Fridge operation in freezing conditions

[masterfly]

25’ 2015 Flying Cloud; heading south but will be below freezing each night & at trip start. Plugged into shore power (home) & got EO signal on fridge. Heading out @ 17 deg tomorrow am, but will get into mid 40’s during day. Will be on propane in transit, but how about tomorrow night; I’ll have thermostat @ 50deg, so I should expect normal operations? Is the EO signal normal when inside/outside temps are below freezing?

[ROBERT CROSS]

The 'climate' control switch may need to be activated...It keeps the incandescent fridge light on 27/7 to fool the reefer into thinking it's doing a good job.

Bob
🇺🇸

[ITSNO60]

There was a thread on here not long ago about someone who had their absorption fridge stop working in freezing weather. They ended up finally shutting it off for 24 hours with a light bulb hanging inside the compartment then it started to work again, I don't remember all the details but I do recall that some people hang an incandescent light bulb in the outside compartment to keep the absorption fridge from freezing. The mixture does contain water which could freeze, especially during the off cycle..

[uraljohn]

Look in your Fridge Manual. See what Code EO means. My guess is that the 12V DC power has been affected and there is no communication between the control panel and small black box on the backside of Fridge in lower left corner. Make sure the 12 V DC power wires on back side of Fridge at the bottom are nice and clean and the screws holding them in place are tight. Check both fuses in the small black box to insure they are good. Have at it. No need to ask me how I know this. Get out your manual and read it.

[SSquared]

I have a Dometic RM3762 in my 2013 25FB. I expect you have the same.

The service manual explains E0 as follows:
No communication between display and power modules. The control system will revert to full automatic operation selecting the best energy source available with AC, GAS priority. The temperature setting will be maintained at the mid position. The power module will continually attempt to reestablish operation of the display module. Test Cable, Upper LED display panel, Lower board, clean all grounds, and try a different DC power source. If problem still exist change lower control board.

I have never experienced the E0. Your E0 may not be related to the cold.

My fridge has worked fine in cold temps (nights in the teens with furnace set at 55, days in the 30s). We often run the fridge on propane when traveling, including in the cold.

Something to know about how the fridge works. In cold temps, the fridge would almost never turn on. The thermostat is in the fridge compartment. The result is the freezer compartment not being cold enough. So there is logic in the circuit board that turns on the interior light to use as a heater. That raises the temp in the fridge compartment, causing the fridge to cycle, which chills the freezer to a better temp. Some people like to change out their light bulb to LED, because that is more efficient and lasts longer. But that goes against this low-temperature logic. So we stick with the incandescent type bulbs. We have burned out several over the years.

[richard5933]

Not terribly familiar with that model fridge, but if the error code relates to a communication problem, and if it is a result of the cold weather, then perhaps it's caused by a slight shrinkage of the plugs/connectors.

I've had situations in cold weather like this on other equipment, and the solution was to unplug & then replug the connecting cables. If you can reach the place in the rear of the fridge where the different control boards plug together, perhaps it would be worth a try shutting off the fridge and unplugging/replugging them. The slight bit of surface corrosion that forms on the plugs can sometimes be workable in nice weather, but in cold weather it causes a poor connection, and unplugging/replugging can help.

[s1000pre]

I had the same issue with our 2020 International. If I remember correctly, it seamed to works itself out. Prior to the issue, the AS was sitting outside in Minnesota durning the month of December (single digit temps) without heat batteries removed. I got the road Dec 29th, and headed south. I struggled with the E0 code for the first few days. I have never had the same issue with my 2021.

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f44...de-218218.html

[masterfly]

Update: got gas fridge to start in warmer conditions, but when it went below freezing, the pilot light would stay lit for a minute, but no gas flow & EO signal. Tried multiple times with same results. Then today when we went south & got to 50deg, I tried again & voila, it’s now operating. There’s something in the communication system that’s temp sensitive. Got to figure it out before heading back to frozen tundra. Thanks all for your thoughts . Still flumuxed.