Refrigerator not cooling

10-17-2010, 05:22 PM

I just recently bought a 2001 3023 and while checking all the systems, I found that the dometic would cool the freezer on both propane and shore power but in both cases the refrigerator will not cool. Any ideas from the experts?

OneMoBear · 10-17-2010, 06:08 PM

How long did you give it to cool down? It doesn't happen all that quickly.

Malinda

10-17-2010, 08:07 PM

The fridge cools from the fins that are on the bottom on the freezer. The freezer cold comes from the plate on the bottom of the freezer. They are both attached to the same coolant loop and have to work together.
It takes several hours to cool down both the fridge and freezer sections. To help with the fridge end I use a little battery operated fan designed for RV fridges. It blows air up to the top against the cooling fins and then it drops down faster on the food.

Wavery · 10-17-2010, 10:38 PM

It's hard to tell if an empty fridge is cool. As soon as you open the door, the cool air flows out of the fridge (cold air is heavy) and is replaced with warm air.

The best way to test the fridge is to put a soda can or a glass of water in it. Let it sit closed for 6-8 hours then see if the container that you placed inside is cold.

**ShrimpBurrito** · 10-17-2010, 11:11 PM

Worst case scenario is that you have a partial blockage in the cooling unit (the tubes on the back of the fridge). From what I have heard, what you are experiencing is a typical symptom, but as others have eluded, there are other reasons why you could be reporting it.

In any event, if you do indeed have a blockage, the cooling unit will likely have to be replaced, which is a ~$400 part, and something you can do yourself if you are handy. There is one other step you can try before doing that -- you remove the fridge, turn it upside down, vibrate the crap out out of the coils, and keep it inverted for a few days. Some people think it's an old wives tale, some people swear it works. But it's free to try -- just takes work, and because it's alot of work to do that, first confirm that your fridge is indeed not cooling. Put a thermometer in there and see what the temp is. If it's warm, eliminate other obvious problems, like a bad door seal.

Dave

11-07-2010, 05:27 AM

Sorry it took so long to get back and thank everyone for their thoughts on the cooling. I should have mentioned in the original post that the frige does cool very well on propane, easily getting the main compartment close or into the freezing range by indications from a thermometer. The problem is when on shore power and the frige is on AC electric. It seems that cooling is little to non-existent.

Woody

Brutus · 11-07-2010, 06:57 AM

Woody, is the fridge plugged in at the back of the unit? Given the new info above, it could be as simple as that.
Assuming it's already plugged in at the back, have you talked to a dealer about it? Could be something simple elsewhere. Electricity either "is" or it "isn't". Main thing is it DOES cool properly on propane, ruling out the highest-dollar repairs. In the past, I've bypassed AC gremlins on various units and routed my own plug-in wire directly into the unit. Then plug it into one of the campers outlets when needed. You could also run on 12V (and with fridge fan on) while plugged into shore power. Not ideal, but it works. Hopefully, it's just not plugged in at the back.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the "plug-in" is literally that. Pull the panel off on the outside of the camper and you'll see an outlet and plug-in.

**Bill** · 11-07-2010, 08:32 AM

Brutus is right. AC is either there, or it isn't. Open both side panels (upper and lower), as he suggested, and find the duplex outlet. It looks just like a household outlet, except that one side will probably be gooped up with RTV. Plug in something like a desk lamp or a trouble lamp, and see if it lights. If not, check the circuit breaker labelled "Refrigerator" in the converter box.

If power is present, plug in the refrig, switch it to AC power, and start it up. After 15 minutes or so, you should feel heat at the top of the chimney in the back of the refrig. This chimney, probably wrapped in fiberglass insulation, is open at the top, near the upper end of the dryer hose. It gets hot no matter what power source you use. If the chimney does not get warm, then the AC heater element is not working. There is a glass fuse somewhere back there, I think 3 amps. Find it and check it.

Let us know what you find, and we'll go from there.

Bill

**wbmiller3** · 11-07-2010, 12:21 PM

This happened to me once and it was the mode selector switch not making good contact in the AC position. I cycled it through all the modes and then made sure it fell into the detent at AC...checked back in a hour and and it was cooling down.

It has never happened again so I suspect some transient contamination in the switch.

Wavery · 11-07-2010, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbmiller3

This happened to me once and it was the mode selector switch not making good contact in the AC position. I cycled it through all the modes and then made sure it fell into the detent at AC...checked back in a hour and and it was cooling down.

It has never happened again so I suspect some transient contamination in the switch.

This is a good point and a common issue with any switch that sits for periods of time, without being activated.

The contacts in these switches are just pieces of brass and they are subject to surface corrosion (you know how brass turns green). Switching them back and forth a few times usually cleans off the corrosion.