Water Heater and Refrigerator Issues

Cimriver

Well-known member
Had the Elkridge out for the first time this past week and discovered a couple of issues. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't suffering from operator error prior to dragging the RV the 60 miles to the dealership for service.

Seems the water heater only works on propane. When I turn the gas button off on the test panel and the electric water heater switch on, it doesn't heat. Am I missing something here?

Also the refrigerator cools/freezes just fine as I am driving down the road, but once stopped and set up it doesn't appear to cool with either elctric or propane. I double checked the RV for level. This happened twice on our recent trip. Worked going to our first campsite, but not while we were camped. Then cooled again as we moved to the second campsite, but not once we were set up.

Thoughts?
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi Cimriver,

Have you checked the breakers for a start...one can be tripped and look OK, turn them off and back on. Next for the water heater, remove cover outside and you should see a small black switch, maybe with pin through it to prevent it from being turned on... remove pin and turn of if it is in the off position. But make sure your heater is full of water or the electric element will burn out. You might also check the back of the fridge,,, may not be plugged in.

Let us know what you find and some others may have more ideas.

Jim M
 

2010augusta

Well-known member
here is a wiki article on the electric operation of the water heater.

//heartlandowners.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Water_Heater
 

Cimriver

Well-known member
Well I am pretty sure that resolves the water heater issue. I did not remove the cotter pin and throw the switch. I asked the dealers walk through person about that switch. He told me I never had to do anything with it. Hmmm?

Still need to figure out the refreigerator though. I did check (and throw) the breaker marked refrig. None of the DC fuses are blown. When I removed the refrig panel (set to run on propane) I could hear the burner. The ammonia tank was warm not hot, but not cooling in the refrigerator. When we originally got to our campsite the ice in the freezer was frozen solid. Over the course of two days it began to melt. We moved campsites (180 miles). When we got to the new campsite the ice was frozen. Began thawing the 24 hours we were there. Drove home (300 miles), ice was again frozen. Weird!
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
I wonder if there is something blocking air flow behind the fridge or the cooling fan for the condenser is not working. You might remove the vent covers on the outside of the coach and see if the fan is running or something is behind the fridge blocking air flow. Moving down the road will create a suction and will move air throught the cooling fins of the condenser. Just some thoughts. Bob
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Which model refridgerator do you have? Besides the automotive blade fuse panel inside the rig, there is a 3A and 5A inline fuse behind the fridge on the circuit board. You might also contact Dometic for authorization to have a mobile tech take a look at it, if your dealer is not convenient to your location.
 

Cimriver

Well-known member
The RV is at our storage lot, so would need to go there to get the model number. Does it make sense that a fuse would be blown as it works as I go down the road, just not when parked. Good idea on talking to Dometic about a mobile tech. Our dealer is 60 miles away right through downtown Denver.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
The RV is at our storage lot, so would need to go there to get the model number. Does it make sense that a fuse would be blown as it works as I go down the road, just not when parked. Good idea on talking to Dometic about a mobile tech. Our dealer is 60 miles away right through downtown Denver.

I think the inline fuses are for the 120V operation, from what I could glean from my owner's manual. I could be wrong. Stranger things have happened. The warranty on the fridge is 3 years and in the back of the manual is the "fine print" (Line 5, bold print) about having it inspected annually to maintain the warranty. I had mine checked last fall by the dealer.

Did you check the outlet for the fridge to make sure it has 120V? The controller will select the power source that seems best to it, so if the 120V isn't working, it will go to propane or 12V (if the model will run on that). When we lost shore power one night at the CG, it switched to propane without me doing anything, since I had it set on AUTO.
 

lhetsler

Well-known member
Keep in mind that while you are going down the road it automatically switches to gas and when you plug in at a campsite it switches back to electric automatically, so infact it does make sense that it would work going down the road and not when stopped. The reason it doesnot cool with propane when stopped is because the auto select feature switches to electric. You can manually turn on the gas button and it will cool on gas while your hooked up. This doesnot solve your electrical issue, but should clear up for you why it doesnot seem to work on gas when stopped. You must select gas because electric is the preferred power when plugged in. The button to select gas is on the refer, normally you have the auto on so that it switches back and forth automatically, but you have to option of selecting as well.
 

Cimriver

Well-known member
I actually did switch it to gas when stopped and it still didn't cool. I probably didn't make this clear. Sorry about that. I have an appointment to take it in to the dealer this Friday. I'll post the results when I can.
 

Cimriver

Well-known member
I posted this on that other RV Forum. Most of the comments I have recieved point to ventilation. It was also suggested that when the refirgerator is in a slide the optional ventilation fan should always be installed. There isn't one in mine. Curious if others with kitchen slides have the fan installed on theirs.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
There have been a bunch of post regarding this and a couple of articles such as in hi ways. It seems the fans are required and some folks change the thyristor to make them run all the time instead of on temp rise. We never had an issue on our Yellowstone with the fridge in the slide and so far not in the Landmark. However a bunch of folks have had high temps. Maybe our fans work better, not sure about this but air flow is a must.
 

Cimriver

Well-known member
My service shop tells me that they removed some of the insulation over the refrigerator and it appears to be operating correctly. It kind of makes sense as this will allow for more air circulation. I obviously have more air circulation when I'm on the road and the refrigerator worked correctly.
 
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