" type fridges that doesn't have to be as exactly level as the older models; dunno about that, though, since we're talking about a 1983 RV. The term "newer" obviously means new relative to that year, which is still old. And, according to the manual, the "newer" Dometics, like mine, don't have to be perfectly level, anyway; in fact, it says that they were improved so much in that regard, that the little bubble-levels which had previously been place inside the floor of the frig, itself, were being dispensed with.  All that is necessary, claims the manual, is for the RV to be level enough for the occupants to feel comfortable inside, and the frig would then be level enough to function, without worrying about burning out the coils.

Oh, one final bit of information: a couple of days ago, I was trying to get the fridge going and, after a lot of messing around, it worked.  The thing got nice and cold...clear down to ten degrees within the main compartment, not the freezer.  Being happy with that, I shut the thing off and went about other stuff, in preparation for a little local two-day trip (starting tomorrow  :-\). So, considering that, I'm pretty confident that the whole problem lies somewhere within the electrical/sensing portion of the fridge, and has nothing to do with the actual cooling/refrigeration system, itself.  As stated, I'm simply not getting any heat being generated to the boiler, so it's something from there "on back" (i.e., from the heating unit back toward the front-panel controls). It's an electrical problem, it seems.

Any thoughts about what I should do next, in order to troubleshoot this thing? Any help would be much appreciated.

Natetheskate:
Call RV Refrigeration at 770-475-8905

Alfa38User:

--- Quote ---I'm thinking that there might be a problem somewhere in the printed circuit board; something, such as a low-resistance ground, a leaky capacitor or whatever, but I'm not sure about how to get at it.  Anybody have any instructions as to how to access that?

--- End quote ---
I am not familiar with your particular model but on other Dometics.......
Open the access door on the outside of the unit. The circuit board is located towards the left hand side and is in a small black plastic box with a single screw holding the cover. There are 3 fuses on that board that would be wise to check before looking for an exotic circuit board kind of problem. They are really rare. It would be better to simply replace the board with a Gorilla brand board if it is proven to be defective.

Check all wiring connections, clean  and reconnect.

Ned:

--- Quote ---It would be better to simply replace the board with a Gorilla brand board if it is proven to be defective.

--- End quote ---

That would be a Dinosaur brand board.

Jeff:
I would carefully check for a good 12v ground.

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