Dometic 1350 fridge

[billm]

We have had a Dometic 1350 fridge is our fifth wheel for two years. The issues we had at first were the door seals not seated in the grooves in the doors and the flap on the left door not snapping in place when the doos were closed. Once those issues were fixed we have had no other issues until this past week. The outdoor temp went up to 80 to 90 degrees last week and i noticed the temp going up on the fridge so I switched to gas and raised the temp selection to 5. In the next 3 days the fridge got up to 54 degrees(not good). Being full timers(workampers) we had to move the fridge items to two large coolers. As strange as it sounds the freezer was at 0 degrees and the fridge was at 54. My fans are running and the upper and lower vents are not blocked. My door gaskets are sealing fine and the door flap is working properly. The fridge was not overloaded. I went as far as unplugging the 110 and 12 volt yesterday for 10 minutes and turned it back on. No change. The temp dropped last night to the 70s and today the temp of the fridge is dropping. I went through several hotter spells last summer and did not have any issues. I am waiting to hear back from my dealer but we now can not trust the unit to work properly. Does anyone have any suggestions of things I can try?

 

[goingwest]

Billm
I fell your pain on this. I just went through the same thing trying everything that is posted about fixing the RM1350. Mine was doing the same as yours, freezer staying down about 5 degrees fridge up to 54 degrees. I finely gave up and turned the thing off, about 3 days later I opened the door on it to cuss it or kick it or just look I don't know anyway the Ammonia smell just about knocked me down. May not be the cheapest thing to fix but at least now I know what is wrong with the thing. I installed a new cooling unit and have had it running for about a month now. So far so good.

I'm not saying that yours needs a cooling unit, just saying this dang RM1350 can be hard diagnose even by the so called experts.

Good luck If you find something that fixes it for good be sure to come back and post your findings and fixes for all the other RM1350 owners.

Jerry

 

[danemayer]

As strange as it sounds the freezer was at 0 degrees and the fridge was at 54.

Hi billm,

Usually when the freezer is at 0 degrees, it means the cooling unit is working ok. If the refrigerator compartment is at 54 degrees with the freezer at 0, it usually means there is a thermal leak allowing warm air into the refrigerator compartment. I see you've already checked the gaskets and flap. Perhaps there's something going on the sides of the cabinet allowing heat exchange.

It sounds like you've already been through most everything in our Dometic 1350 Troubleshooting Flowchart but I've put in a link just in case you haven't.

 

[boatto5er]

I fixed mine by bending the factory installed sheet metal baffle, by the upper vent, forward so all the air coming up was forced over the cooling fans. I used a couple of wood wedges to force the sheet metal over against the fins. Stays at 33 to 37 now.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Kwags]

I have a 2013 keystone alpine 5th wheel that was purchased in Jan. everything was working fine until one day the freezer wasn't keeping things frozen. I thought maybe it was too full. I took everything out and noticed the back wall was all iced over. I was able to remove all the ice and everything went back to normal. It's been a few months and two days ago the freezer items were not frozen again but this time the fridge was getting really warm. It again had all the ice build up on the back wall. I've cleared it all out again and still no luck. I switched it to gas and the fridge will kick on and off. The fridge is on a slide with the two vents on the side. They appear to be good. I'm new to owning a trailer. Does anyone have any other suggestions for me. Thank you so much

 

[TandT]

I fixed mine by bending the factory installed sheet metal baffle, by the upper vent, forward so all the air coming up was forced over the cooling fans. I used a couple of wood wedges to force the sheet metal over against the fins. Stays at 33 to 37 now.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

When I first got my BH in early 2011, I was having similar cooling problems.
I took it in for warranty repair. Upon inspection, the tech found the whole entire top vent was blocked by sheet metal.
It seems the unit I received was designed for a roof vent. The sheet metal was designed to send air out through the roof vent.
My refer is in a slide and has the two back wall vents, not a roof vent.
The tech cut away about half the sheet metal horizontally, all the way across the top opening. This allowed more warm air to escape at the top back wall vent.
It has been working well since. Trace

 

[danemayer]

I have a 2013 keystone alpine 5th wheel that was purchased in Jan. everything was working fine until one day the freezer wasn't keeping things frozen. I thought maybe it was too full. I took everything out and noticed the back wall was all iced over. I was able to remove all the ice and everything went back to normal. It's been a few months and two days ago the freezer items were not frozen again but this time the fridge was getting really warm. It again had all the ice build up on the back wall. I've cleared it all out again and still no luck. I switched it to gas and the fridge will kick on and off. The fridge is on a slide with the two vents on the side. They appear to be good. I'm new to owning a trailer. Does anyone have any other suggestions for me. Thank you so much

Hi kwags,

If the ice build up is on the inside, you may have an air leak - maybe a problem with the seals. I suppose if it gets thick enough, it might interfere with the warmer air getting extracted from the freezer compartment. But if it takes a few months to get this ice build up, you might just need to defrost periodically.

 

[sgtbigb]

Dan, Almost home from the rally, currenyly in Dallas. My Frig RM1350 have blown 2 15 amp fuses. seem to only happen while we are traveling. We we stop sure enough a fuse is blown. Any ideals?

 

[sgtbigb]

I almost forgot Song ask how Ann is doing?

Dan, Almost home from the rally, currenyly in Dallas. My Frig RM1350 have blown 2 15 amp fuses. seem to only happen while we are traveling. We we stop sure enough a fuse is blown. Any ideals?

 

[danemayer]

Hi Gene,

Ann's continuing to improve. She's taken the boot off and is using an air brace now and has a much less pronounced limp.

As to the fuses, I'd guess you have a pinched wire when the slideout comes in. Next stop, take a look under the kitchen slide to see if you can spot anything. I think all the wires are enclosed in a protective cover that closes with the slide.

 

[billm]

Here is the latest. I got fed up with my Dealer trying to fix the problem so I decided to dive into the issue myself. The issue only happens when running on propane(found out by accident when our park was having power issues). I removed the factory installed baffle and placed a small 100 volt fan in the rear top fridge compartment and the fridge ran in the low 40s on gas. I called Dometic myself and reviewed my issues. They were great! They have designed a new baffle(with a curve) for the top of the unit that installs on the top to get the heat out. They also said that the compartment needs more insulation on the sides and top and an additional fan(larger than the 2 installed by the factory). They sent the parts to me at no charge and I have the Dealer coming next week to do the upgrades. Lets hope this cures the issue!

 

[sgtbigb]

Problem solved< Dan, sorry took so long to get back to you, but this the first time since June that we had Landmark out. I found on the slide out where opposite the door sofa side on the outside bottom rear there was some wires that was damage due to rubbing against the botton rail while traveling. We solve the problem by reinsulating the wires. Will keep an eye on it because of design, it can happen again.:=)

 

[danemayer]

We solve the problem by reinsulating the wires.

Great news Gene.