Refrigerator went "boom"!

[flyboy4533]

  OK, so this is weird.  Been RVing for almost 20 years with same Tioga Class C and JUST got a newer Winnie 31RQ.  About to sell the old reliable Tioga and I was getting it ready for sale today.  It's been sitting in the same parking spot it's been in for last 20 years, very slightly uphill.  In getting it ready, I had it hooked up to AC shore power and testing things out a bit to make sure everything works as it did when put away for winter here in NJ.  I just hit the refrigerator on switch on my 9 year old Dometic Classic ref and as soon as I did, I heard a faint "boom" or "thud".  Hard to distinguish as I wasn't really paying much attention, nor was I looking for anything unusual.  I cannot tell if the power light went on momentarily or not as I probably wasn't looking directly at it, but I'm getting NOTHING now.  Opened up the exterior door to inspect for anything that looked unusual, but everything looks normal.  Just no power.  I checked and cycled the circuit breaker to the appliances and it's on as normal.  I'm now wondering if the fact that the RV was slightly uphill might have something to do with it, but it never has before.  I would never run the ref that way, but I just wanted to make sure it turned on as it always has.  Well, not this time.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[yolo]

You may have to remove a cover on the control panel behind the frig and check the fuses there.  There should be two fuses and hopefully one of them opened and you can fix simply.  Here's hoping.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Sounds like you blew the 12v  power fuse, as Bago described.  Whether you have a more serious problem will have to wait until you get 12v power restored to the circuit board. Nothing will work until that happens.

No, having it slightly uphill did not cause it to fail.

 

[flyboy4533]

:-\  Got out my Dometic Owner's manual and located the two fuses suggested in earlier texts.  Unfortunately, both are good.  In reading through the manual, I noticed it says that DC power is required to run the refrigerator, but my house battery was still removed from the fall.  I "hope" when they say run, they mean operate the ref and not just see if there's power.  I never meant to run the unit, just checking to see if it had power when I heard the boom noise immediately after hitting the "on" button.  Anyway, if there is any other advice anyone might have, fire away before I have to bring it in for service.  I've been a do-it-yourselfer for most of my life, so any assist with ideas will be appreciated.  Thanks again.

 

[DailyDriver]

Without a house battery hooked up, my old Norcold is as dead as a flashlight without a battery..!  No light inside, no controls (cannot turn it on/off), etc.  You know your rig better than anybody else, but I'd put the battery back in after making sure it's fully charged, then see how it performs.  Best of luck to you in resolving your dilemma!

 

[flyboy4533]

Well Daily Driver, that's exactly what is was.  I re-installed a charged up house battery and the ref light came right on as soon as I hit the switch.  As soon as I get the rig a little closer to summer-ready, I'll move it to a level spot and turn it back on and see if it cools down properly.  Wondering if that boom I heard had anything to do with the fridge.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  Thanks again for your post.