Fridge packed up

[chenderson1965]

Hi all. I’m wondering if anybody can help me.

The fridge stopped working on gas yesterday. I thought it might have been just the very strong winds and, when they subsided, I got it going for a while again.

However, today I can’t get any life out of it at all. I’ve tried it on 12 vaults with the engine running, on 240 V with the generator and on gas. I’ve checked all the fuses, and gas and electricity seem to be getting through to it because when I switch it on I (sometimes) to get a very brief set of lights before it seems to automatically shut itself down. It’s a Dometic fridge (model details in pic).

It seems to me that It’s likely that something profound has broken (is it the same mechanism that does the cooling irrespective of the fuel source?).

The only other thing I can think of is that maybe the burners need cleaning for the gas but that wouldn’t explain why it wasn’t working on 240v or 12v either. I also can’t see where the burners are.

The only other piece of data is that when I ran it on my 1 kW generator. It seem to be tripping out the generators maximum delivery and the manual says it should only draw about 190 W. Even allowing for an initial surge to fire up the compressor, I can’t see why it would be demanding quite so much power.

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks a million. Chris

 

[Stealaway]

If often that the gas jet is blocked. Check that first.


https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=253758291566

 

[jongood]

Hi Chris. First stop for me would be. Burner and d baffle. 1 kw genny will not run it and 12 volt will only work with the engine runni g.

 

[jongood]

Baffle is a pig to get at. Make sure fridge is off, remove top fridge vent and reach down the right side you will feel a 22mm ish pipe with a tee piece on the top, if you're lucky it will pull off, if not you will have to get the screw off the side of it. Once the tee is removed you will feel the wire suspending the baffle, pull it up and clean the soot off and sort the burner out.

Hth
Jon

 

[namwaldog]

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This link will get you a .pdf document of the Service Manual for your RMDT 8505

Cant seem to get the link to work. If you Google ' RMD 8505 Service manual ' and select the resulting link ....

Good Luck

Barry

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[rb62]

From what I understand whatever you try it on it either doesn't work at all,or only for a short time. The controls etc work off the 12v so I'd start by taking the bottom vent cover off and checking all the wiring and 12v connections,they might look and check out OK but fail under load.

 

[bigtwin]

Hi Chris. First stop for me would be. Burner and d baffle. 1 kw genny will not run it and 12 volt will only work with the engine runni g.

The genny should be able to run it (it’s only 190W) but if the leisure batteries are low the charger will also be pulling a load that may be too much for it.

Ian

 

[Eddystone]

If the leisure battery is too low the electronic controller may not function properly and will turn everything off.

 

[dunnah01]

There's a glass fuse on the control board behind the bottom vent which might have blown - you'll need to remove the plastic control board cover to access it

 

[Mr bean]

I had same problem. Replaced leisure battery all working properly now

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[jongood]

The genny should be able to run it (it’s only 190W) but if the leisure batteries are low the charger will also be pulling a load that may be too much for it.

Ian

I thought it drew more than that but I think We have the same setup and ours is very sensitive to voltage. I think it would need to be a pretty good genny.

 

[Mr David]

I have exactly the same model as you have. I suggest you clean and reseat all the connector on the PCB. They can become oxidized and then make poor connections. If your control panel is functioning correctly, when its on gas can you hear the burner running. If it's alight and therefore producing heat but the fridge/freezer is not cooling then you may need to replace the complete cooling unit. The cooling unit for these fridge/freezers are no longer produced but there is a cooling unit that is an equivalent but that will also need a new gas burner and gas pipe. If you need the part numbers then I can give them to you. DMS whose advert you will find below can very quickly order the parts from Europe and at a much cheaper price than any uk supplier that I found.
They have recently supplied to me a complete cooling unit for my fridge. It arrived from Germany 3 working days after I ordered.
Hope that is of some use to you.

 

[autorouter]

(is it the same mechanism that does the cooling irrespective of the fuel source?).

Yes. If the mains element is 190W, then the 12V element will be about the same wattage, and the gas burner will apply about the same amount of heat as the electric element.

Often you can remove the external vents to expose a bit of the back of the fridge. The elements and burner will be in a lower corner, below the gas exhaust vent. You can feel the cooling circuit pipes in that area to see if any heat is present. If not, maybe the control board, or the supply to it, is faulty.

 

[Mr David]

I have exactly the same model as you have. I suggest you clean and reseat all the connector on the PCB. They can become oxidized and then make poor connections. If your control panel is functioning correctly, when its on gas can you hear the burner running. If it's alight and therefore producing heat but the fridge/freezer is not cooling then you may need to replace the complete cooling unit. The cooling unit for these fridge/freezers are no longer produced but there is a cooling unit that is an equivalent but that will also need a new gas burner and gas pipe. If you need the part numbers then I can give them to you. DMS whose advert you will find below can very quickly order the parts from Europe and at a much cheaper price than any uk supplier that I found.
They have recently supplied to me a complete cooling unit for my fridge. It arrived from Germany 3 working days after I ordered.
Hope that is of some use to you.

An additional point of interest with these fridge/freezers is, if it works ok on gas but is intermittent or doesn't work on 12v and 230v but it is known that both elements are working then the chances are that the cooling unit is on the way out. From your identification plate you will see that the 12v element is 170w, the 230v is 190w and the gas is equivalent to 330w. As the gas is so much more powerfull it will continue to power a failing cooling unit but the others will not.

 

[chenderson1965]

Thanks all.

Update.

After a day or two of not being able to get it running for more than a few minutes, I gave it a try this morning again - more out of hope than expectation.

I couldn’t start it on gas, but did get it going on 12v while we were driving. To my surprise, it kept running for 4-5 hours on the road and I was then able to get it running on gas.As we speak it’s been going for more than 3 hours.

I haven’t tried it again on 240v and, if I can, will keep it going on gas until we leave on Monday.

Since it will work, but is flaky, it seems to me that of the ideas suggested the most likely options are a dodgy connection or a failing cooling unit/heat pump. (The leisure batteries are in good shape and have been pretty much fully charged throughout).

Chris

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