I have a RM 2354 Dometic refrigerator that has quit working. I'm considering a boat type compressor unit as a replacement unless there turns out to be a simple fix. The fridge is wider than the Lance Model 845 door even with the refrigerator door removed. Has anyone had and solved a similar problem? Thanks!
Had the same problem with a new refer install in a motorhome a few years back. The shop removed the entry door and door trim, and the width gained did the trick.
I also have a Lance 845 and just did some measuring of the openings. Only the rear door appears to be a possibility and it is doubtful, IMHO. The windows are all at least 7 or more inches too small so that is out. I am showing that the door measurements, from side to side (screws to screws) to be right at 23 inches so with the frame removed it is going to be less than a 23 inch opening. Even with the door off my fridge, same model as the OP has, it shows to be about 24 inches at the smallest dimension. I would guess you will have to have a qualified fridge maintenance person remove the rear coils, etc. off the back of the fridge before if will fit out the back door, even with the door and frame removed. I suspect someone is going to really have to know what they are doing to safely remove the ammonia from the fridge prior to removing the back parts from it. Makes a person suspect that the fridge was installed prior to the walls or the top being in place.
RV fridges are ridiculously high priced, IMHO anyway, and for someone to have a dealer do the work would probably double the cost just to get the old one out and the new one installed. It may be easier and cheaper to have the outside fridge door enlarged to do the swap from the outside. What a design mess they have created.
Hope you let us know how the swap works out for you as any of us 845 owners could be dealing with the same problem in the future.
thanks,
Quit working? Won't get cold on any setting - gas or electric? Maybe you ran it off level or let it sit without running for a long time. I suggest that you take the refer out of its compartment but leave it in your camper in the dinette. Turn it upside down and shake the hell out of it. Shake it again several times till you hear noises in the cooling coils. Turn it over and bench test it on 110 volts. If it gets cold overnight, problem solved. Sometime the chemicals in the cooling solution separate and settle out, clog the heating chamber, and need to be mixed up again. Good luck!
See you soon on the American Road !
1973 Ford American Road 11.5' Camper with 500,000 enjoyable miles.
1985 Ford 250HD, 6.9Diesel/4-speed/3.54 limited-slip axle, Supercab, SRW. Consulting forester, Supervisor of SWCD, and NRA Life Member.
A city without trees ain't fit for a dog!
I just finished tackling this very problem. My norcold 641.3 was no longer cooling. First thing I tried was like Mr Tree suggests, pulled the unit out and flipped it over. Yellow liquid ran out...bad sign...leaking cooling unit.
I ordered a rebuilt cooling unit from Nucold refrigeration in Arkansas. Took about six days to get it. It arrived like this:
Not that thrilled with the way it looks, some spots bent and paint chipped and it looks like it used to be rusty...its rougher than the unit I am replacing, and older, for sure.
I pulled the refer and tried to get it out of the door, wouldn't fit.
So I laid it down in the aisle on its face
Here it is with the cooling unit removed
Here's the new unit with thermal mastic applied to the coils and foam block
Installed the new cooling unit and replaced the insulation pack. It required removing and reinstalling the baffle, heat deflector, ac heater and dc heater. they all just either fit in a tube or snap on. Also the lp burner, electrode, and burner cover box which attach with screws.
Put the unit back in place:
Doors back on and all done
It is now about an hour and a half later, and on ac power it is getting cold.
The rebuilt unit cost me $511.00 delivered to RI, and I have to send my old one back for $100 core charge. They pay shipping.
The job was fairly straightforward, but required some bending to fit.
I don't like the looks of the new unit compared to the relatively new one I replaced, but have no reason to think it is not sound.
Maybe this is a good fix, and this unit has a 2 year warranty and 5 years on the coils in the foam block, where apparently many problems develop. Mine cracked near the evaporator at the top. The screw at the top worked loose and allowed too much vibration and broke a weld is my guess as to what happened.
Anyway, if I had to do this again, in retrospect, I would seriously consider replacing the whole refrigerator with an 8cu ft Tundra 12volt, since it cost a fair bit of scratch and did not do anything as far as improving the usual problems with the 3-way refrigerator.
But as you can see it is possible to fix the refrigerator in the camper and not take it out at all. Good Luck!
2002 Dodge 3500 CTD/DRW/AFE Stage II intake/DPP 95gph fp & big lines/Bilstein HD shocks/Bridgestone Dueler A/T revo
2000 Northern Lite 10-2000cd/ Hellroaring Bic isolator/PD-9160 converter/Trimetric 2020/Lifeline AGM 6v x4=440ah/Onan microlite
I'm thinking that this one would have fit in the existing opening. http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|406|10789|322424&id=163529
It only draws 3.2amps DC and is $1100 The tundra this size draws more power and is $1700.
Oh well, I'll see how the rebuilt cooling unit holds up. It is now 4 hours and it is definitely working on AC. However, I am not getting a spark to light the propane, even though that worked before. Tommorrow I will have to open up the burner box and see what's up with that. What does a new electrode cost?
I had my coil replaced a couple of years ago. I paid $100 labor for them to R&R the coil. They put the refer on the table, face down. There was no way to get the refer out of the TC.
rhode trip, thanks also for the photos. Sure a better way than I had thought of for any future fridge problems I might have. Good to see that the cooling system is sealed and separate from the "box..
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