Dometic Refrig - Dead!

[farmboydkb]

We have a 2011 27FB Classic with at Dometic RM 3762RSS Refrigerator. 'til we pulled it out of the shed this spring, all has worked beautifully. Now, after 3 years, the refrig does nothing. The 110 plug on the regrig is plugged in. The 12 v. connections appear good. It will not turn on. The trailer is plugged into power. I've checked all circuit breakers and fuses. All appear good. Lights work throughout the trailer. The display on the refrig is black so I have no error codes to report. When I push the on/off button - nothing happens. 'dead! I'm stumped. 'ideas anybody?

Thanks, dkb

[SteveSueMac]

Did you check the breakers for the fridge? If tripped you need to turn it ALL the way off before turning on again.

Also, sounds silly, but do these "plug in" to an outlet like the microwave does? If so, that's worth checking too.

Good luck!

[mimiandrews]

Fridges do plug in. The outlet in our trailer is in the outer wall, above the access opening, within the fridge compartment. It would be quite difficult to find with the fridge in place, but it's there.

Also, fridge heating elements do burn out and quit.

Fridges much newer than ours have circuit boards that can burn up also.

Basic troubleshooting philosophy is to check the cheapest things first.

Good luck.

[Foiled Again]

If the display is not working, the first thing I'd check is the AC plug - plug in a light or use a meter. If the outlet is bad, whew, that is going to be the cheap fix. Alternately use an extension cord from the post directly to the plug of the refrigerator. If the fridge comes on, again, the problem is in the outlet, the wiring or the fuse.

I've heard that in NEWER Airstreams, there is a circuit board that needs to have 12 volt in order to run - on propane. I assume your batteries are good, but if they are original, they might be done for. If you unplug the 30 amp cord, do your lights work? If not, your batteries would be flat, though they should be checked directly with a meter.

Could any other wires have come loose on the the refrig? One last careful look couldn't hurt.

Those are the EASY and cheap possibilities - after that, I call an RV tech.

Good Luck, Paula

[Jim Foster]

I would think that the display would be powered by 12v, as it works when not plugged into shore power. Looks to me as though there may be no 12v power to the fridge. Sometimes a fuse will test to be OK but not make a good connection into the fuse panel due to oxidation.

I once found that one of the batteries on our '83 Excella was not connected due to the above situation. One of the 50amp fuses was not making good contact.

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by Jim Foster

I would think that the display would be powered by 12v, as it works when not plugged into shore power. Looks to me as though there may be no 12v power to the fridge. Sometimes a fuse will test to be OK but not make a good connection into the fuse panel due to oxidation.

I once found that one of the batteries on our '83 Excella was not connected due to the above situation. One of the 50amp fuses was not making good contact.

Oh Jim thanks! good thought, taught me something. And those darn fuses can also LOOK fine, but have a filament as fine as a gnat's hair that has parted. Paula

[J. Morgan]

I think the folks advising.a problem with the 12v Are on target.

The fridge I have experience with is a Norcold, no power, no display, and no cooling.

With this experience I say ;

1. Check for chassis power TO the refrigerator.

2. Check fuses at the input circuit board of the fridge.

3. If good, you may have a control board issue.

When mine wouldn't work, same thing, no nothing, the switch on the top control board was "derailed".

But like I say mine is a different brand.

Point 1, will apply regardless, and I am pretty sure point 2, will apply, surely there are internal fuses right?

In any case, if you have 12v and good internal fuses, the problem is going to be with the control board(s).

[Frank's Trailer Works]

No display= No 12v or burnt up board. No 12v is cheap fix, bad board is an expensive fix.

[idroba]

The circuit board and electronics are 12 volt powered. So, if nothing is lighting up at all, there is some issue with either the 12 volt supply or the circuit board and eyebrow electronics. The circuit board system must work for it to light on propane or to operate on 120 volt grid power.

[rodsterinfl]

There is also a cutoff switch on that model that cuts power to it any time the ignition is turned off on the car (gassing up) and it stays off for so long. If hooked up, make sure truck is running. Or perhaps the switch is stuck or defective. Just a thought beyond what has been posted already. I have one of those too.

[J. Morgan]

Good catch on the safety switch.

My trailer is way too old for me to have had such a switch.

[farmboydkb]

Gee, thanks to all who responded in the interim. After I posted my situation to this thread, it just didn't make sense to me: there had to be a DC supply issue. I went back to the fuse box. The diagram said that the refrig was on Cir 6. That fuse was fine. I then decided to try some other appliances to see if they all had power. When I tried the hood/fan, it was dead. I discovered that that is circuit 4. I pulled the fuse on cir 4 . . . and it was blown. I replaced the fuse. The fan on the hood came on and so did the display on the refrig. 'go figure!

Now the refrig is on but indicating '60 on the display . . . which means it's above measurement range. The ice box does seem to be cooling. I'll give it 24 hours and report back.

Thanks, in the meantime, for the time taken to respond. Gee what a resource this is. Thanks, folks.

dkb

[SteveSueMac]

Great! Yes, 60 for a while. We find putting cold water and ice packs in the night before helps a lot.

Glad you found the fuse!