Fridge on LP while travelling

[FordTruck]

Fridge works great on shore power. When shore power is disconnected, fridge correctly shifts to LP. Once we begin moving, the LP to the fridge shuts off and the indicator light at the top of the fridge flashes what the owners manual says is an error message.

I have successfully started the fridge manually on LP and again, once we start moving, it switches off.

I've done a search on key words but haven't seen the same topic.

I've had it into 2 different dealers and they both say they get it to operate correctly (while stationary) and that it should continue to work while moving but they can't provide any additional advice.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[AirsDream]

Dunno - mine's never done that.

But I've heard from others that some units - especially ones that haven't had the recall fix done to them - will blow out while under way. Have you had the recall fix done? Have you tried blocking off the louvers on the outside door, to slow down wind blowing in while underway?

[HowieE]

Two things you can try.

While parked remove the burner cover from the flame area of the freg. Put the ref. on gas and and then blow out the flame. The flame should reignite as long as the freg. is on gas. Do this several times to make sure it reignites.

If that works the control is working. I would look for a lose electrical connection between the control board and the igniter. I am thinking the road vibrations may be causing an open circuit while traveling and not allowing a reignition.

Also look at the igniter as it fires. It should be sparking to the burner head. If it fires to any other part of the burner or sheet metal the air movements while traveling may be causing the spark to fail.

[guskmg]

I had the same problem. Try cleaning all the circuit board contacts and wire sockets. The boards do not have gold plated contacts, consequently they easily corrode causing the burner to not relight when blown out while underway. Also, get a competent Dometic service facility to do the recall mod. It adds a baffle system that better shields the flame tube.
"Space A"
Gus Gustafson
'06 Classic 34 SOD

[wales]

On my 2006 Classic the fridge would not stay lit while in transit. The reason is very simple and not so obvious! "While in motion the air moving through the burner area blows out the burner". Don't block off the louvers, go to the hardware store, get a piece of aluminum flashing material (lightweight) create a baffle (bend in "L" shape) tape in place with duct tape on the "L" to the floor of the compartment in front of the burner. Then air flows through the area for venting but the baffle blocks the heavy flow of air while in transit at the burner. (Works for me!)

[Tin Diesel]

We had the same problem on our 1999 Classic. When we had the recall work done last summer, they put a metal shield in front of the burner area.
Seems to have done the trick - now the fridge stays on almost all the time.

In a really heavy crosswind from that side, it might go out. When it does, it won't come back on unless I reset it.

[thecatsandi]

Originally Posted by FordTruck

Fridge works great on shore power. When shore power is disconnected, fridge correctly shifts to LP. Once we begin moving, the LP to the fridge shuts off and the indicator light at the top of the fridge flashes what the owners manual says is an error message.

I have successfully started the fridge manually on LP and again, once we start moving, it switches off.

I've done a search on key words but haven't seen the same topic.

I've had it into 2 different dealers and they both say they get it to operate correctly (while stationary) and that it should continue to work while moving but they can't provide any additional advice.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Have you had all the recalls done? If any. This will fix the problem. If you fridge was not part of the recall after recall saga. Install a wind guard. Simple L shaped aluminum about 6 inches tall. I had the factory do this. It does not come installed since the lawyers said no running fridge while moving.

[HowieE]

I am sorry but unless Dometic or Norcool have completely redesigned the logic of the control board and the shrouding around the burner the theory of the wind blowing out the flame just does not hold water.

While on gas the control will fire the igniter when ever the thermocouple is not hot. This is a major safety consideration. Given that the freg would light as soon as you stopped and the wind stopped. I take it from your discription that is not the case.

Did you have time to do the blow out test I described above?

[Dwight]

It also makes a difference which side of the trailer the frig is on. If it is on the street-side, they tend to not stay lit....if the frig is on the curb-side, they usually stay lit.

We had some friends that had a frig on the street-side and it would not stay lit...we bought a cheap air filter for your home HVAC unit and fit it behind the door. The frig stayed lit on the trip....remember to remove the filter when parked.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by HowieE

While on gas the control will fire the igniter when ever the thermocouple is not hot. This is a major safety consideration. Given that the freg would light as soon as you stopped and the wind stopped. I take it from your discription that is not the case.

The fridge will only attempt a fixed number of restart attempts. If it is a blow out situation, once you hit max restart attempts, the system will lock down with an error code. I had this problem on my 2001 Safari. It was only after the dealer installed a baffle that the problem ended.

If I'm not wrong, after you lock out the max restart, the only way to get the cycle started again is to turn the fridge off and then back on, or change from gas to electric then back to gas. That resets the cycle.

[Chief]

Since your trailer is an '08, I don't think there is a Dometic recall for your refrig.

I had exactly the same problem with our refrig not working on LP while underway (Before someone flames me about operating the refrig while traveling....I've already heard the arguments pro and con). Passing tractor-trailer rigs were especially bad about blowing out the pilot light. The system would automatically try to relight three times, and then go into a "safe" mode (unlit). I bought one of the "cut to size" a/c filters from Home Depot, and fashioned a custom fit inside the door. If cut properly, it fits perfectly between the door and outer lip. Thirty-six days on-the-road later and I have not experienced one problem....refrig stays a cool 32-38, withoutside temps that ranged between 40 and 100 degrees.

Of course, you should accept this advice with the usual disclaimers of safety, fear of product damage/liability, blah, blah, blah.

Chief

[Gene]

Check out this thread for Buttercup's travails with his Dometic: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f425...ork-50502.html

Although a lot of that thread isn't very helpful, it still has a lot of information. One post somewhere about refrigerators stated the one in a relatively new trailer was an older model the dealer had installed after the OEM one didn't work, and it didn't have the recall item installed. There's also a thread about "burping" the fridge, but I haven't read it. I think there are other threads on this problem, so check them out. You'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about RV fridges and can educate the dealers who are amazingly ignorant.

Gene

[mello mike]

Travelling with your LP system charged can be dangerous. Read this thread on an "incident" I had a few years ago.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f287...d-20523-4.html

[FordTruck]

Thanks to all who responded.

As always, a picture is worth a thousand words. Can those of you who have made/had installed a baffle/shield please post a picture?

Chief, can you also post a picture of your cut to size air filter and install?

I know this is asking alot but with a visual reference, I'm sure I can do the same.

Many thanks.

[oceanair]

Having the same problem with our 2007 airstream and would also like to see some pictures of the baffle / shield to see its size and location.

Thanks in advance,
Hank

[oceanair]

I found a picture of the Dometic fix on another thread. Hope this helps. I also found on another thread that dometic makes a kit for this problem.





Hank

[PINKBIKE]

any older airstream owners,like a 1970 travel with the lp lit while travelling or is it too unsafe in an old one also ? Thanks !!!

[tomlong10]

I am having this same problem with the refer in our 07 Classic and it is a big problem for us. On the road it does not seem to work because the temps in the unit go from 39 degrees when plugged in to shore power to as high as 60 degrees when traveling a long distance in very hot outside temps. On mild days the temp may go into the upper 40s.

I sent some e-mails to Dometic and they have sent me their part number for the air baffle. It is 3108039.003 "Air Foil Kit" for Dometic 6 and 8 cu ft models.

Also I got some advice from the Air Stream dealer to try a furnace air filter (10" by 20" I think) on the outside air vent. This seems to help but must be removed each night. So next I will try the Air Foil Kit.

Tom