Freezer works, but rfg does not cool down

[ardmcgee]

I have just bought my first camper, 1991 26ft hi-lo. I am having a problem with the fridge not cooling. It worked for a little while then quit. The freezer seems to work fine (has ice building up). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RichR]

I don't understand?

I assume that your refrigerator is the standard single door unit with the freezer section on top. If it is freezing in the freezer section the rest has to be getting cold. Have you tried cooling things like making ice cubes and placing other items such as bottled water down below. I would put a few items in as a check and let it run over night. It could be that the refrigerant has partially leaked out and can't keep up to cool the whole enclosure. Place a thermometer inside and see what you are getting in the freezer and on the shelves. The lower section should be adjusted to between 36 and 40 degrees for safe food storage. The most accurate check is when the refrigerator has a supply of food and/or drink inside.

If you can't get down to that range you need servicing. I understand that not all R/V refrigerators can be recharged but rather would require replacement.

 

[ardmcgee]

Thanks

Thanks for the quick response, Yes it is the standard single door with freezer on top. It had everything cold for about 4 hrs then it just quit cooling, we had some milk and waters in it at the time and they were almost room temp. The freezer works but does not seem to get as cool as it did before. I don't know if this matters, but I have never heard a fan running. Thanks

 

[RichR]

There are no moving parts in the unit, it uses heated evaporation type action for cooling. In other words, it uses an electric heat element or LP gas flame to heat and circulate the refrigerant. If you would hear a fan it would be an external cooling fan mounted behind the unit which is usually controlled by a switch inside near the refrigerator.

Have you tried switching from electric to LP mode to see if it works? There could be a problem with that part. Or, you could have a loss of refrigerant. RV refrigerators do not use freon type refrigerant but rather an ammonia type substance.

You will need to take it to an RV dealer for service and don't be surprised if you have to replace the refrigerator. This type refrigerator has a short life as compared to house type refrigerators and the cooling units are not easily repairable.

 

[ardmcgee]

I Haven't tried LP yet, so I will do that. if it still does not, I will take to dealer for service. Thanks for the info!

 

[PaulS-HILO]

Ref did same in my 1996

I have a 1996 21 ft tow lite and the freezer freezes but the refrigerator did not cool so i got a little spray mister fan from walmart and placed it in the freezer for circulation it got down to 35 degrees in there and the batterys last a couple of camping trips.

 

[sting32]

I have just bought my first camper, 1991 26ft hi-lo. I am having a problem with the fridge not cooling. It worked for a little while then quit. The freezer seems to work fine (has ice building up). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Be Vigilant and CAREFUL about Fridge problems! My friend had his non Hi-lo catch fire this weekend. Problem? well he turned the fridge on gas, and it didn't cool, thought it would eventually. Problem is, refrigerators in these campers are ULTRA finicky about being level when USED!!! I have called about 6 places to get my cooling unit for my Dometic 2611. they all stated with passion that the trailer better be level when you light it off gas or otherwise or ready to be running down the road! Heating the Ammonia mixture inside that tubing on the back cools the insides, but when the gas cant get back to where the flame or heat is, (unlevel) then the heat converts the gasses in there to slag (like metal) which then plugs things, vicious cycle.

Pipes can then burn through letting amonia out, which happened here and was a pretty big fire for a while, Lucky for occupants, we were sitting around the fire and noticed this big glow from behind our campers and went to investigate and wake people up.

FYI, Dometic has a recall on several years and model numbers of thier fridges, of course mine isnt one, shucks. They list model and serial numbers, Not positive, but I believe most are 1997 and May 2003 2 door models on the fridges, you should check.... recall was for fire hazards I believe (not found in link below but a google search I believe is where I read the reason.)

Dometic Recall Information - Dometic