Man you saved the day! Just bought this year old camper and the fridge wouldn't run on gas, watched the video and went to work trouble shooting, the gas valve was vertical not horizontal! Turned the valve, works like a charm! You da man! Love TH-cam!
Thank you Darren, I was able to fix my fridge I had some technicians coming to check it out? They made me to get a new mother board, I had to change it myself, still didn’t worked and told me I had to change my fridge and the problem was very simple the valve was off I figured out just by watching your video , I can’t believe how simple the problem was and how people try to scam us new campers, thanks for the video once again and wish you lots of blessings
Same situation here, just turned the valve, I’m hoping that was the issue!! Replaced all new boards, front and back, turns out it was just this? I’ll be in awe.
Hey Bro-fessor Koepp, you're a gentleman and a scholar! You put out the very best of educational videos of any kind on the planet. Hands stinking down! You belong on national TV brother! Your work and productions are very much appreciated.
My fridge stopped working, I watched your video which gave me an understanding of the fridge, when I took the shield off the igniter, there were chunks of carbon blocking where the flame goes up. Cleaned those out and it works fine! Thanks for the help.
Following your video just got my ‘95 Scottsdale by Cobra to ignite. I’ve been messing with it for weeks. Now hopefully it gets cold. Thanks you for putting this video out. That many years ago and it’s still helpful!!
Very informative. Thanks so much for posting this. I've got the same issue with a Dometic RM3804 and am here just doing a little research before I dig into it. I hope my issue is as simple as this one turned out to be. This is my first foray into RV fridge repair so I've got a learning curve to overcome, but I've been down that road before with RV furnaces, water heaters and solar/battery systems with good success, so am looking forward to learning about these fridges. I'm so thankful for TH-cam and videos like yours. Thanks again.
A little more information on my problem. I bought this used Alpenlite in 2009 and the former owners had replaced the refrigerator right before I bought it. I took it home and turned it on and it has worked fine all these years, but it has always been on AC power. I am now going to take the rig on the road and discovered that if I switch it to LP, I get an error light and no flame. I never heard the piezo ignition coming on but then again I was inside the rig so am not sure if it tried to light or not. The manual gas valve doesn't have a knob on it so I am not sure if it's in the "on" or "off" position. I will do some troubleshooting on it today and hope to have better information later.
@@garylewis327 Hello, I have just gotten a used Alpenlite and am working through the glitches in the appliances, got the fridge working on 110v but not yet on the LPgas.... how did your troubleshooting work out??? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated !! Thanks
Darren is amazing person, who has helped me via remote assistance from the USA! I am UK based and I have contacted him after my fridge stopped cooling. Unfortunately cooling unit is not reparable and getting part to the UK is very expensive. I would recommend Darren to anyone who has any issues with RVs, he is full of knowledge and knows 100% what he is doing! 5 *
I am so grateful I found this video. I was trying to figure out how to bleed the line when I found your video. And this was the exact problem we had. In fact the ignitor wire was already charred. We were just one trip away from disaster! My husband is changing it out today.
I helped a friend with her dometic frig. After several minutes of head scratching the problem was staring me in my face. There was a mut daubers nest in the burner tube. It was so well formed that it looked like it belonged there. After I removed the plug, the burner lit and functioned well. Thanks for all the great information.
I found it helpful to have an overview/summary of the sequence of what happens to start the flame: 1. a control unit, 2. activates ignition module, 3. generates spark & 4. opens gas valve, and flame then lights to 5. satisfy the flame being lit via ionization probe at the burner so the spark stops. Getting this from John B.: Ideal Boiler Function + . . . In addition to the VERY good videos at MYRVWORKS about how to check the various components made a big difference to me. ALSO: I suspect some of the online manuals may be a bit out of date because my Dometic 8501 on a 2018 R-Pod 179 has a Polyswitch showing Typ: P870 rather than the P860 and the display on front of the refrig is different. Gas burner lighting processes are very similar whether water tank heating, furnace, or refrigerator. Darren is my favorite RV expert!!!
What a great tip on that reset button, i went 3 days trying everything including ordeing a new board. All i had to do is press that reset switch on the burner. Thank You Thank You
Hello Darren & thanks for the informative video. I hope you will do another in the future that would go start to finish on diagnosing issues on propane side of the refrigerator. This video was excellent but you found the problem so quickly there was no need to go further! Excellent video though and you are a wonderful instructor.
I just had to tell you your video was more helpful than the forum post I put on RV net trying to get similar information. you analysis the system and come up with a logical solution. As an engineer I can relate to that. Which I followed along with and was able to repair my unit successfully. RV net people kept telling me to hard wire heating element. if I am not getting power to the jumpers supplying the heating element, that's my first issue …. if I am getting power and its still not cooling well then yes we need to check the element, Long story short replaced the main board upper board and thermistor and its working like new. turns out I think the upper board was all that was bad but I did it all. SO THANK YOU for your video!
Thank you. The video was very helpful. My fridge stopped working at 5:30 am. Checked propane and it was fine. Put new hoses on and now to follow your video to see what the heck is wrong with mine.
That was the best videoing I’ve seen on your videos. I could see where your probes were touching because of close enough- close ups. It’s not always easy to see close ups on videos that demonstrate control board diagnostics.
i didn't want to break the access panel to the burner compartment but you made it look easy. the high temp reset button was tripped and i had some trash near igniter. working perfect now. you were very clear explaining the troubleshoot. thanks!
That helped a lot on my gas system I did find a wire to be a little defective and I bet that's what was going on I ordered a new one of those. But I also don't have electric working on my fridgerator do you have a video on that?
I always learn something. There is a magic when someone shares a point of view or makes you think a thought you've never thought before... I've never considered the drip line being a LEAK to the outside before. If I had a 10mm - 15mm hole in the front of my fridge door, you better believe I'd plug it.
THANK YOU! You helped tremendously. My fridge was powering on and I troubleshot it with your help. The problem ended up being that I had no gas in the tank, lol, but I went through your troubleshooting and I determined that the spark was good, so I knew the issue was not the refrigerator itself, it was something before it. Then me, being the dinklebrain I am, realized my propane tank might have been empty. So I exchanged it with a known full tank and voila!
Awesome. Thank you so much. Mine was sparking but not igniting. I just blew and the pilot lit right up! So I blew the whole area and it works great now. 😊
Thanks for the video, Darren. I recently bought a small camper and the refrigerator was working prior to moving it. Once I moved it over to my house to start cleaning and whatnot, the refrigerator won't turn on. I am learning a lot from your channel, sure hope it's something simple. Thanks again.
Hi Michael, When you state it is not working - not working on electric, not working on LP or not working on either? A simple thing to check - there will be 12 VDC feeding the control board on the back of the frig. Verify that you have 12 VDC at that point and you may find a fuse on the frig control board as well. Also don’t forget the breaker/fuse panel (in the coach) too. If you do not have 12 VDC feeding the control board, try to determine where the trail stops. After you verify the fuses you may find on some Dometic refrigerators there is a high temp reset on the boiler (chimney looking thing). Also, on some there is a thermal fuse that is tucked back behind the main burner. Those are two areas you may find the 12 Volt trail ending. Let me know what you find and what model frig you are working with and I can help take this further if you are still stuck. Another resource for you is on my website we are creating an online manual library. Here is the link. I don’t have all my manuals uploaded yet but keep checking. myrvworks.com/manuals/ Cheers, Darren Koepp
We have a 3 way Dometic Refrigerator from the 70's that freezes everything. There is a bulb type temperature sensor inside the refrigerator that goes to a combination gas and electric thermostat in the propane line to the burner. Have you done a video on troubleshooting that thermostat? I like your videos as you explain things clearly.
Thanks for the video! Mine quit on both 120v and LP, turned out the high temp cutout got tripped (was only 116*F yesterday) and shut the whole operation down! In this situation without the exact wire to replace you could easily butt splice a fresh section of appropriate wire in.
Thanks a bunch. I disassembled the LP burner section to check for spark as in your video only to discover a chunk of carbon sitting on the burner blocking the flow of LP. It must have fallen from the "chimney" above on our drive home as the fridge had worked just hours before when we left camp. It works great now but I'm curious why that carbon deposit was there.
Yep that's what happened to my fridge. I need to replace that wire that was shorting out. What is it called and where do you get one??? Thx for a great video!!
Wow! This video solved my problem! I have the same fridge and was having the same problem. My igniter wire was grounding too, I just moved it away from the gas line and it lit right up!! I just wrapped it with electrical tape and all good!!
Hi Tim, We are so glad to hear that our videos were able to help you! If you would like to support us please consider becoming an "RV Community Supporter" on our Patreon site: www.patreon.com/myrvworks Happy Camping, My RV Works Media Team
Hi Darren, I found this looking for information about how to tell if my Dometic RV fridge is actually running on shore power. I suspect that it's not because even though it was plugged in, the "check" light was flashing when I had the propane run out. Some other troubleshooting tips said that in automatic mode the light should only come on when both AC and propane aren't working. Do you have an AC troubleshooting guide? Will search your channel now. I happen to be in the Seattle area for a couple of months. Good to know you are near by.
My Dometic works fine on 120 volts, but can't get temp below 50F on propane. Pulled the cover on the burner, it is lit but nowhere as high a flame as in this video, maybe 1/2 inch at best. Wondering if it could be the thermocouple ... What do you think? My RV mechanic's shop is closed as "non-essential" during the Coronavirus shutdown, and I'm quarantining in a tiny RV park in the Arizona mountains, 1500 miles from home. Will be heading that way, sure could use a refrigerator that runs on propane for the trip.
Auto light is On. Fridge is moderately cold, no sound coming from unit at all. Used to frost up. Will check gas side and power side thx to your excellent advice:)))
thanks for the video .My check light was on and I do not know what I did but I followed what you did and somewhere along the way it started working. Thanks again.
I can't thank you enough for this video. I was able to check everything and confirm I had power to everything but it just would never go tick tick tick tick tick tick tick...I also had propane to the gas stove and heater so that wasn't the issue. I buttoned it all up and went out later after it had warmed up and thought I would look at it again. I unplugged the shore power, came around the corner and heard it going tick tick tick and it finally lit after about 20-30 seconds! It was cold out in the morning, about 33 degrees, it had warmed up in the afternoon to around 62 degrees. Could there have been some moisture that turned to ice crystals that was preventing it from igniting or even trying to ignite? Weird but this video helped me confirm that for all intents and purposes, it should have lit! Thank you!!! PS. I forgot to add that this is a brand new unit and I was taking it out for it's first trip and I had already tested that it would function on both AC power and propane so it's not like it never worked.
That was awesome.! Thank you soo much. My domestic fridge in our new to us (1988 citation) isn't working on either electric or gas (bought it that way). It does however make fridge noises when turned to electric but still not cooling. I'm thinking it needs a new one 😆 but still cant wait to check points you showed here. Thank you for making it seem easy to a newbie!
The video will help me trying to solve the same issue. 2019 trailer where the Dometic freezer/fridge works on electric but not on propane. Looking inside helps immensely. Now to figure out how to remove the cover.
Awesome videos. I've learned so much from you. I'm having an issue with the dometic RM2652. It trips the GFCI in my garage every time I turn it on. Think you could do a video on diagnosing electrical problems?
My problem is this. Maybe you can point me in the right direction. Went on a trip, fridge lit on LP perfectly leaving the house. Got to campground and switched to AC no problem. Leaving campground the fridge again lit on LP but I noticed the flame sounded very loud. It was a short drive so I left it alone.Got home and it was totally off. The switch on the heat shield was tripped, but it would not work by pressing anything. So to test I bypassed it. Fridge lit up but the flame is WAY to big. Almost like the jet was drilled out or the regulator is letting in too much gas. This extra large flame I'm sure burnt the switch shutting down the entire fridge. Thoughts?
Good morning Darren, if i have this type of refrigerator and the burner lights but it does not cool, no sign of leaks anywhere, the temperature here is about 15 degrees at night and 38 during the day.
I just pulled my RV out of storage. It has a Dometic Americana 2 way, and everything behind it looks pretty much identical to what you just had. It worked great in November when we put it away. Today, not so much. I haven't tested it on gas yet, however the ignition attempt was made when I switched to gas. For now, it's on shore power, so we keep it on 120V. The power light comes on in auto mode. It's not attempting to go to gas and the check light doesn't come on in auto mode. I don't hear any condenser/compressor sounds, although I can't say it was ever particularly noticeable. My wife is an ICU nurse, and we got the camper out early as a staging/potential quarantine house for her. We may need the fridge to work, so she can have it for drink and snacks. She won't need any more inconvenience if she's stuck in there away from the family. Does anybody on here have any idea where I should begin? It's raining, so I will check fuses tomorrow. Any help would be great.
Great video, and helped me determine my ac heating element was bad. Bought a new one, that appears to be an exact match. Although the bad one was a little difficult to remove, I was able to get it out. The new one is extremely hard to get pushed in all the way. I managed to get it about half way in after two hours of wiggling and pulling. Any tips on how to free it up so that it will go in easier?
Dometic RM3801 appears to have a reverse pulse send to the gas solenoid when you turn off the power from the front panel. Mine continues to cool/run with propane even after the thermostat shuts off. I even disconnected the plug to the gas solenoid and the flame continued until I tapped on the valve. If I shut the power switch off, it always closes the gas valve. Diagnosis is a burr or gunk on the plunger or a broken return spring. Going to take the unit apart and investigate. Gas valve stays on until panel power switch is shut off. Very interesting.
Ive jad rhis issue on several units lately. I kust cut the wire, slipped on heavy dity marine grade heat ahrink tubing with adhesive, connected the wire back together, and applied the heat shrink. More durable than a replacement and cheaper.
good video - did not fix my issue but helped add some knowledge. My Dometic model DM2672LBX is not cooling on "Auto' or on "Gas". Auto light comes on, "Check" light comes on for a second, beeps and goes offl. I had a lighting strike hit near camper that blew out the converter which I just replaced, I'm guessingthe issue must be related to that - could it be that I need a new board? Thanks in advance
Hi Dennis, I watched the video again! Note: What I was looking for on the board is the DC fuse which this board did not have so it flustered me. That ‘bird’ is a big glob of sealant. They have another one where the gas line comes through the base board. If it were a bird, I am sure I would have made some wise crack about it (and I am sure it would have smelled really bad)! LOL. It was scary that that wire short was right at the gas fitting, if there had been a leak there it would have been a very different experience for the customer for sure eh’. Thanks for watching!!! Cheers, Darren Koepp
Darren, great videos, question the little window on the peep hole for the fridge LP burner should it be open or closed, if open how much? What’s it’s function…ty
Hi, here's one refrigerator problem that's goes a little further than what I have experienced in the past Coils get warm both a/c and gas, no green liquid any where that I can find, ventilation fans turn on, thurmatster seems to be in the right location.... Fridge cools to 35 at night but climbs to 56 to 60 during these warm days we are having. We just picked up this 2012 Bighorn from Colorado last week and have been throughly cleaning it. Because is has sat in a storage lot for a year with no power. At first I thought the ammonia tubes were cloged but with it cooling at night I'm not sure replacing it is the correct direction to go. I'll do some more checking. Thought you may have a better insight on the one. Thanks for taking your time with this.
That sounds like a classic ventilation issue. Check out our refrigerator playlist and look for videos on creating the proper chimney and baffling. That should fix this problem.
Great video! I was having the same problem, but when I poked around to investigate (I pulled the cover and reset the board) the fridge lit. I did not find a problem with the ignitor... Maybe I will have to wait for it to break again before I attempt any repairs as it is working now. Any ideas on what the likely intermittent component is? Do you have a link to the entire ignitor (with a new wire)? The link to your parts page isn't working for me.
Hi I have been watching all your videos they're very informative and I just ran into a problem this weekend my refrigerator won't start on gas mode but will in 120v. The only way I can get it to start running on gas is if the refrigerator is been running 120v and is cold but if I was to start in gas mode the refrigerator won't get cold. Have you ran into this issue in the past?
Just got started this problem on mine.. it will stay lit for a little bit only when it's got 110v... then goes out.. igniter will only click to when it has 110 but not 12 v.. it started doing that when I shut my generator off before unplugging the camper from it.. did you ever find out what was wrong with yours?
Thank you. Your off the cuff comment on the thermal switch reset did the trick. Trailer was moved with the fridge on and lost all power. Was probably not level and an attempt was made to run it on propane which must have triggered an over heat event?
Hi Darren. Great stuff. My fridge looks just like the one in your video. She’s dead and I’ve run through all of the fuses. We had a storm that threw breakers and kicked off GFCIs but I ran through everything in the coach and the two glass tube fuses on the board and they’re good. I noticed the front of the fridge is very warm, between the doors. Not sure why that is but I shut the unit off just in case. Any thoughts.
Pretty awesome. Nice you covered so much. I was able to get my gas side working I think, or it's only the pilot. The themistat was popped out and when I push it back in the gas side worked. The electric won't come on tho, as when on auto the gas seems to shut off, and the electric side if it's working I don't know.
Hi Darren, very educational video. My wife and i recently purchased a used trailer. The Dometic RM2652 works perfect on AC power but when we try to switch to gas nothing happens. I can hear the relay (not the solenoid) click but then the check light comes on almost immediately. What is weird that after troubleshooting we found power up to the solenoid valve. I tapped the solenoid valve and the fridge started working on LP. The second time I was not so lucky and need to replace the valve (it pulled apart as I tried to get the solenoid off it was seized on). My question is at round 5 min mark of the video you mention you should have 12V power out to the solenoid valve? On my fridge if I place in Auto how long do I have to verify 12V power out to the valve? (i am suspecting that this could be the case). Next, if this doesn't work i will be looking to replace with a dinosaur board. Do you have any additional thoughts or suggestions? Seems odd that the valve would work after a "tap" but now has no life. Hence why my sense are pointing to a faulty valve.
If you have your frig in AUTO than it will favor the AC heating element. Therefor there will be nothing happening on the LP side (no 12 VDC to gas valve and re-igniter). If your frig is satisfied with the temp in the Fresh Food (FF) compartment (as reported by the thermistor) than it will not do anything on the back side - No 120 AC to heating element and no 12 VDC to the gas valve. If your frig is in AUTO, and the thermistor reports it is too warm in the FF compartment and you unplug the 120 VAC plug from the back, there will be a short interval and then you should hear a click and 12 VDC will feed the gas valve. Gas should flow to the burner and the re-igniter will strike an arc in an effort to ignite the gas. If there is no flame detected than the check light will turn on. If you want to check the gas valve have a look at this video where I demonstrate that on a furnace gas valve. th-cam.com/video/elpPdk_MSbU/w-d-xo.html Hope this helps! Cheers, Darren
Very helpful video, thank you! You recommended creating a P-trap with the drain tube. How do you recommend go about doing that? I don’t want to bend it too much, or weave it around the piping because it’s hot and I worry that the plastic might melt.
This was an excellent video. I am working on my Parents’ RV now and noticed their fridge not working on 110v nor Gas (switch has Auto, Off, Gas). When I turn it on Auto the gas tries to light three times and then “check” light comes on. Lots of spark and lights for a second or two sometimes. The trailer is plugged in and I have 110v at the fridge plug but Ac not working either . Suggestions???
Thank you for the video. Our same fridge also does not work on propane. However ours sparks, the gas lights and still keeps sparking. After a certain time with it still sparking, the gas cuts off. Any suggestions? Thank you.
I appreciate the video! I am currently having an issue with my dometic. the freezer works great, however the refirgerator does not. there is also a fan running constantly that didnt run before. i have messed with my thermistor but that didnt seem to fix it. i am running on gas and it worked fine last time we took it out. any advice?! thanks in advance
Hi Darren, great videos, very informative and easy to follow, especially to us laymen. My question to you is, I have a Dometic RM2862 that works great on A/C and LP while parked. However, when we hit the road and travel on LP only, the temp in the fridge raises from about 38-42 to a whopping 50-60, depending on how far we've travelled and the outside temp. The freezer section appears to change very little, only the Fridge section takes the hit. I'm guessing possible air turbulence to the burner or something similar. Your thoughts.
driving down the road on LP, the flame can be blown out and then system restarts and this can happen many times reducing the efficiency on running with propane while driving. Also this is how many rigs catch on fire going down the road
Darren, your TH-cam was very informative. I have a Norcold N7X fridge and it runs fine on propane when parked. But when I go on the road, after a while I get fault flash code 5 which the manual says is "This fault indicates a flame is present at the burner, when there should not be" and the fridge turns off. My trips are from Denver altitude, 5280 ft usually up to about 10,000 ft. I'm going to check for debris in the valve and burner tube. I'll also check propane pressure regulator. But it sounds like maybe the fridge is not calling for flame (cold enough) but the valve does not shut off the gas completely. If you or anyone else has encountered this error, let me know. Maybe I'll try replacing the valve. I recently had to replace the main control board, but this fault still occurs, but as before, only when traveling. Any help is appreciated. All service centers are booked for the whole camping season.
Hi Darren totally helpful find my reset button hiding from Nicaragua mountains we fallow yours videos thanks so much next hiding fuses some where front panel Sunova istaca Rv 2003??? Gracias mil Abrigado amigo
Thank you. Fridge not working on LP, no ignition. Pulled the two connectors on the upper left of the c/b off, shortly had clicks & flame. Gas LED on the AUTO / GAS vertical LEDs not working, but oh well. If I had a rivet gun & some AL rivets, I'd investigate, but as they say, if it's not broke (other than the light) don't fix it.
Hey Darren, I recently acquired a ‘96 Prowler 24M and the Dometic fridge didn’t work. Gas check light kept coming on. Interior bulb was missing and I got a pair for cheap at Napa. Installed it, nice light but still had to get her chillin. I removed the power plug going into the board, went inside and check light was still on, but now the bulb didn’t light. I kept wiggling the door switch and the bulb would come on and off as well as the panel light. I finally wiggled the right combination number and both bulb and panel stayed illuminated. I went out to the sidewall access and the burner had lit and check light is out!!! Am I correct in thinking there is a short at the inside bulb switch and it is wired together in series and that caused the other issues?
I am wondering where the gas comes from to make the blue flame? It seems like it might come from the left side near that gas valve that you showed is, but why is there some space of separation then between that metal tube where at the end of it a flame can come out?
Unbelievable im in the rain also. My fridg has been on gas for about a year its lighting u can hear it spark & light gas the temp lights on the fridge light then after a few minutes goes to check light & gas goes out. I have a fridge full of food just bought, my tanks r full i have new hoses all was working, flipped gas regulator switch left right it worked for several days now back to same problem NUTS, ..result loose red wire found by Giewke in Lodi, NO CHARGE & I WAS REALLY FEARING BIG CASH OUT, prayers do work.
Man you saved the day! Just bought this year old camper and the fridge wouldn't run on gas, watched the video and went to work trouble shooting, the gas valve was vertical not horizontal! Turned the valve, works like a charm! You da man! Love TH-cam!
Thank you Darren, I was able to fix my fridge I had some technicians coming to check it out? They made me to get a new mother board, I had to change it myself, still didn’t worked and told me I had to change my fridge and the problem was very simple the valve was off I figured out just by watching your video , I can’t believe how simple the problem was and how people try to scam us new campers, thanks for the video once again and wish you lots of blessings
Same situation here, just turned the valve, I’m hoping that was the issue!! Replaced all new boards, front and back, turns out it was just this? I’ll be in awe.
Hey Bro-fessor Koepp, you're a gentleman and a scholar! You put out the very best of educational videos of any kind on the planet. Hands stinking down! You belong on national TV brother! Your work and productions are very much appreciated.
My fridge stopped working, I watched your video which gave me an understanding of the fridge, when I took the shield off the igniter, there were chunks of carbon blocking where the flame goes up. Cleaned those out and it works fine! Thanks for the help.
Following your video just got my ‘95 Scottsdale by Cobra to ignite. I’ve been messing with it for weeks. Now hopefully it gets cold. Thanks you for putting this video out. That many years ago and it’s still helpful!!
*Works great **Fastly.Cool** compact and Easy to install*
Very informative. Thanks so much for posting this. I've got the same issue with a Dometic RM3804 and am here just doing a little research before I dig into it. I hope my issue is as simple as this one turned out to be. This is my first foray into RV fridge repair so I've got a learning curve to overcome, but I've been down that road before with RV furnaces, water heaters and solar/battery systems with good success, so am looking forward to learning about these fridges. I'm so thankful for TH-cam and videos like yours. Thanks again.
A little more information on my problem. I bought this used Alpenlite in 2009 and the former owners had replaced the refrigerator right before I bought it. I took it home and turned it on and it has worked fine all these years, but it has always been on AC power. I am now going to take the rig on the road and discovered that if I switch it to LP, I get an error light and no flame. I never heard the piezo ignition coming on but then again I was inside the rig so am not sure if it tried to light or not. The manual gas valve doesn't have a knob on it so I am not sure if it's in the "on" or "off" position. I will do some troubleshooting on it today and hope to have better information later.
@@garylewis327
Hello, I have just gotten a used Alpenlite and am working through the glitches in the appliances, got the fridge working on 110v but not yet on the LPgas.... how did your troubleshooting work out???
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated !! Thanks
Darren is amazing person, who has helped me via remote assistance from the USA! I am UK based and I have contacted him after my fridge stopped cooling. Unfortunately cooling unit is not reparable and getting part to the UK is very expensive. I would recommend Darren to anyone who has any issues with RVs, he is full of knowledge and knows 100% what he is doing! 5 *
It is always best to watch a professional. Thanks, I learned something today!
Thank you for this video. I was able to make a simple diagnosis for my dometic fridge by watching this. Your information is clear and concise!
I am so grateful I found this video. I was trying to figure out how to bleed the line when I found your video. And this was the exact problem we had. In fact the ignitor wire was already charred. We were just one trip away from disaster! My husband is changing it out today.
I helped a friend with her dometic frig. After several minutes of head scratching the problem was staring me in my face. There was a mut daubers nest in the burner tube. It was so well formed that it looked like it belonged there. After I removed the plug, the burner lit and functioned well. Thanks for all the great information.
I found it helpful to have an overview/summary of the sequence of what happens to start the flame: 1. a control unit, 2. activates ignition module, 3. generates spark & 4. opens gas valve, and flame then lights to 5. satisfy the flame being lit via ionization probe at the burner so the spark stops. Getting this from John B.: Ideal Boiler Function + . . . In addition to the VERY good videos at MYRVWORKS about how to check the various components made a big difference to me. ALSO: I suspect some of the online manuals may be a bit out of date because my Dometic 8501 on a 2018 R-Pod 179 has a Polyswitch showing Typ: P870 rather than the P860 and the display on front of the refrig is different. Gas burner lighting processes are very similar whether water tank heating, furnace, or refrigerator. Darren is my favorite RV expert!!!
What a great tip on that reset button, i went 3 days trying everything including ordeing a new board. All i had to do is press that reset switch on the burner. Thank You Thank You
Hello Darren & thanks for the informative video. I hope you will do another in the future that would go start to finish on diagnosing issues on propane side of the refrigerator. This video was excellent but you found the problem so quickly there was no need to go further! Excellent video though and you are a wonderful instructor.
My high limit thermostat button was popped out. Reset it and solved my problem! I am most grateful to you. Thank you for helping me solve my problem!
Minnesotan with a new (old) RV here. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us. Love your humor and your style!
This video helped me find the *two* issues that were preventing my fridge from working on LP gas. Thanks!
I just had to tell you your video was more helpful than the forum post I put on RV net trying to get similar information. you analysis the system and come up with a logical solution. As an engineer I can relate to that. Which I followed along with and was able to repair my unit successfully. RV net people kept telling me to hard wire heating element. if I am not getting power to the jumpers supplying the heating element, that's my first issue …. if I am getting power and its still not cooling well then yes we need to check the element, Long story short replaced the main board upper board and thermistor and its working like new. turns out I think the upper board was all that was bad but I did it all. SO THANK YOU for your video!
My husband followed your instructions and the refrigerator took right off and works perfectly now. Thanks for the info !!!!
What did yours end up needing to repair?
I don’t own an RV and I’m not sure how I got here but it was an interesting video with a good resolution in the end. 👍
Thank you for the video. Fixed my fridge at 11pm. With a planned trip in the morning.
Thank you. The video was very helpful. My fridge stopped working at 5:30 am. Checked propane and it was fine. Put new hoses on and now to follow your video to see what the heck is wrong with mine.
That was the best videoing I’ve seen on your videos. I could see where your probes were touching because of close enough- close ups. It’s not always easy to see close ups on videos that demonstrate control board diagnostics.
i didn't want to break the access panel to the burner compartment but you made it look easy. the high temp reset button was tripped and i had some trash near igniter. working perfect now. you were very clear explaining the troubleshoot. thanks!
Thanks Darren. Your video was really easy to follow and will allow me to diagnose my fridge problems in the field the next time.
That helped a lot on my gas system I did find a wire to be a little defective and I bet that's what was going on I ordered a new one of those. But I also don't have electric working on my fridgerator do you have a video on that?
I always learn something. There is a magic when someone shares a point of view or makes you think a thought you've never thought before... I've never considered the drip line being a LEAK to the outside before. If I had a 10mm - 15mm hole in the front of my fridge door, you better believe I'd plug it.
THANK YOU! You helped tremendously. My fridge was powering on and I troubleshot it with your help. The problem ended up being that I had no gas in the tank, lol, but I went through your troubleshooting and I determined that the spark was good, so I knew the issue was not the refrigerator itself, it was something before it. Then me, being the dinklebrain I am, realized my propane tank might have been empty. So I exchanged it with a known full tank and voila!
Awsome, and professional technician.Thankyou for being humble to get the job done!
Our pleasure!
Awesome. Thank you so much. Mine was sparking but not igniting. I just blew and the pilot lit right up! So I blew the whole area and it works great now. 😊
Thanks for the video, Darren. I recently bought a small camper and the refrigerator was working prior to moving it. Once I moved it over to my house to start cleaning and whatnot, the refrigerator won't turn on. I am learning a lot from your channel, sure hope it's something simple. Thanks again.
Hi Michael,
When you state it is not working - not working on electric, not working on LP or not working on either?
A simple thing to check - there will be 12 VDC feeding the control board on the back of the frig. Verify that you have 12 VDC at that point and you may find a fuse on the frig control board as well. Also don’t forget the breaker/fuse panel (in the coach) too.
If you do not have 12 VDC feeding the control board, try to determine where the trail stops. After you verify the fuses you may find on some Dometic refrigerators there is a high temp reset on the boiler (chimney looking thing). Also, on some there is a thermal fuse that is tucked back behind the main burner. Those are two areas you may find the 12 Volt trail ending.
Let me know what you find and what model frig you are working with and I can help take this further if you are still stuck.
Another resource for you is on my website we are creating an online manual library. Here is the link. I don’t have all my manuals uploaded yet but keep checking. myrvworks.com/manuals/
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
We have a 3 way Dometic Refrigerator from the 70's that freezes everything. There is a bulb type temperature sensor inside the refrigerator that goes to a combination gas and electric thermostat in the propane line to the burner. Have you done a video on troubleshooting that thermostat? I like your videos as you explain things clearly.
Thanks for the video! Mine quit on both 120v and LP, turned out the high temp cutout got tripped (was only 116*F yesterday) and shut the whole operation down! In this situation without the exact wire to replace you could easily butt splice a fresh section of appropriate wire in.
Great series of videos Darren. Apparently I have a blockage. Is there a fix or whole new unit needed. Thanks, Dave
Thanks a bunch. I disassembled the LP burner section to check for spark as in your video only to discover a chunk of carbon sitting on the burner blocking the flow of LP. It must have fallen from the "chimney" above on our drive home as the fridge had worked just hours before when we left camp. It works great now but I'm curious why that carbon deposit was there.
Darren you nailed it, thank you Sir! I had no idea there was a dealio reset on that chimney above the pilot. Bingo! Muchos Gracias Amigo!
Just saved my bacon too.
I have a refrigerator has to freeze every thing in it. And tell what is & what do.wire in back of refrigerator
Yep that's what happened to my fridge. I need to replace that wire that was shorting out. What is it called and where do you get one??? Thx for a great video!!
The black button! Such an easy fix, greatly relieved after preparing for the worst. Many thanks 🥰
Wow! This video solved my problem! I have the same fridge and was having the same problem. My igniter wire was grounding too, I just moved it away from the gas line and it lit right up!! I just wrapped it with electrical tape and all good!!
Hi Tim,
We are so glad to hear that our videos were able to help you! If you would like to support us please consider becoming an "RV Community Supporter" on our Patreon site: www.patreon.com/myrvworks
Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team
Hi Darren, I found this looking for information about how to tell if my Dometic RV fridge is actually running on shore power. I suspect that it's not because even though it was plugged in, the "check" light was flashing when I had the propane run out. Some other troubleshooting tips said that in automatic mode the light should only come on when both AC and propane aren't working. Do you have an AC troubleshooting guide? Will search your channel now. I happen to be in the Seattle area for a couple of months. Good to know you are near by.
Thank you so much for your videos. I was able to repair my dometic refrigerator myself and saved tons of money!
Excellent. I learned a few important things relating to my situation and how to fix it. Thanks.
My Dometic works fine on 120 volts, but can't get temp below 50F on propane. Pulled the cover on the burner, it is lit but nowhere as high a flame as in this video, maybe 1/2 inch at best. Wondering if it could be the thermocouple ... What do you think? My RV mechanic's shop is closed as "non-essential" during the Coronavirus shutdown, and I'm quarantining in a tiny RV park in the Arizona mountains, 1500 miles from home. Will be heading that way, sure could use a refrigerator that runs on propane for the trip.
Auto light is On. Fridge is moderately cold, no sound coming from unit at all. Used to frost up. Will check gas side and power side thx to your excellent advice:)))
Thank you my friend, I just fixed my fridge watching your video. You are awesome...God Bless You.
What was your cause of not working?
How funny I was trying to sort out my fridge you popped up I used to live in PA in 1984 I was an an Australian Exchange student ...
thanks for the video .My check light was on and I do not know what I did but I followed what you did and somewhere along the way it started working. Thanks again.
I can't thank you enough for this video. I was able to check everything and confirm I had power to everything but it just would never go tick tick tick tick tick tick tick...I also had propane to the gas stove and heater so that wasn't the issue. I buttoned it all up and went out later after it had warmed up and thought I would look at it again. I unplugged the shore power, came around the corner and heard it going tick tick tick and it finally lit after about 20-30 seconds! It was cold out in the morning, about 33 degrees, it had warmed up in the afternoon to around 62 degrees. Could there have been some moisture that turned to ice crystals that was preventing it from igniting or even trying to ignite? Weird but this video helped me confirm that for all intents and purposes, it should have lit! Thank you!!!
PS. I forgot to add that this is a brand new unit and I was taking it out for it's first trip and I had already tested that it would function on both AC power and propane so it's not like it never worked.
Most helpful vid I've seen so far! Thanks for the help!
2:48 "furgerator" lol. Video actually helped me out a lot. Thanks!
That was awesome.! Thank you soo much. My domestic fridge in our new to us (1988 citation) isn't working on either electric or gas (bought it that way). It does however make fridge noises when turned to electric but still not cooling. I'm thinking it needs a new one 😆 but still cant wait to check points you showed here. Thank you for making it seem easy to a newbie!
Thanks for this vid. If the high limit thermostat keeps tripping, is there a sequence to diagnose?
You saved our camping trip!!!
The video will help me trying to solve the same issue. 2019 trailer where the Dometic freezer/fridge works on electric but not on propane. Looking inside helps immensely. Now to figure out how to remove the cover.
Awesome videos. I've learned so much from you. I'm having an issue with the dometic RM2652. It trips the GFCI in my garage every time I turn it on. Think you could do a video on diagnosing electrical problems?
My problem is this. Maybe you can point me in the right direction. Went on a trip, fridge lit on LP perfectly leaving the house. Got to campground and switched to AC no problem. Leaving campground the fridge again lit on LP but I noticed the flame sounded very loud. It was a short drive so I left it alone.Got home and it was totally off. The switch on the heat shield was tripped, but it would not work by pressing anything. So to test I bypassed it. Fridge lit up but the flame is WAY to big. Almost like the jet was drilled out or the regulator is letting in too much gas. This extra large flame I'm sure burnt the switch shutting down the entire fridge. Thoughts?
Thank you for the RV refrigerator repair lesson...
Great help in this video. Solved my issue by watching. (It was the button between the two wires.). Thanks Darren!!
Good morning Darren, if i have this type of refrigerator and the burner lights but it does not cool, no sign of leaks anywhere, the temperature here is about 15 degrees at night and 38 during the day.
I just pulled my RV out of storage. It has a Dometic Americana 2 way, and everything behind it looks pretty much identical to what you just had. It worked great in November when we put it away. Today, not so much. I haven't tested it on gas yet, however the ignition attempt was made when I switched to gas. For now, it's on shore power, so we keep it on 120V. The power light comes on in auto mode. It's not attempting to go to gas and the check light doesn't come on in auto mode. I don't hear any condenser/compressor sounds, although I can't say it was ever particularly noticeable. My wife is an ICU nurse, and we got the camper out early as a staging/potential quarantine house for her. We may need the fridge to work, so she can have it for drink and snacks. She won't need any more inconvenience if she's stuck in there away from the family.
Does anybody on here have any idea where I should begin? It's raining, so I will check fuses tomorrow. Any help would be great.
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@@caseynance585 I'm not sure what that means, but I did figure it out. I didn't have the trailer level. Once I flattened it out, it started fine.
Great video, and helped me determine my ac heating element was bad. Bought a new one, that appears to be an exact match. Although the bad one was a little difficult to remove, I was able to get it out. The new one is extremely hard to get pushed in all the way. I managed to get it about half way in after two hours of wiggling and pulling. Any tips on how to free it up so that it will go in easier?
Dometic RM3801 appears to have a reverse pulse send to the gas solenoid when you turn off the power from the front panel.
Mine continues to cool/run with propane even after the thermostat shuts off.
I even disconnected the plug to the gas solenoid and the flame continued until I tapped on the valve.
If I shut the power switch off, it always closes the gas valve.
Diagnosis is a burr or gunk on the plunger or a broken return spring.
Going to take the unit apart and investigate.
Gas valve stays on until panel power switch is shut off.
Very interesting.
Probably the easiest video to follow I've found.
Ive jad rhis issue on several units lately. I kust cut the wire, slipped on heavy dity marine grade heat ahrink tubing with adhesive, connected the wire back together, and applied the heat shrink. More durable than a replacement and cheaper.
Thank you so much you just fixed my refrigerator! It’s 110 F here thank you!!!
good video - did not fix my issue but helped add some knowledge. My Dometic model DM2672LBX is not cooling on "Auto' or on "Gas". Auto light comes on, "Check" light comes on for a second, beeps and goes offl. I had a lighting strike hit near camper that blew out the converter which I just replaced, I'm guessingthe issue must be related to that - could it be that I need a new board? Thanks in advance
Helpful video. Thank you. Did you notice what looked like a small dead bird on the lower right corner of the burner area?
Hi Dennis,
I watched the video again! Note: What I was looking for on the board is the DC fuse which this board did not have so it flustered me.
That ‘bird’ is a big glob of sealant. They have another one where the gas line comes through the base board. If it were a bird, I am sure I would have made some wise crack about it (and I am sure it would have smelled really bad)! LOL.
It was scary that that wire short was right at the gas fitting, if there had been a leak there it would have been a very different experience for the customer for sure eh’.
Thanks for watching!!!
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
I just had the same problem. Thank you sir for showing how to fix it as I am leaving in minutes to go camping.
Darren, great videos, question the little window on the peep hole for the fridge LP burner should it be open or closed, if open how much? What’s it’s function…ty
Hi, here's one refrigerator problem that's goes a little further than what I have experienced in the past
Coils get warm both a/c and gas, no green liquid any where that I can find, ventilation fans turn on, thurmatster seems to be in the right location....
Fridge cools to 35 at night but climbs to 56 to 60 during these warm days we are having.
We just picked up this 2012 Bighorn from Colorado last week and have been throughly cleaning it. Because is has sat in a storage lot for a year with no power.
At first I thought the ammonia tubes were cloged but with it cooling at night I'm not sure replacing it is the correct direction to go. I'll do some more checking.
Thought you may have a better insight on the one.
Thanks for taking your time with this.
That sounds like a classic ventilation issue. Check out our refrigerator playlist and look for videos on creating the proper chimney and baffling. That should fix this problem.
@@MyRVWorks that sounds like a great direction to go! Thank you so much!
Great video! I was having the same problem, but when I poked around to investigate (I pulled the cover and reset the board) the fridge lit. I did not find a problem with the ignitor... Maybe I will have to wait for it to break again before I attempt any repairs as it is working now. Any ideas on what the likely intermittent component is? Do you have a link to the entire ignitor (with a new wire)? The link to your parts page isn't working for me.
This was really helpful to me. I got it to light 🕯️ and we will see if it stays.
Gratitude from Cle Elum Washington. Patient troubleshoot repairs all things, heh.
Thank you so much! That little black reset switch got my fridge going again :)
Me too!!
much appreciated, it educated me and gave me the guts to check further and try to diagnose my problem! thumbs up!
Hi I have been watching all your videos they're very informative and I just ran into a problem this weekend my refrigerator won't start on gas mode but will in 120v. The only way I can get it to start running on gas is if the refrigerator is been running 120v and is cold but if I was to start in gas mode the refrigerator won't get cold. Have you ran into this issue in the past?
Just got started this problem on mine.. it will stay lit for a little bit only when it's got 110v... then goes out.. igniter will only click to when it has 110 but not 12 v.. it started doing that when I shut my generator off before unplugging the camper from it.. did you ever find out what was wrong with yours?
Thank you. Your off the cuff comment on the thermal switch reset did the trick. Trailer was moved with the fridge on and lost all power. Was probably not level and an attempt was made to run it on propane which must have triggered an over heat event?
Hi Darren. Great stuff. My fridge looks just like the one in your video. She’s dead and I’ve run through all of the fuses. We had a storm that threw breakers and kicked off GFCIs but I ran through everything in the coach and the two glass tube fuses on the board and they’re good. I noticed the front of the fridge is very warm, between the doors. Not sure why that is but I shut the unit off just in case. Any thoughts.
Nice break down of the unit. Very helpful
Pretty awesome. Nice you covered so much. I was able to get my gas side working I think, or it's only the pilot. The themistat was popped out and when I push it back in the gas side worked. The electric won't come on tho, as when on auto the gas seems to shut off, and the electric side if it's working I don't know.
Hi Darren, very educational video. My wife and i recently purchased a used trailer. The Dometic RM2652 works perfect on AC power but when we try to switch to gas nothing happens. I can hear the relay (not the solenoid) click but then the check light comes on almost immediately. What is weird that after troubleshooting we found power up to the solenoid valve. I tapped the solenoid valve and the fridge started working on LP. The second time I was not so lucky and need to replace the valve (it pulled apart as I tried to get the solenoid off it was seized on). My question is at round 5 min mark of the video you mention you should have 12V power out to the solenoid valve? On my fridge if I place in Auto how long do I have to verify 12V power out to the valve? (i am suspecting that this could be the case). Next, if this doesn't work i will be looking to replace with a dinosaur board. Do you have any additional thoughts or suggestions? Seems odd that the valve would work after a "tap" but now has no life. Hence why my sense are pointing to a faulty valve.
If you have your frig in AUTO than it will favor the AC heating element. Therefor there will be nothing happening on the LP side (no 12 VDC to gas valve and re-igniter). If your frig is satisfied with the temp in the Fresh Food (FF) compartment (as reported by the thermistor) than it will not do anything on the back side - No 120 AC to heating element and no 12 VDC to the gas valve. If your frig is in AUTO, and the thermistor reports it is too warm in the FF compartment and you unplug the 120 VAC plug from the back, there will be a short interval and then you should hear a click and 12 VDC will feed the gas valve. Gas should flow to the burner and the re-igniter will strike an arc in an effort to ignite the gas. If there is no flame detected than the check light will turn on.
If you want to check the gas valve have a look at this video where I demonstrate that on a furnace gas valve. th-cam.com/video/elpPdk_MSbU/w-d-xo.html
Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Darren
Very helpful video, thank you! You recommended creating a P-trap with the drain tube. How do you recommend go about doing that? I don’t want to bend it too much, or weave it around the piping because it’s hot and I worry that the plastic might melt.
This was an excellent video. I am working on my Parents’ RV now and noticed their fridge not working on 110v nor Gas (switch has Auto, Off, Gas). When I turn it on Auto the gas tries to light three times and then “check” light comes on. Lots of spark and lights for a second or two sometimes. The trailer is plugged in and I have 110v at the fridge plug but Ac not working either . Suggestions???
I have a similar issue. Did you ever figure it out?
@@petemccammon yes! The burner holes were plugged with soot and the 3 amp fuse inside the control box was blown. Works like a charm.
Thank you for the video. Our same fridge also does not work on propane. However ours sparks, the gas lights and still keeps sparking. After a certain time with it still sparking, the gas cuts off. Any suggestions? Thank you.
I appreciate the video! I am currently having an issue with my dometic. the freezer works great, however the refirgerator does not. there is also a fan running constantly that didnt run before. i have messed with my thermistor but that didnt seem to fix it. i am running on gas and it worked fine last time we took it out. any advice?! thanks in advance
Hi Darren, great videos, very informative and easy to follow, especially to us laymen. My question to you is, I have a Dometic RM2862 that works great on A/C and LP while parked. However, when we hit the road and travel on LP only, the temp in the fridge raises from about 38-42 to a whopping 50-60, depending on how far we've travelled and the outside temp. The freezer section appears to change very little, only the Fridge section takes the hit. I'm guessing possible air turbulence to the burner or something similar. Your thoughts.
driving down the road on LP, the flame can be blown out and then system restarts and this can happen many times reducing the efficiency on running with propane while driving. Also this is how many rigs catch on fire going down the road
Darren, your TH-cam was very informative. I have a Norcold N7X fridge and it runs fine on propane when parked. But when I go on the road, after a while I get fault flash code 5 which the manual says is "This fault indicates a flame is present at the burner, when there should not be" and the fridge turns off. My trips are from Denver altitude, 5280 ft usually up to about 10,000 ft. I'm going to check for debris in the valve and burner tube. I'll also check propane pressure regulator. But it sounds like maybe the fridge is not calling for flame (cold enough) but the valve does not shut off the gas completely. If you or anyone else has encountered this error, let me know. Maybe I'll try replacing the valve. I recently had to replace the main control board, but this fault still occurs, but as before, only when traveling. Any help is appreciated. All service centers are booked for the whole camping season.
Hi Darren totally helpful find my reset button hiding from Nicaragua mountains we fallow yours videos thanks so much next hiding fuses some where front panel Sunova istaca Rv 2003??? Gracias mil Abrigado amigo
Thank you. Fridge not working on LP, no ignition. Pulled the two connectors on the upper left of the c/b off, shortly had clicks & flame. Gas LED on the AUTO / GAS vertical LEDs not working, but oh well. If I had a rivet gun & some AL rivets, I'd investigate, but as they say, if it's not broke (other than the light) don't fix it.
Thank you for all your videos !
i would use electric tape fix wire, then add another layer of protection like some kind of conduit cover? Great video again , thanx .
Nice to see tech video that makes sense. Good Job!
Thank you. Your video helped me better understand how my fridge works. Very helpful 👍.
Hey Darren, I recently acquired a ‘96 Prowler 24M and the Dometic fridge didn’t work. Gas check light kept coming on. Interior bulb was missing and I got a pair for cheap at Napa. Installed it, nice light but still had to get her chillin. I removed the power plug going into the board, went inside and check light was still on, but now the bulb didn’t light. I kept wiggling the door switch and the bulb would come on and off as well as the panel light. I finally wiggled the right combination number and both bulb and panel stayed illuminated. I went out to the sidewall access and the burner had lit and check light is out!!! Am I correct in thinking there is a short at the inside bulb switch and it is wired together in series and that caused the other issues?
Super easy to install really fast deliveryThank you
I am wondering where the gas comes from to make the blue flame? It seems like it might come from the left side near that gas valve that you showed is, but why is there some space of separation then between that metal tube where at the end of it a flame can come out?
Many thanks, just the information I was looking for.
Unbelievable im in the rain also. My fridg has been on gas for about a year its lighting u can hear it spark & light gas the temp lights on the fridge light then after a few minutes goes to check light & gas goes out. I have a fridge full of food just bought, my tanks r full i have new hoses all was working, flipped gas regulator switch left right it worked for several days now back to same problem NUTS, ..result loose red wire found by Giewke in Lodi, NO CHARGE & I WAS REALLY FEARING BIG CASH OUT, prayers do work.
I appreciate the video. Mine was a blown fuse on the board.