Faulty Dometic Refrigerator in new Motorhome

[ruby2sdy]

My sister and I, both recently widowed, downsized from our 38 and 39' diesel pusher motorhomes to a Fleetwood Jamboree Searcher class C with one slideout.
We love it but..............since we took delivery of it on July 5th, the frig has quit 3 times.  This is getting old.  Is anyone else having problems with the new Dometic frig?  We've had it fixed twice and now it's going to have to be fixed again.  The repairman says this refrigerator has been recalled, but I can't find that info on the Dometic website.  He says it's the sensor that detects a leak.  It cuts off all electric to the unit.  I'm getting really disgusted.  We have to put ice in it to make any trips.

 

[captsteve]

If you bought the  RV new, I wouldget all your service tickets together and call fleetwood. See if they could swap out the unit if you went to the factory service center. A little sweet talking and mabey some of the "2 poor Widowed sisters"
can get you taken care of promptly.

If you can't get help there, call Dometic and try the same thing.

You should be able to get it fixed properly and I think the fleetwood service center would be my choice. I recently found out that when the units are installed the factory does not always provide the required clearances around the unit so they can have issues cooling. At the service center they can and will correct that.

 

[ruby2sdy]

Thanks for the reply.  The dealer fixed it once and we had a mobile RV repair fix it once when we were on the road.  I'm not sure what we will do this time as we have reservations on the Colorado River for a week starting Monday.  I guess we'll go ahead and use it as an icebox like we did on our first trip.  Then worry about it when we get back.

 

[captsteve]

One thing that you can try,Get a little clip on electric fan and have it blowing into the Exterior vent on the side of the RV. You can remove the door on the vent. It may help you get the temp down if it is working at all.

You may have to do a reset on the unit to get it working to try this. Maybe one of the Gurus on here can post how to do that for you.

Or do a search on Norcold reset using the search button on the menu bar.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Steve... it's a Dometc fridge!

Tough to guess what may be wrong without knowing what the fixed each time. And "quit" isn't a very descriptive of what went wrong either.

 

[ruby2sdy]

The refrigerator has no electricity to it at all.  There are no lights, even the interior light doesn't work when it quits.  The service man told us that the sensor that senses leaks is faulty and shuts off all electric to protect from fire.  The sensor is a red wire with a white plastic clip on one end and a black sleeve in the center of the wire.  The wire is about 18" long.  When they replace it, it runs for a period of time.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Could be a faulty sensor, but repeated faulty sensors does not seem as likely. One has to ask if the sensor is not doing its appointed job and shutting down to avoid an overheated boiler in the cooling unit?  It's there for a reason - a severe over temp condition can cause a fire!

Since this is a new RV, I would contact both the RV manufacturer and Dometic and inquire why you are experiencing repeated failures. If they buy into the faulty sensor diagnosis, they owe you a solution that works, since new sensors aren't doing the job. And if they don't buy the faulty sensor idea, then they and you should be very, very concerned about your safety.

I know of no recall on late model Dometic fridges - the current recalls go up through year 2006 models. Since a premature-acting temperature sensor does not represent a safety issue, there may not be an official NHTSA recall. It's just a warranty problem and the only action would probably be a service bulletin.

 

[ruby2sdy]

Thanks, Gary.  We will be talking to the service manager at the dealer on Monday.  This is getting tiresome.

 

[John From Detroit]

I am not aware of any such sensor on my Dometic, but then it's 8 years old.... HOWEVER.. There is one, verily easily fixed problem with Dometic fridges.. Technicallly it is an SUE (Stupid User Error) but it's not the user's fault.. IT IS THE DEALER's FAULT.

First a bit of background.

When you take a piece of metal (Say the fins) and cool 'em off, and hit 'em with a blast of warm mosit air (open the door) condensation happens.  This is a given.  It is why water forms on the OUTSIDE of your glass of iced tea.

Now what to do with the dripping water?  norcold passes it into an evaporation cup down near the burner where it evaporates and leaves as water vapor.

Dometic passes it out via a flexible plastic tube, USUALLY ribbe black, looks like a wire loom type material only i'ts not slit.  This tube is supposed to be extended out via one of the vent holes in the outside cover so it drips, drips, drips on the ground.  And that is Exactly where mine is.

HOWEVER when I took delivery,  The dealer did not put it out the hole.

And when I took it in for the recall.. After the technician said "I always put it out" I checked, even before I unlocked the entry door... And then I put it out again cause tech LIED!.

And if that water drips drips drips on the electronics inside that compartment... All sorts of sensor failures are quite possible.. Only they are false failures.

 

[ruby2sdy]

This frig never worked the first time for more than an hour and the third time less than an hour too, and we are in Arizona.  Not much condensation on anything. There is something very wrong with it.  I think the suggestion that the boiler is overheating is right.

 

[John From Detroit]

If that is the problem there is a thread in this forum about a new control system.  Supposed to prevent that.  You will have to search out the thread.

 

[driftless shifter]

Maybe the weather is too hot. People put an extra fan in the mechanical side to improve airflow. Some remove the outside cover when parked.

Bill

 

[ruby2sdy]

Well if that's the problem, they need to change the way they make them.  I've had RVs and RV refrigerators for over 30 years and this is the first one that has given any problems, but I've also had RV airconditioners that long too, and they always kept the coaches cool.  This one does NOT.  Needless to say,  I'm not too happy with the workings in this coach.  I love how it drives and the layout, but if the things don't work, it's worthless.