jlf 7 Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Just returned from a week at sea on the Disney Dream. Now 10 days at the Fort. Unfortunately, we returned to our refrigerator not working and spoilage. We have called the names the Ft gave us, but so far no luck. Any suggestions? It's a inconvenience to not have a working fridge. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DinDavie 37 Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 We will need more info. There are lots of things you can fix yourself but some you cannot. Is it an RV refrig, Dometic or Norcold? Does it normally work on gas only electric only or both? Did you check fuses, gas lines. Can you take it to Camping World in Kissimmee or do you want someone to respond to your site? The front desk should be able to help you with the later. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DinDavie 37 Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Once you have a general idea about what is wrong or even a vague idea, ie,( gas burner is not lighting) (Does not work with electicty on) try looking up RV refrigerator repair videos on youtube. You will need the manufacturer model number and in some cases a product number. Those are to be found on the inside door frame. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jlf 7 Posted March 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 It's a Dometic 3652. Electric is running. Light is on. Freezer works somewhat. Fridge part not at all. Flame is working. Been watching videos all day. Could take it to CW. But will be work. We have a FW. Someone told my husband to hit the tank outside to loosen "trash". Right now he has been doing this. We are leaving it off till morning. We will try all over again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PGHFiend 140 Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 I've had problems with every RV fridge I've owned as the newest I've owned was 8 years old. Tapping the coils up as high as you can with the handle of a hammer can help as you've already tried. Simple things to check after ensuring that you don't see any yellow or green staining on the coils that would indicate a career ending leak, AND, be sure that the thermal reset did not pop (its on the burner flu under the cover , and is a small reset button. My current fridge has this issue, not due to overheating, but the button has gotten weak) Many of these buttons were installed during a major recall for fire issues, and are overly sensitive. 1. There is a thermistor in the fridge clipped to the right most fin...be sure it is all the way up on the right most fin for max cooling. 2.Check to see if there is an obstruction that would prevent the hot air from rising up through the roof, so check the roof vent and if you can shine a light above the reefer to see if something built a nest. 3. Run a fan on the back of the unit by any means possible. Hang a small fan or put a table on the outside and get some air flowing up through the coils. 4. If you can, as a last ditch, disconnect the propane line, unplug, unscrew and get the rv fridge on the floor of your camper and roll it over end over end a few times. This will help the ammonia wash away some crystals that have formed, and will work as a temp fix. (I have done this before and it absolutely worked for me) 5. Order this http://www.snip-the-tip.com/cgi-bin/articca.cgi and have it overnight shipped to the fort, this may also get you by. I have installed these on 3 RV Fridges I've had and it does help a tremendous amount. Good luck, I know how bad this sucks and makes camping even more a PITA than it already is. Avatab.... Steve 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jlf 7 Posted March 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Thank you so much. I will give your advice to the boss. I will keep you updated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PGHFiend 140 Posted March 11, 2017 Report Share Posted March 11, 2017 On 3/5/2017 at 0:37 PM, jlf said: Thank you so much. I will give your advice to the boss. I will keep you updated. So what's the verdict? Or aka how much did it cost lol! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jlf 7 Posted April 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 Just found out it's the cooling. Replace it for 1300 and 6 hrs labor. Or new Fridge for 2300 and 3 hrs labor. Haven't decided the best route yet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 If it were me I would probably go new, yes higher cost but also lower labor cost so might kind of wash out then you know you have brand new. Have you considered a regular house fridge, if you can find one to fit. I know a lot of people go that way, and now a lot of the new rv's are coming with house fridges, just something to think about. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 I recall reading at one point about some Amish cooling units for these rv fridges. Maybe Google that and see what comes up...i can't at the moment. But I remember it being a significant cost savings. Sent from my handheld doohickie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
djsamuel 322 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 34 minutes ago, DaveInTN said: I recall reading at one point about some Amish cooling units for these rv fridges. Maybe Google that and see what comes up...i can't at the moment. But I remember it being a significant cost savings. Sent from my handheld doohickie http://rvcoolingunit.com This may be what you're thinking about. DaveInTN 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PGHFiend 140 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 I've been waiting to have someone try one of these...... https://www.rvcool.com/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 15 minutes ago, PGHFiend said: I've been waiting to have someone try one of these...... https://www.rvcool.com/ http://rvcoolingunit.com Both of these sound a lot alike. Wonder if they are the same company just different names and address's or related. Just like JC Whitney and EJ Warshawsky catalogs were similar, and were in the same building but different address's Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 There are probably several Amish owned businesses around Elkhart that make cooling units. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PGHFiend 140 Posted May 19, 2017 Report Share Posted May 19, 2017 Well, here I am with my own fridge problem. After the Fort trip last month, the campaer has been sitting since the 16th of April. Went to get it loaded for this weekends camping trip and turned on the fridge Tuesday night. Came back two days later and no cooling taking place, but the elements were both working and hot respectively. So I did what I did last year, disconnected all of the lines and wires, laid out some moving blankets on the camper floor and took the fridge out of its spot. I rolled it over back and forth, tapped the coils in various spots, let it sit for a few minutes and reinstalled right before hitting the road this afternoon. Inside temp was 85 when I left the house, now at 45 degrees and falling. Worth a try if your goes on the blink in the future before shelling out for a cooling unit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted May 19, 2017 Report Share Posted May 19, 2017 2 hours ago, PGHFiend said: Well, here I am with my own fridge problem. After the Fort trip last month, the campaer has been sitting since the 16th of April. Went to get it loaded for this weekends camping trip and turned on the fridge Tuesday night. Came back two days later and no cooling taking place, but the elements were both working and hot respectively. So I did what I did last year, disconnected all of the lines and wires, laid out some moving blankets on the camper floor and took the fridge out of its spot. I rolled it over back and forth, tapped the coils in various spots, let it sit for a few minutes and reinstalled right before hitting the road this afternoon. Inside temp was 85 when I left the house, now at 45 degrees and falling. Worth a try if your goes on the blink in the future before shelling out for a cooling unit. Good advice. Our fridge is 15 years old, and I'm worried it will go out any time. Our fridge went out in the Airstream at about 18 years. We tried the same thing with it, but we couldn't revive it. My biggest concern is that we'll not be able to replace our moho fridge with a new unit with the same dimensions ... just like we couldn't with the Airstream. And that the wood door trim won't fit the new unit. I'm thinking we'll probably try to replace parts and keep the old one going as long as possible. Would rather spend $1,000 reviving the old unit than $2,000+ buying a new side by side that doesn't fit right. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith_h 420 Posted May 19, 2017 Report Share Posted May 19, 2017 Just as an aside we had our fridge repaired. As I said in another thread the fridge stopped working with no lights early in our trip. It wasn't the fuses and I still saw 12V on the control board. General consensus was it was a bad board. We got a dealer in Cheyenne, Wyoming who had the board in stock to look at it. The new board didn't work. As part of the replacement the main 12V wire from the battery to the fridge was pulled. It turns out when the trailer was built they never fully crimped the 12V fridge feed with the main 12V from the battery. It was pure luck the twisting of the wires lasted as long as it did and didn't cause a fire as there was burn marks on the wire and crimp connector from arcing. So in the end the repair was about half of what was expected as we didn't need a board and all I paid was the one hour labor. Jolley Rogers RV did a good job IMO. They were very busy yet were able to work us in first thing on the day we were to leave Cheyenne for Yellowstone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Millermouseketeers MaryAnn 150 Posted May 19, 2017 Report Share Posted May 19, 2017 We recently replaced ours with a regular fridge from Lowes. Saved us a lot & it works great. Just have to measure for the right fit. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PGHFiend 140 Posted May 20, 2017 Report Share Posted May 20, 2017 16 hours ago, Millermouseketeers MaryAnn said: We recently replaced ours with a regular fridge from Lowes. Saved us a lot & it works great. Just have to measure for the right fit. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I had looked at that route as well, this is one of the candidates and I actually saw these installed in campers at the last rv show, so I wrote down the model number. I figired I'd also need a good inverter to run this on the road. http://m.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpool-10-7-cu-ft-Top-Freezer-Refrigerator-in-Monochromatic-Stainless-Steel-WRT111SFDM/205629361 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
disneylitch......Debbie 61 Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 We replace ours with a regular house fridge also. Works great and has a lot more room. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jlf 7 Posted June 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2017 Thanks for all the great advice. We are thinking going new. Either RV or maybe the house fridge route. Again thanks a ton Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.