Dometic Fridge stopped working in cold weather? Ideas?

IQRaceworks · 12-28-2020, 02:58 PM

We took our 2011 Zinger camper out this weekend. We've never really used it much in cold weather before. We had the camper plugged in at home the night before we left, and had the fridge set to run off of propane to cool it down faster. When we got to the camp site we switched it over to AUTO so it would run on the AC power from the camp site. It worked fine the first night and the next day...but on the second night it got down to around 31 deg at night....and when we woke up in the morning the fridge and freezer were both warm!

It was set to "AUTO", but I switched it over to "GAS" in order to see if that would get it cooling again. A few hours later.....things were starting to cool off again.

Would the cold weather at night cause issues when it was running on AC power? I haven't done any troubleshooting on it yet....but I thought I would at least ask and see if anyone had any ideas as far as wear to start. One strange thing I did notice is that the fan that I can usually hear cycling in and off every few minutes when things were working normally.....was constantly on in the morning when the fridge wasn't cooling.

Any ideas?

Miniozzy3 · 12-28-2020, 05:32 PM

could be that the electric heater in the coolant tank quit. Mayber a quick ohm test to see. Make sure to remove power from RV first. Ohm meters don't like to see voltage when testing ohms.

Or its possible that all coolant was heated to a gas, and the orifice was frozen up.

**Lloyd** · 12-28-2020, 06:35 PM

Some years back there was a guy on the forum from out west. I believe it was MT.
He was living in his rig that winter. Brrrrr.
I remember him posting that his fridge quit working. it was finally figured out that an RV fridge doesn't work after it gets to cold.
But I really don't think 31 degrees is cold enough to stop it. We have been out in colder temps then that, an no problems.
Let us know what you find out on it.

**Lloyd** · 12-29-2020, 07:45 AM

Here is a little more info for you. Hopefully it will help.
https://rvacrossamerica.net/rv-refrigerator-winter/

IQRaceworks · 01-03-2021, 04:51 PM

****UPDATE****

Well, I did a little more troubleshooting. After the camper set for a few days, I went ahead and hooked it back up to 120v power and turned the fridge to AUTO (gas was off)..it was around 5pm. Later that night I checked the fridge, and it was cool and the freezer felt really cold...everything was working like it was supposed to.

I checked it in the morning...and it was NOT cold. The AUTO light was still lit, and everything had power. I turned the fridge off, opened the fridge, and let everything air out.

A few days later, I did the same thing. This time, after being on all night long it was still cold in the morning. The temps at night were in the 30's....nothing below that.

So at this point I know it's not a fuse and it's not the GFI outlet.

It's definitely an intermittent issue that happens when it's running on 120v power, but doesn't happen with it's running on propane.

Could this be a control board issue? What kind of troubleshooting can I do not in order to narrow things down and find the issue?

**mark5w** · 01-03-2021, 05:30 PM

This manual may help you. https://rvrefrigeratorrepair.com/wp-...ervice-AES.pdf

There is a phone number for technical help.

Monarch · 01-05-2021, 04:33 PM

My refrigerator at home was warm after I got back from week trip. I had set the furnace thermostat to 50 degrees. An article from the Chicago Tribune said, "Combination refrigerator-freezers and freezers with automatic defrost systems are sensitive to the air, or ambient, temperature surrounding them.

As the ambient temperature rises, the refrigerator`s compressor runs more, to maintain the storage temperature in the fresh-food and frozen-food compartments.

As the ambient temperature falls, compressor operation decreases.

When temperatures fall below 60 degrees, the compressor will not operate long enough to maintain low storage temperatures in the freezer compartment.

This is because the fresh-food compartment contains the primary sensor, which is quickly satisfied at low ambient temperature.

The lower the temperature goes, the worse the problem becomes.

At about 38-to-42 degrees Fahrenheit, the compressor will not run at all. "

**dagst1** · 01-05-2021, 05:12 PM

Yes that works for refrigerators with compressors. Most campers have a heat absorption refrigerator that does not have a compressor. But some have a "Residential style" refrigerator and they would have a compressor. If it runs on propane and 110 then its a camper style.

IQRaceworks · 02-21-2021, 01:32 PM

Sorry....I'm just getting back to this issue. Our camper has been sitting for a while, and the temps have been crazy cold here so I've just kind of put my troubleshooting on hold...but we're planning on heading to Florida in a month, so I need to get back to the issue..and figure it out.

Would a low/failing battery cause issues? The deep cycle battery in my camper is around 5yrs old, and doesn't seem to hold a charge very well. But as long as my camper is plugged into 120v shore power...would that cause issues with my fridge failing to work in cold temps on AC and not while running on propane?

I guess I need to run a cord to the camper, fire up the fridge, wait until it stops cooling...and then start troubleshooting it. I don't want/need this thing to crap out on me when we are in Florida here in a month.

**mark5w** · 02-21-2021, 01:40 PM

Need a good battery to work correctly. If it is dying that is probably why you get intermittent results.

**Lloyd** · 02-21-2021, 01:43 PM

If you don't have thermometers in the fridge and freezer, I suggest you pickup a couple. That way you know what the temp is for sure.

**dagst1** · 02-21-2021, 02:04 PM

After a little research i found this; https://www.adventurousway.com/blog/...ld-weather-kit.

It for a Norcold but the article explains what is happening and why a "absorption" refrigerator does not like to work in extreme cold and what you can do to help it preform better.

Also google Dometic refrigerator cold weather kit.

travelin texans · 02-21-2021, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IQRaceworks

Sorry....I'm just getting back to this issue. Our camper has been sitting for a while, and the temps have been crazy cold here so I've just kind of put my troubleshooting on hold...but we're planning on heading to Florida in a month, so I need to get back to the issue..and figure it out.

Would a low/failing battery cause issues? The deep cycle battery in my camper is around 5yrs old, and doesn't seem to hold a charge very well. But as long as my camper is plugged into 120v shore power...would that cause issues with my fridge failing to work in cold temps on AC and not while running on propane?

I guess I need to run a cord to the camper, fire up the fridge, wait until it stops cooling...and then start troubleshooting it. I don't want/need this thing to crap out on me when we are in Florida here in a month.

If your battery/ies are 5 years old it's probably time for replacements, that's typically the lifespan of rv batteries, probably less if dual purpose marine types.
When replacing be sure to get true deep cycle batteries. If there's CCA, CA or MCA numbers listed on the tops they're not true deep cycle. True group 24, 27 or 31 deep cycle with the highest aH (amp hours) listed that will fit into the existing boxes will be your best option.
Rv absorption fridges don't like extreme cold temps. They probably work a bit better in those conditions on gas rather than electric, but still don't like cold temps.

IQRaceworks · 02-22-2021, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark5w

Need a good battery to work correctly. If it is dying that is probably why you get intermittent results.

As long as I'm getting good 12v power from the inverter, even with a low battery.....isn't the power coming from the inverter and not the battery when I'm plugged in on shore power?

**dagst1** · 02-22-2021, 06:09 AM

Correct. The converter would supply enough to Run the control board. The main draw would be the 110 v heating element.

Read the link i posted. It explains what is happening and why cooling is affected by extreme cold. I do not believe that anything is wrong with your refrigerator.

**Lloyd** · 02-22-2021, 07:30 AM

Dan, have you by any chance got one of these installed on your fridge?
https://www.amazon.com/Norcold-63491...venturouswa-20

IQRaceworks · 02-22-2021, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dagst1

Correct. The converter would supply enough to Run the control board. The main draw would be the 110 v heating element.

Read the link i posted. It explains what is happening and why cooling is affected by extreme cold. I do not believe that anything is wrong with your refrigerator.

What temps are considered "extreme cold" ? It was acting up when it was down to 31 degrees.......is that cold enough where it shouldn't work on AC power? It worked when I switched it over to GAS. 31 doesn't seem all that cold....maybe if the temps drop below zero, but 31deg?

**Lloyd** · 02-22-2021, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IQRaceworks

What temps are considered "extreme cold" ? It was acting up when it was down to 31 degrees.......is that cold enough where it shouldn't work on AC power? It worked when I switched it over to GAS. 31 doesn't seem all that cold....maybe if the temps drop below zero, but 31deg?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dagst1

After a little research i found this; https://www.adventurousway.com/blog/...ld-weather-kit.

It for a Norcold but the article explains what is happening and why a "absorption" refrigerator does not like to work in extreme cold and what you can do to help it preform better.

Also google Dometic refrigerator cold weather kit.

Did you read the link that dagst1 posted up for you?

travelin texans · 02-22-2021, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IQRaceworks

As long as I'm getting good 12v power from the inverter, even with a low battery.....isn't the power coming from the inverter and not the battery when I'm plugged in on shore power?

Just to clarify!
An inverter uses 12 volts DC from your batteries "inverting" it to 120 volts AC to power possibly a plug in or 2.
The converter, which unless you've added it or have a residential fridge is what you have not an inverter, converts the incoming 120 volts AC to 12 volts DC & is also a battery charger.

**dagst1** · 02-22-2021, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IQRaceworks

What temps are considered "extreme cold" ? It was acting up when it was down to 31 degrees.......is that cold enough where it shouldn't work on AC power? It worked when I switched it over to GAS. 31 doesn't seem all that cold....maybe if the temps drop below zero, but 31deg?

Depending on the refrigerator i would say yes - the heat from the propane would be hotter than the electric element so the gas would "boil" at a lower outside temp. Your camper is 10 - 11 years old so the electric element could still be working but not producing as much heat as it should.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloyd

Dan, have you by any chance got one of these installed on your fridge?
https://www.amazon.com/Norcold-63491...venturouswa-20

Lloyd I do not. We have camped where the temp dropped down to the high 20's overnight just did not notice any difference. My refrigerator is in a slide and they do not vent that great so that little bit may have help the electric element. Who knows?????

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