The refer in our trailer gets to cold inside and starts to freeze things even whith the thermostat turned to 0. We have one of the battery powered Fridgemate fans inside to keep the air moving. I have pulled the bypass screw to make sure it is the proper size and it is . I have cleaned the valve seat on the thermostat. I can see that the flame on the burner goes down to the bypass setting when the thermostat is turned down. Does anyone have any suggestions?
You will find that the thermocouple tubing has cracked or has broken in half. When this happens, there is no control over the temperature in the reefer.
The thermostat senses no feedback, therefore it keeps the flame on a constant high.
After you have completed the repair, and to keep the same thing from happening again, do the following.
BALANCE THE COMPLETE RUNNING GEAR.
It magically stops any further damage to your reefer, as well as other items.
Andy
inlandrv.com
airstreamparts.com
airstreamcandy.com
Andy,
Thank you for your reply, but after the fridge has cooled down I can see the flame reduce down to the bypass setting when I turn the thermostat down to 0 0r 1 and it stays there unless I turn the thermostat back up ,at which time the flame comes back up. So I would say the thermostat is still operating. It is almost as if the flame is still generating to much heat to let the fridge warm up.
Mike, the same problem occurred with my Dometic. If it is the same as mine, the machine enters what is called "limp mode" if it detects a fault in one of the major items, like the main circuit board in the back, or the "eyebrow" circuit board behind the switches at the top front. In limp mode, the machine runs continuosly, and therefore the inside gets constantly very cold. The idea is to avoid spoilt food just because of a defect in the complex control systems. When mine did this, I tested the thermocouple sensor (described in one of my earlier posts), found this in order, and then installed a Dinosaur Universal Ignition Board as a replacement for the back main circuit board. Problem solved, so the board was faulty, probably because of travelling vibration, as Andy suggested. (I can't find anyone to balance my wheels on the trailer.) Good luck. Nick.
__________________
Nick Crowhurst, Excella 25 1988, Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel. England in summer, USA in winter.
"The price of freedom is eternal maintenance."
Go Google and look for Crane Rv Refrigeration. These guys are probably the best in the business, all they do is Rv fridges. They can probably tell you over the phone what your problem is. I think they are in California and even have troubleshooting tips on their site.
Chas,
I called Cranes Refrigeration and explained the problems I was having. He asked what size bypass screw I had. I told him it was a S17 which is what my service manual called for. He suggested that that was too big for the smaller fridge, but worked fine in the larger fridges. He suggested going to a S14 which I have ordered. I will post back after I try the smaller bypass screw.
They were very helpful. Their phone # is 707-552-0337
Thanks again
Mike B
Thank you for all your generous tips to the forum. I am a new member and have been an avid reader/student.
I recently bought a 1992 350le classic RV. All the appliances seem to check out on 12 and 110, except I am having trouble with the refer/freezer. I first tried to start it while the RV was on a steep incline 30 degrees (don't ask!). I smelled ammonia almost immediately and mistook it for cleaning solution. I let it "run" overnight (left it on lp/ac), thinking that I had felt the plates getting cold, however in the morning, no cold only ammonia. I went to the forum and found out about leveling and the danger of setting fire to the ammonia fumes.
Can you please give me some advise on how to clear the ammonia and try starting up the refer again, or does it sound like I have now vapor-locked it. If so, what is the remedy for vapor-lock? Hopefully I was just a bubble off.
It sounds as if you will need a rebuild or a new fridge to me, $$$, ouch!! Andy may be able to help as well, at least he won't be able to pin your problem on unbalanced running gear, yours being in a MH.
Thanks for your reply. You are probably right as I have now studdied the other threads on refer and that dreaded ammonia smell.
A link provided to RV Mobile will probably work out for me to get a replacement/rebuilt cooling unit for far less than a whole new refer. The difference being about $1K.
I hope I have better luck with the one in the excella (also '92).
Hi,
As a followup on the problem of our fridge being to cold, we went up in the woods for three days this past weekend to go motorcycle riding and with the smaller S14 bypass screw installed as recommended by Cranes Rv we had no problem at all with freezing up.
Thank you to everyone for their suggestions
Mike B
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