Dometic 4-door refrig. with auto-lock

[back2nature]

Love this frig., but having problems with the auto-slide-lock. The service manager at our dealer, said to put this on the Heartland forum, so here I am. Not sure of the model number because the manual is locked in the RV., but I think it's the RM1350 (Dometic 4-door, auto-slide lock) that was available last November, 2011.

My issue is: Since our very first trip out, the door will open up while traveling and we got a dent in one of the doors when it hit the curved counter top in the BH3670RL. This really bummed me out because the RV was brand new, and now I had a dent in my refrigerator door already. This 4-door refrigerator has an auto-lock system that will lock the doors within 5 seconds. Sounds great, but the lock has a mind of it's own. About 50% of the time it doesn't work correctly. When you slide the lock to open a door, it may lock again immediately, like 1 second, before I even get time to get my hands on the handle. Also, sometimes it does not lock at all. Or, on several occasion, when going inside the RV after traveling, the door is open.

After the first incident, we took it to the dealer. They said they were on the phone with Heartland and Heartland won't fix it. The the dealer can't do anything about it. We have put some foam pads in between the door, while traveling, but it still will wiggle open if the slide lock opens up.

I'm frustrated, because: 1. I have a dent in my door, 2. It opens during travel, and 3. It locks on me when I try to open it (that is very frustrating).

Of course, since the problem seems to be about 50% of the time, it only mal-functioned one time for the service manager. I understand he needs more solid proof when he goes to Heartland for a repair.

I think that it's interesting to note, that when we looked a some new models of BH's at the dealers a couple of weeks ago, Dometic had completed changed the handle/lock system on their 4-door refrigerators. We think that because they knew had a problem.

Are we stuck with this?

 

[danemayer]

Laurie, we got our Rushmore Sept 1 last year and the auto latching didn't work at all. We mistakenly assumed this was a motorcoach feature that didn't apply to our 5th wheel. The latch would vibrate open during travel which resulted in the left-hand door getting dented. We started using a piece of cardboard to keep it from unlatching during travel. When we got home we asked the dealer to get the latch fixed under warranty. Dometic refused, saying that the latch is supposed to be powered and that Heartland must have failed to hook up the wire. Heartland agreed and paid for the wiring connection labor and to replace the damaged door since their error caused the damage.

If your latch is erratic, the question is whether it's a voltage supply problem (i.e. bad/loose wiring - Heartland's problem), or a bad latch assembly (Dometic's problem). The dealer should be able to make a determination and the responsible party ought to cover the repair under warranty. If both parties continue to duck responsibility, a 3 way phone call might be needed, where you press them to jointly conclude who is responsible.

 

[back2nature]

Dan and Ruth, yeah we looked at the Dometic manual, and noticed it talked about the auto-lock disengaging when the motor was turned off. We too thought it didn't apply to the 5th wheels and was a motorhome issue. So we asked the dealer service dept. if that could be rewired. They said no, it's set that way from the factory so it's a warranty issue. So we left that alone. But problems still exist with the lock having a mind of it's own. Obviously, it doesn't work correctly and we seem to be stuck with it. That's what gets me. It's not mal-functioning for the service dept. because they aren't spending time with it like we do on the road.

 

[danemayer]

Maybe a call directly to Dometic would help. If you describe the symptoms you're having, they might agree that it's not normal and provide a contact name for you dealer to work with to get it corrected. Also, if they agree it's their problem, and your dealer is a problem, they might point you to another dealer authorized to work on Dometic refrigerators, not necessarily a Heartland dealer.

My guess: if it sometimes relocks in 1 second, there's something wrong with the electronics governing the latch - which would be a Dometic issue. Leave the dent out of the initial discussion. If they agree the latch is failing, you can bring up the dent after they're committed.

 

[bdb2047]

The auto lock on ours was on all the time.Was a pain when at campground and had unlock every time you wanted in frig.If you remove lower vent panel there is a 12v junction bar on back of frig.There is a jumper wire from positve to locking .I removed jumper ran 2 wires to switch,I mounted switch next to drawer under frig.1 wire to positive terminal 1 to locking.This lets me turn off power to lock when parked and have on when traveling same as in a motor home.Dealer saw no problem w/this.The owners manual has a wiring diagram that shows 12v wiring.

 

[back2nature]

The auto lock on ours was on all the time.Was a pain when at campground and had unlock every time you wanted in frig.If you remove lower vent panel there is a 12v junction bar on back of frig.There is a jumper wire from positve to locking .I removed jumper ran 2 wires to switch,I mounted switch next to drawer under frig.1 wire to positive terminal 1 to locking.This lets me turn off power to lock when parked and have on when traveling same as in a motor home.Dealer saw no problem w/this.The owners manual has a wiring diagram that shows 12v wiring.

Yeah, the panel on the back of the frig. outside was where our service person showed us the wires and said since the factory set it this way, he couldn't change it or it would void warranty. We decided to leave that alone for the moment. Even though, the erratic door lock is a problem.

 

[KENNY COCHRAN]

I can relate to the same model rm1350 but without the auto locks. We also installed the dent in the door right after we got ours too!! Now we remember to lock it after each use. (most of the time). We have it on a check list to lock it now. Get you a nice magnetic picture or similar and it will cover the dent up ok. Take a picture of the dent, and put that over the dent for a conversation starter...........

 

[Birchwood]

You have to call Dometic directly and they should repair your auto lock and send
you a new fridge door.The fridge has at least a 3 year warranty.

 

[Okieman]

I have not had a problem with the auto-latch coming open on the 4-door Dometic in my 2011 Landmark Grand Canyon but for the other problem of having to fool with the locking mechanism when parked, I have discovered that if you hold the lever in the un-lock position for 30 seconds or so it will then stay in this position until you move it to the locked positon again. I can feel the mechanism try to kick it back to "locked" a couple of times while I am holding it but after that it stays unlocked. Unfortunately this is about the only thing that has worked properly on this referigator since we bought the RV. Entire cooling unit replaced (3 month wait for part), seal on one freezer door replaced, reseal of seam on freezer, now new door to be installed later this month since local dealer discovered it is somewhat curved along seal instead of straight.

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Okieman,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.

Thanks for the good information the fridge door. That may cure a lot of problems for some.

Hopefully your dealer will get things taken care of for you.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[TandT]

Our 1350 has a positive latch on every door, that must be lifted to open each door. No auto-lock that I know of. Is this the type that is having the problem? Knock on wood, ours has never opened on transit. Trace

 

[2psnapod2]

Our 1350 has a positive latch on every door, that must be lifted to open each door. No auto-lock that I know of. Is this the type that is having the problem? Knock on wood, ours has never opened on transit. Trace

Ours is the same frig. I was thinking the same thing, is this the auto lock mentioned below?

 

[danemayer]

The auto latch being discussed is a left-to-right slider. Left opens, right locks. It slides to the right automatically when electrically activated after 5 seconds. When it's unlocked, all 4 doors open and close freely. When it's locked, none of the doors will open. If the automatic feature isn't working, the latch can vibrate to the open position, allowing the doors to open.

 

[2psnapod2]

Ah... I believe the design that I have is much better then. It is has a manual locking lever on all 4 doors.

 

[sdagro]

Could not keep myself quiet here guys. This is actually my second post in a row with good news. My RM1350 is still working and cooling fine. As for the disturbing auto lock---seems sometimes it locks---sometimes it doesn't. Always seems to lock when you are in it and about to close the door. Just need to train to make sure it is locked before getting on the road. Mine has never unlocked on it's own. Also good to see that Heartland/Dometic are very consistent. When I was having all of my issues(10+months worth), both Heartland & Dometic blamed the problem on each other. "GOTTA LOVE THAT RELATIONSHIP". Steve

 

[back2nature]

I have discovered that if you hold the lever in the un-lock position for 30 seconds or so it will then stay in this position until you move it to the locked positon again. I can feel the mechanism try to kick it back to "locked" a couple of times while I am holding it but after that it stays unlocked.

I'm going to have to go in the rig right now and test that.

 

[Sailor]

I have had the same problem with the 4 door Fridge in my 2011 Landmark GC. Anyone know for sure how long the warranty is on them? DENT IN THE DOOR FIRST TIME OUT!

 

[danemayer]

The Dometic 1350 manual says the warranty is 2 years. HOWEVER, if as on ours, Heartland didn't install it correctly, Dometic won't cover the door damage. Heartland covered the damage to the door. And of course the Heartland warranty is 1 year. But maybe they'll take care of it anyway.

 

[57chevyconvt]

I have experienced the same auto-latch problem. According to the wiring diagram the auto lock is wired to the tow vehicle alternator, as memory serves me correctly. This feature is more for a motorhome installation than for 5th wheels. The problem can be related to either Heartland's initial wiring or Dometic. In my case it was the Dometic control board that was faulty. My luck was that the boad failure occured 25 months after date of purchase. The Dometic initial warranty is 2 years. After I replaced the control board, the auto-lock doesn't work as some folks are experiencing. After one episode of leaving the door unlocked and cleaning up the mess, we have placed this activity on the departure check list.

Sailor, from my prespective, this is both a Dometic and Heartland issue. Your refer should still be under warranty. I would also recommend that you purchase the additional Dometic warranty. I didn't but later regretted the lack of extension, especially with the Dometic RM1350.

 

[back2nature]

We took our RV in to the dealer the very first month of ownership, and they called Heartland and Heartland wouldn't fix it. It's been back three times for other things and I've brought up the problem we are having with the doors, but it doesn't seem that they can do anything.

Great tip from Okieman on holding the lock past two clicks and it stays open while you're parked. When we travel, we stuff the opening slot in the center with some very stiff foam so it doesn't swing open. I will never trust the doors to stay locked again.