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Old 05-11-2014, 07:59 PM   #1
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Refrigerator problems

We have a Dometic 2351 refrigerator in our 2013 Bambi. It seems to work okay on the propane but we have had problems with it staying cold when we plug into 120v. What are we doing wrong? We have checked the fuses and connections. Sometimes it will work and then shut off and not cool. The prior owner had changed out the thermostat so not sure it this has anything to do with it. Had someone come out to check it and of course it worked fine. Very frustrating to find food sitting in a too warm fridge.
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Old 05-11-2014, 09:00 PM   #2
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Sorry you are having fridge problems.

Since it works ok on propane, but not ok on electric, I would not think that it would be the tstat.

What is the warranty situation? Is it under warranty either from Airstream or Dometic?

Step one for me would be to go to Walmart and buy a remote thermometer for about $10. This will allow you to monitor the fridge temperature accurately without opening the door. I would monitor the fridge temperature over a couple of days of operation with it operating on propane then electric. I would record the temperature readings every few hours. You will need this info to help troubleshoot what the problem is.

I would then contact Dometic tech support and enlist their help in troubleshooting what the fridge problem is.

Good luck, Dan
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Old 05-11-2014, 10:17 PM   #3
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To the OP: I'm sorry that I don't have an answer for you, but I am interested in learning about the solution to your problem.

To the Forum: Is it possible this could be related to an owner-installed cooling fan off-switch and/or a replacement of the fan with a quieter/less-effective unit for noise-related purposes?
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Old 05-12-2014, 06:01 AM   #4
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I think it's your heating element that needs replacing. Costs about $40 and you can do it yourself if you're a do-it-your-self kind of person.
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Old 05-12-2014, 06:41 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kpatrick View Post
We have a Dometic 2351 refrigerator in our 2013 Bambi. It seems to work okay on the propane but we have had problems with it staying cold when we plug into 120v. What are we doing wrong? We have checked the fuses and connections. Sometimes it will work and then shut off and not cool. The prior owner had changed out the thermostat so not sure it this has anything to do with it. Had someone come out to check it and of course it worked fine. Very frustrating to find food sitting in a too warm fridge.
Your model is all controlled by the electronic circuit board. The thermistor (or what some would call the thermostat) tells the circuit board what the temperature is inside. This one thermistor work for both the gas or electric mode. So if yours workers well on gas mode the thermistor is not the problem.
So if it is cooling then not cooling on electric mode, you have three choices.
1. A loose connection where the heating element plugs into the circuit board.
2. A bad heating element. (yes they can work sometimes and not others).
3. A bad circuit board.

I would check the warranty for sure.
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Old 05-21-2014, 08:33 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kpatrick View Post
We have a Dometic 2351 refrigerator in our 2013 Bambi. It seems to work okay on the propane but we have had problems with it staying cold when we plug into 120v. What are we doing wrong? We have checked the fuses and connections. Sometimes it will work and then shut off and not cool. The prior owner had changed out the thermostat so not sure it this has anything to do with it. Had someone come out to check it and of course it worked fine. Very frustrating to find food sitting in a too warm fridge.

I'm sure you want to fix your problematic Dometic, but I highly recommend starting and running your fridg on propane for a couple reasons. First of all it cools faster (Usually within about 3 hours for me), and it seems to run cooler. It takes so little propane to run it that you never have to worry about consumption. I personally never use the electric and probably never will. Good luck!
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Old 05-21-2014, 09:09 AM   #7
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That's interesting. This isn't based on scientific testing, but I'm pretty sure the frig on our 23fb worked better on electric than propane. The frig would always warm up a couple of degrees when traveling. I was always comparing traveling with gas and stationary with electric. I never tried to leave it on propane when camping. Not sure about the frig in the new AS.
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Old 10-08-2014, 02:05 PM   #8
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I am experiencing similar problems with my 22' sport refrigerator. I think the problem is the electronic circuit board. I have had this problem before with another refrigerator and replacing the circuit board fixed it. Good luck.
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Old 10-08-2014, 02:38 PM   #9
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If you replace the circuit board order a Dinosaur Board as it is much
higher quality board that will last a lot longer.cost about $100.You can install in 15 mins.Most of the problems with later model Dometic's I have seen on this forum(including myself) the board has been at fault.
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Old 07-27-2018, 11:06 AM   #10
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So I think I’m having an issue as well.

I just had fridge repaired because it wasn’t cooling on gas, but did on electric.

We have an 03 19’ ccd. Fridge is a Dometic that has a setting for gas or ac.

After getting repair done (replace themistor and some other adjustments) fridge gets cold and the gray piping in the back get hot, fans running. Been good for 3 days. Thermometer in fridge good reading 35 degrees.

I decided to change over to ac to make sure that still ok. I noticed after 5 minutes, fans went off, and after 2 hours the gray amonia pipes in back of fridge were cold. I switched back to gas, and after 30 minutes fans came back on (normal) and the amonia pipes warre getting warm.

So my question is I thought that when running either gas or AC those amonia pipes should get hot? Are there seperate coolin coils when running AC? I checked power where fridge plugs in and that is good.
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Old 07-27-2018, 11:17 AM   #11
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No separate coils.
Sounds like a control board failure or heating element failure. Is there a thermostat for electric?
If you put you hand on the heat shield on the right side it should feel warm to medium hot. Look for 2 wires which disappear into a round vertical pipe. That is the chimney. Place you hand just below the wires.
It is what the burner heats when on gas. It also contains a well which holds the heating element. All part of the boiler system.
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Old 07-27-2018, 11:57 AM   #12
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Thanks TG.

There is just one thermostat knob on my Dometic rm2452.

Again gas is fine.

Since my last post I called an Airstream service place and explained my situation and he said that on AC you can expect the fridge to take 8-12 hours to cool.

So maybe I didn’t give it enough time. I may try again and ket it be for the afternoon.
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Old 07-27-2018, 12:56 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crazylev View Post
Thanks TG.



There is just one thermostat knob on my Dometic rm2452.



Again gas is fine.



Since my last post I called an Airstream service place and explained my situation and he said that on AC you can expect the fridge to take 8-12 hours to cool.



So maybe I didn’t give it enough time. I may try again and ket it be for the afternoon.


It should really not make much of a difference whether you are on gas or AC. In one case the heat comes from burning propane. In the other case the heat comes from electricity heating up a heating element. In both cases it takes a long time for the fridge to cool down, like 12-24 hours.

Dan
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Old 07-27-2018, 01:09 PM   #14
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All you need to know about troubleshooting your refrigerator problem:

http://www.nancyemmert.com/region6/R...atorManual.pdf
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Old 07-27-2018, 01:17 PM   #15
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Is it plugged in?
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Old 07-27-2018, 02:29 PM   #16
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Last sentence in my first post says yes.
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Old 08-07-2018, 01:27 PM   #17
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The LP is a failsafe option for our fridges. AC is a backup. I agree that the board is the issue and think that the Dino board will solve all problems. I had an Atwood water heater issue that Dino solved for me.

A word to all: keep refers on even when in home port. Run on AC and note the temp at all times. The temp is your guide.

When on the road LP is your friend. My Granny had a Servel nat gas refer back in the ‘50s and it provide a cold refer at all times. If you use your LP for refer cooling you will never have warm contents.

While in home port your refer should never be ‘off’ for any reason. Just a suggestion from a long-haul AS crew.
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Old 08-12-2018, 08:56 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by crazylev View Post
So I think I’m having an issue as well.

I just had fridge repaired because it wasn’t cooling on gas, but did on electric.

We have an 03 19’ ccd. Fridge is a Dometic that has a setting for gas or ac.

After getting repair done (replace themistor and some other adjustments) fridge gets cold and the gray piping in the back get hot, fans running. Been good for 3 days. Thermometer in fridge good reading 35 degrees.

I decided to change over to ac to make sure that still ok. I noticed after 5 minutes, fans went off, and after 2 hours the gray amonia pipes in back of fridge were cold. I switched back to gas, and after 30 minutes fans came back on (normal) and the amonia pipes warre getting warm


So my question is I thought that when running either gas or AC those amonia pipes should get hot? Are there seperate coolin coils when running AC? I checked power where fridge plugs in and that is good.
I’m having some issues as well. Slightly different then yours but what I found should be useful to you.
Make sure your AC heating element is good. Disconnect it from the control board. Remove all power dc and ac from the trailer. Don’t forget to disconnect the solar as well if you have it. Take an old extension chord cut it and connect to the heating element leads. This bipasses the control board. If it’s getting power it will heat up an you will know the element is working and the control board is the culprit keeping ac from the heating element.
If your are unsure of my instructions the watch this video

In your case you all ready know the cooling unit is good but this will help you test the heating element.
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Old 08-12-2018, 09:54 AM   #19
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ill keep this tip in mind if i run unto fridge issue
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Old 08-13-2018, 11:18 AM   #20
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What kind of performance are you guys getting in 90f conditions in the fridge?
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