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10-06-2010, 12:51 PM
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#1
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2 Rivet Member
1992 25' Excella
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 49
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noob fridge ? :cooling down
I have a '92 Excella. I turned my fridge on last night in full electric mode, and all the lights showed that it was working right, as per instructions in dometic manual & on fridge itself. This afternoon it hasn't gotten cool yet. I've read other posts where the advice is to wait longer, and I'll do that.
However, my question is: I'm just running it on electric, and have my propane completely shut-off. So, do I need to have the propane on to light a pilot or something, even though I want to run my fridge on electric???
Thanks so much t
Tinlove
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10-06-2010, 01:15 PM
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#2
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4 Rivet Member
1971 27' Overlander
Antlers
, Oklahoma
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 426
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The only thing I know is on my refrig. is the first thing it says in the manual is to be sure the gas is turned off then put it on the elec. Mine is older than yours but I see no reason for any gas being on when you are using elec. If I am wrong I stand humbly corrected.
__________________
Mel
2006 GMC 1500 SLE Crew Cab
5.3L V8 Towing Package
Equal-i-zer E2
AIR # 40365
TAC # OK-3
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10-06-2010, 01:39 PM
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#3
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Rivet Master
2005 28' Safari S/O
Paradise
, California
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,446
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If you turned it on last night it should be cold by this afternoon. A couple things to check...
1. Is the trailer level? It must be level or in motion in order for the frig to work properly.
2. Check your fuses and/or circuit breakers.
3. Try running it on propane and see if that works.
If it still doesn't work, it may be a bad cooling unit. Did you notice an ammonia smell?
__________________
Steve
"THE OLDER I GET, THE BETTER I WAS"
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10-06-2010, 05:02 PM
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#4
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Rivet Master
1974 Argosy 26
Morrill
, Nebraska
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,014
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Heating element?
The heating element could have failed. Hard to tell how much it was used in the last 18+ years. But the element is like a light bulb, it has a finite life. If you have access to the back of the refer, check to see if any of the piping is warm. You could also try it on propane, if it gets cold on propane, I would check out the electric element.
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10-06-2010, 06:21 PM
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#5
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Tramp Streamer
Commercial Member
1995 28' Excella
Artist
, at Large
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 2,002
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Reffer madness
Open the outside access door and put your hand on the vertical flue to the right. Be careful, it should be hot.
You will also see what looks like one of those tee warmers sticking out of the vertical flue with 2 wires sticking out. This will be the electric heating element, it should be HOT.
I would next try running the fridge on propane.
Good luck...
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10-07-2010, 09:35 AM
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#6
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2 Rivet Member
1992 25' Excella
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 49
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thanks everyone! Turned it on propane last night, and no hint of cool today? The trailer is level, no ammonia smell, and the indicator lights say it's working fine, but it's not cooling. I have now turned it completly off. I'll check the flue. There's also a little dial knob in the control panel outside the airstream. Maybe that's turned to the wrong position? thanks again
tinlove t
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10-07-2010, 10:33 AM
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#7
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2 Rivet Member
1992 25' Excella
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 49
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ok...started it back up on electric to check out the flue warmth & heating element warmth. did unscrew the panel that covered what looks like a small propan/pilot burner under the bottom of the flue, but nothing is lit there. thanks
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10-07-2010, 11:31 AM
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#8
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2 Rivet Member
1992 25' Excella
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 49
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flue & electric element arent' warm at all. tried switching to propane & pilot light doesn't light. going to pull off burner jet & clean.
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10-07-2010, 01:26 PM
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#9
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Rivet Master
2009 27' FB Flying Cloud
1982 31' International
1991 35' Airstream 350
Jay
, Oklahoma
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,706
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Don't forget to check the switches on the refer. There should be an on/off and an auto/LP. For the electric to work, the auto/LP has to be in the auto position.
If you place the auto/LP in LP, you should hear the click-click-click of the auto igniter. There is no pilot light, it is a spark igniter. The burner is very small though, and will resemble a pilot light sized flame in proper operation.
Lastly, the refer control board (read brain) must have 12 volt power (from the battery or convertor) to operate in either 120 volt AC or LP modes. The indicator lights seem to functioning, so it should be getting this 12 volt power, but you could check the board near the heating unit just be sure it is getting power there too.
GOOD LUCK.
__________________
Jeff & Cindy
'09 27FB Flying Cloud;'82 31 International
'91 350 LE MH; '21 Interstate 24GT
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10-07-2010, 03:45 PM
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#10
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Rivet Master
1966 22' Safari
Hilltop Lakes
, Texas
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,764
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rvmobile.com has some wonderful information and diagrams of how these fridges are supposed to work.
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10-07-2010, 04:44 PM
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#11
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2 Rivet Member
1992 25' Excella
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 49
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thanks all yeah, did all the switches on the unit right. no clicking for lp & no warmth of any kind on flue or elctric "deal" that runs into it higher up. I know my lp is working in the rest of the trailer, because my stove works just fine.
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10-08-2010, 09:06 PM
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#12
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2 Rivet Member
1977 21' Globetrotter
Davis
, California
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 33
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Non cooling fridge
You didn't mention whether you have a 110/12v/propane fridge. I had an issue hooking up 110 volt, and propane, and expecting the unit to cool. However, the control panel uses 12VDC, and requires those connections to control the entire unit.
Hope that helps.
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10-08-2010, 09:07 PM
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#13
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2 Rivet Member
1977 21' Globetrotter
Davis
, California
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 33
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Another thought, check the manual valve near the pilot to be sure it's open, I forgot to open mine, so, as one would expect, no ignition.
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10-16-2010, 02:16 AM
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#14
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2 Rivet Member
1992 25' Excella
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 49
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thanks all :)
after many different failed troubleshooting attempts, I took it to a trailer dealership nearby that is is an official dometic repair shop. The conclusion is that the control board was out! Wow, the fridge has a control board...that was news to me anyway, it will be fixed next week. thanks for all the advice
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