New refrig-Not real cold

[Rich of SCal]

I turned on my new refrig days ago and the fan runs most of the time, but it doesn't seem to get real cold. It is cool, but just the same as before I turned it on. It is full of small bottles of water for now. Everything is leveled out almost perfectly. Is there a break in period for a new unit?

The freezer is no colder than the rest of the unit. I put ice cubes in it to see if that might encourage it.

[blmitch5]

Hmmm, not sure why it's not cooling? Have you tried it on LP? Maybe there is something wrong with the electric part of it. If its been on for over a day it should be cold. Try the LP and maybe call the dealer. Sorry I wasn't more helpful but ours is similar and cools off overnight.

[vswingfield]

I agree with blmitch5. That's just not right.

I installed a new fridge in my '83 Excella a couple of years ago. Cools down and makes ice in a few hours. Did so on the first plugin.

[TBRich]

Are you plugged into shore power? If so, open the access panel to the fridge on the outside and make sure the frig is plugged into the regular household outlet that should be in there somewhere. If you have the frig "on" and set to "auto"... it should run on 110 electricity when you are plugged in and will automatically switch to propane when you are not plugged in to electricity (your propane tank needs to be open, of course)...and vice versa when you plug in again. You can also set it to run on propane even while plugged in. If it is plugged in properly in the access area, and still does not get cold, try the propane setting as Brad suggests to see if it works on gas. If it does, there is some issue with the electrical aspect of the unit, if it does not get cold on propane either, there is something going on with the unit as a whole.

[Rich of SCal]

Thanks for the replies. I did check the plug and it seems ok. I went out awhile ago to put it on gas only and the freezer seems to be getting colder now. Maybe the ice cubes helped break up the ammonia or something???? The ice was a little melty but I could definitely feel cold spots in the freezer, more than the ice could have caused. I set it to gas only to see if that works.

BTW don't reach behind the fan to see which way its blowing! You will find out how much your fingertip bleeds when its chopped on. Makes it hard to type also.

[TBRich]

Good, Rich... if it works on gas at least you'll be able to use it on the trip you're about to make... then you can see what's going on with it when you get back. Running the frig on propane doesn't use a huge amount of propane, so you'll be OK...

BTW, are the other 110 outlets in your rig working when you have it on shore power?

[Rich of SCal]

Originally Posted by TBRich

Good, Rich... if it works on gas at least you'll be able to use it on the trip you're about to make... then you can see what's going on with it when you get back. Running the frig on propane doesn't use a huge amount of propane, so you'll be OK...

BTW, are the other 110 outlets in your rig working when you have it on shore power?

Yes they are and the fridge power light comes on and I can hear the fan turning off and on.

Yeah I am trying to get ready. It rained today, which slowed me down. I got my tank sanitized and tried my sewer solution before the rain hit.

[TBRich]

Well that's good...at least you know the problem does not involve the 110 volt system in general. If it were me and I could get to it easily enough, I'd plug something else into that frig 110 outlet to see if it's "live"...

Did you also test the 110 outlet on the outside of your rig?

[Rich of SCal]

Originally Posted by TBRich

Well that's good...at least you know the problem does not involve the 110 volt system in general. If it were me and I could get to it easily enough, I'd plug something else into that frig 110 outlet to see if it's "live"...

Did you also test the 110 outlet on the outside of your rig?

no, but I have lights and tv and radio and even ran the a/c briefly.

[TBRich]

I don't know how yours is set up, but some of our 110 outlets are on the same GFCI curcuit, and that includes the outside...sometimes when it rains it trips... On ours we reset the GFCI in the main breaker panel where the converter is (rather than resetting them at the outlet)...you have to turn the circuit off and then back on to reset it. If that's what has happened, it's possible that the frig outlet is on a tripped circuit. (The frig lights and fan are on the 12v system so they wouldn't be affected.)

[Rich of SCal]

Originally Posted by TBRich

I don't know how yours is set up, but some of our 110 outlets are on the same GFCI curcuit, and that includes the outside...sometimes when it rains it trips... On ours we reset the GFCI in the main breaker panel where the converter is (rather than resetting them at the outlet)...you have to turn the circuit off and then back on to reset it. If that's what has happened, it's possible that the frig outlet is on a tripped circuit. (The frig lights and fan are on the 12v system so they wouldn't be affected.)

oic. well if it starts uncooling I will take another look at the plugs in the morning.

[Rich of SCal]

Well the refrig is toast. It started to cool on Monday. Even started to freeze ice cubes. But then it stopped and now won't cool off at all, at 120 volts or on propane. I reset breakers, tried restarting several times. But nothing works. I checked behind the outside panels and the evaporator is heating up ok but nothing is cooling. Guess I will have to find warranty sevice when I get back home

Also the tank monitor has stopped working. Very disappointing. Not very good quality control for such an expensive trailer.

On the other hand, everything else has worked well...shower, toilet, stove. No rain leaks, warm and cozy every night. Even the digital tv works well. Bed is very comfortable.

[dkottum]

Our new fridge, the fridge light light would not go out because the switch would not turn it off when we closed the door. Never knew it until it eventually scorched he surrounding interior plastic cabinet. Didn't cool well either with the light providing heat all the time.

Not sure if your fridge has a light, but if it does check the switch and make sure it shuts off the light when you press it in.

doug k

[Rich of SCal]

Originally Posted by dkottum

Our new fridge, the fridge light light would not go out because the switch would not turn it off when we closed the door. Never knew it until it eventually scorched he surrounding interior plastic cabinet. Didn't cool well either with the light providing heat all the time.

Not sure if your fridge has a light, but if it does check the switch and make sure it shuts off the light when you press it in.

doug k

Thanks, but it doesn't have a light. Doesn't have a temp adjust either. It's "automatic".

[Rich of SCal]

Well, strangely, my last night and the refrig has decided to start working. I have solid ice in the freezer. Go figure.

[TG Twinkie]

Sounds to me like you might have a problem on the 12volt side of the system. I would check for a bad common/ground connection. Since it has a fan there must be a 12volt source.

[Rich of SCal]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

Sounds to me like you might have a problem on the 12volt side of the system. I would check for a bad common/ground connection. Since it has a fan there must be a 12volt source.

Well, the fridge returned to the same bad behavior. No freezing, and off and on again cooling.
Today I checked the ac and dc connections, as well as the 2 fuses inside the power module. Also looked for bad ground connections, as well as dc power to the terminal block. All correct voltages were present, all connections ohmmed out correctly, and grounds appeared to be present were they should be. Also, the fan runs most, but not all of the time. And in gas only mode, the gas heater starts up instantly.

And the problems still appears (weak, intermittent cooling) whether on gas only or auto mode.

Time to contact warranty service. I hope this isn't going to be a hassle since I can't really determine whether it is the Airstream installation or the Dometic refrigerator that is at fault.

I was thinking of C&G trailer service in Bellflower. That's a little over an hour from me, but much closer than where I bought it (San Diego). I notice a lot of streamers on the forum swear by them.

[Rich of SCal]

Well I did go to C&G last Monday and they had me try it out for a couple days without the thermostat. It worked great so they have ordered a new thermostat on warranty from Dometic. Didn't cost me anything and service was excellent. I highly recommend them. (they have also ordered a new control board for my tank monitor from Airstream. These seem to be bad alot).

[Rich of SCal]

Thought I would post a follow up on this problem. It was the thermostat in the fridge that was bad. C&G of Bellflower, CA replaced it under warranty. They also fixed my bad monitor system that was not accurately reporting on tank status, In fact, it wasn't reporting my gray/black tank at all. That required dropping the tank and replacing sensors. They also fixed some loose rubber spline that was coming out of the edges of my "sunglass" window covers, and relocated the smoke detector from over the stove (where it went off every time I heated water) to over the bed....
ALL AT NO CHARGE WHATSOEVER TO ME. The last item wasn't even a warranty item, just bad design, but they did it free and covered the old holes with new rivets. Can't even tell the detector was ever there.

It took a couple of trips down there due to their needing to order parts and get manufacture authorization for the fixes, but they took care of everything. All I had to do was drive it down and bring it back home.

I highly recommend C&G for all your Airstream repairs, if you are anywhere near Southern California. It's a family business, with a long history with Airstream.