Fridge not working

[Rodbuster]

Left the NC/SC rally this morning and everything was fine. We planned on spending a few days in Charleston, SC. When we got here I got all set up and then we went out to dinner. When we got back we noticed the frige temp was at 38...it's usually at 34. I can't get it to turn on. DC or LP.
I checked fuses and breakers....no problems there.
Frige is now 39.
Frige is a 12.3 Dometic in a 2012 Landmark Key Largo

Sure could use some ideas.
Thank you,
Dick

 

[wdk450]

Re: Frige not working

The first thing to determine in an RV refrigerator failure is: do you truly have 12 volt DC power to the refrigerator? Are the panel lights and indicators on, is the interior light on? If this is O.K., I would try turning the main power switch for the refrigerator off and then on to reset the circuit board. You might even pull the refrig fuse on the fusepanel, or momentarily disconnect the positive battery cable. Then try running the refrigerator on LP gas. Try lighting a stove burner first to verify that the gas system works O.K. If it is quiet and you listen carefully you should be able to hear the gas solenoid open and the sparker ignighting the gas flame. Outside, by the refrigerator vent, you can hear the gas flame quite plainly. Most refrigerators have some sort of error indication on the control panel if the gas flame doesn't light. If these actions don't happen, I would suspect a bad refrigerator control board. Electrical heating not occurring from a stationary RV is usually due to a tripped AC circuit breaker. Breakers can trip and not be obvious to the eye. Resetting breakers whether they are tripped or not is a good idea. RV refrigerators cool so slowly, and don't have a vibrating compressor, so it's hard to tell if they are working for a few hours until they have a chance to cool.
If you smell ammonia, or see yellowish powder anywhere around the cooling unit you probably have bigger problems - a bad cooling unit. I think those have a 3 year warranty.
Good Luck!!!

 

[Rodbuster]

Re: Frige not working

Bill, thank you very much for your response.

I got up this morning about 6:15. First thing I did was check the frige. The temperature was 34.....right where it should be.

From about 4 PM to midnight the temperature was rising. It reached 45 when I went to bed. Thought sure I was going to have to call a mobile repair man this morning. This morning everything seems fine.
I don't understand why it acted this way. Anybody have an answer or any ideas???

This could have been very serious. I could have lost my ice cream.

Dick

 

[cookie]

Re: Frige not working

Was this a one time event?
Could be that your refer was in its defrost mode.

Peace
Dave

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[jayc]

Re: Frige not working

Mine did the same thing a couple of days ago. It got up to 40 degrees for a short time but is now back down at 35 where it should be.

 

[Rodbuster]

Re: Frige not working

Good morning Dave and thank you for your thought.
While lying in bed this morning just before we got up, I asked my wife that same question about "defrosting". She didn't know the answer. It sure would give me peace of mind if that was the answer.

Why don't we just go with that....refrigerator was defrosting and my ice cream is safe.
Unless somebody has a different answer.

Thanks again
Dick

 

[Rodbuster]

Re: Frige not working

Thank you Jay.

You are certainly adding to my "peace of mind". Yours was probably "defrosting" also.

Dick

 

[boatto5er]

Re: Frige not working

Based on the controls seemed to be OK and it's working again now, I'm voting for the "Defrosting" theory.

 

[SouthernNights]

Re: Frige not working

Dick, just saw this thread and defrosting was my first thought also.

However, after meeting you I can understand how this could weigh heavy on your mind so. I offer this advice....EAT THE ICE CREAM!

 

[jayc]

Re: Frige not working

I guess its unanimous then, defrosting.

 

[danemayer]

Re: Frige not working

Hi Dick,

The defrost cycle happens every 48 hours after the initial defrost, which takes place 60 hours after power is applied. I turn the fridge on at 1PM if I can. The first cycle happens 2 1/2 days later at 1 AM and lasts for 2 hours. Thereafter, it will happen every 2 days at 1 AM. If you turn the fridge on at 8 AM. The defrost cycle will happen at 8 PM when the air outside can still be quite warm.

Another possibility is that the flap on the left-hand door might not have rotated into position, letting cold air out. When you investigated, you may have jostled it into normal position. You might want to check this thread about the flap and what can be done. Dometic sent me the new brackets - took less than 5 minutes to install and the flap now has a much more positive action.

 

[boatto5er]

Frige not working

Dick, just saw this thread and defrosting was my first thought also.

However, after meeting you I can understand how this could weigh heavy on your mind so. I offer this advice....EAT THE ICE CREAM!

That's what we love about Larry. What he's actually saying is, "I'll be glad to help you eat it". Always ready to help a friend in need!


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[krhyde]

Re: Frige not working

Hey little brother, if your freezer was working OK but your refrigerator section was not, it almost has to be "defrost". If your control board was going bad, the freezer would have failed also. Have some ice cream and relax. See you in January, BTW I prefer neopolitan ice cream. Ken

 

[Rodbuster]

Re: Frige not working

Hey little brother, if your freezer was working OK but your refrigerator section was not, it almost has to be "defrost". If your control board was going bad, the freezer would have failed also. Have some ice cream and relax. See you in January, BTW I prefer neopolitan ice cream. Ken

Hey "big brother", very nice of you to acknowledge that your much older that I am.

Is this a great club or what....people like Gus, Larry and Ken showing their concerns over my frig and my ice cream. Thank God that everything is OK now....well, almost OK.

The refrigerator is working fine now but that wasn't the story when I went to bed. I went to sleep thinking about the frig. Sure enough, I woke up about 3:30 yelling and screaming. Wow, what a nightmare. I had a dream about all the ice cream melting and oozing out the freezer door onto the floor. I don't ever want to go through that again.

Couldn't get back to sleep so I got up and made myself the largest ice cream float that I've ever had. One pint of chocolate, 1 pt. of strawberry, 1 pt of vanilla and 1 pt of pistachio (nuts for a little substance). Man, did I sleep good after that. Didn't care about the frig at all.

Got up this morning, frig was fine. Been to the bathroom about 9 times.....something about "lactose intolerant".
Guess I'll leave by saying.....everything is coming out beautiful.

Dick

 

[boatto5er]

Re: Frige not working

Hey "big brother", very nice of you to acknowledge that your much older that I am.

Is this a great club or what....people like Gus, Larry and Ken showing their concerns over my frig and my ice cream. Thank God that everything is OK now....well, almost OK.

The refrigerator is working fine now but that wasn't the story when I went to bed. I went to sleep thinking about the frig. Sure enough, I woke up about 3:30 yelling and screaming. Wow, what a nightmare. I had a dream about all the ice cream melting and oozing out the freezer door onto the floor. I don't ever want to go through that again.

Couldn't get back to sleep so I got up and made myself the largest ice cream float that I've ever had. One pint of chocolate, 1 pt. of strawberry, 1 pt of vanilla and 1 pt of pistachio (nuts for a little substance). Man, did I sleep good after that. Didn't care about the frig at all.

Got up this morning, frig was fine. Been to the bathroom about 9 times.....something about "lactose intolerant".
Guess I'll leave by saying.....everything is coming out beautiful.

Dick

Pistachio! Did someone say pistachio? My absolute favorite. Can't you make it up to Williamsburg this weekend?

 

[wdk450]

Re: Frige not working

Rodbuster:
If you have internet access, then you have access to your refrigerator (and all sorts of other RV appliances/systems) manuals through the Heartland Owners Forum.

Go to the top of this (or any) forum page, click on the "Tools" tab, then the "HOM" (Manuals) menu selection, and follow the menu tree on to the manual you need to look at.