VDOCAD
Arcadia, CA
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Joined: 04/07/2006
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After replacing the missing Flue Baffle on my RM 763 I thought I had fixed all my not-cooling-enough issues but I was wrong... I have cleaned the flue, burner parts, orifice etc, as well as the rear outside fins. Freezer works great but refer's temp is in the high 40s when outside temps are in the 50s. Door seals are good and light does go off when closing the door.
I read in a Dometic troubleshooting guide somewhere that the thermostat knob has an adjusting screw, and that turning the screw in will drop the temperature range. Has anyone done this and does it work?
On a related note, are the thermocouples on these things standard? Can I go to a hardware store and buy one that would work on water heaters and such? Sometimes, especially at night, my refer goes through sessions of relighting the pilot that could last one minute. Then it is fine for several hours.
* This post was
edited 09/18/08 03:26pm by VDOCAD *
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dsolberg
Midwest
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You did not list the model and year of the refrigerator, however there are a couple of other things you can try. Does this happen on all modes? Try LP and then electric. Have you adjusted the thermistor? This is a temp sensor inside the ref box clamped to the evaporator fins. If it's low, it's sensing cooler air. Slide it to the top. Is your freezer defrosted? An absorption refrigerator heats the solution, percolating it up the tube and absorps heat thru the evaporator fins of the freezer section first. If there is too much ice build up, the ref box won't cool properly. Also check the temp of the various sections of the cooling unit. You may have a blockage or air pocket. This can be done by hand, "IF" you can get your hand up into the various areas. Be careful, it will be extremeley hot at the burner assembly but check temp there, at the evaporator tube, and the resevoir. A hot spot could be a plugged area as well as a cool spot.
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nbounder
Arizona mountains
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Joined: 11/26/2006
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If you find you're in over your head (easy to happen with a fridge)remember that Dometic has a tech support line. I have used them and they were REAL helpful.
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Chris Bryant
DeLand, Florida, USA
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Joined: 03/26/2003
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You can just jump across that thermostat- this will run it wide open.
The thermocouple is not standard on that model- it's metric, but they pretty much last forever. Try removing it from the valve end and cleaning the tip that screws in to the valve. 95% of the time this will fix it.
-- Chris Bryant
My RV Service Blog
The RV.net Blog
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itsalleasy
USA
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Joined: 07/20/2007
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I've had decent luck cleaning thermocouples, 0000 steel wool the last few inches.
Ovens have a screw beneath the thermostat knob, maybe you are thinking about that?
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VDOCAD
Arcadia, CA
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dsolberg wrote:You did not list the model and year of the refrigerator, however there are a couple of other things you can try. Does this happen on all modes? Try LP and then electric. Have you adjusted the thermistor? This is a temp sensor inside the ref box clamped to the evaporator fins. If it's low, it's sensing cooler air. Slide it to the top. Is your freezer defrosted? An absorption refrigerator heats the solution, percolating it up the tube and absorps heat thru the evaporator fins of the freezer section first. If there is too much ice build up, the ref box won't cool properly. Also check the temp of the various sections of the cooling unit. You may have a blockage or air pocket. This can be done by hand, "IF" you can get your hand up into the various areas. Be careful, it will be extremeley hot at the burner assembly but check temp there, at the evaporator tube, and the resevoir. A hot spot could be a plugged area as well as a cool spot.
RM 763 is the model number, year... 1980s. I am on the road and have not been able to stay in one place long enough to test it with AC only. Will do that when possible.
No thermistor on this one that I can find...
Freezer has no ice build up.
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VDOCAD
Arcadia, CA
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Chris Bryant wrote:You can just jump across that thermostat- this will run it wide open.
The thermocouple is not standard on that model- it's metric, but they pretty much last forever. Try removing it from the valve end and cleaning the tip that screws in to the valve. 95% of the time this will fix it.
As always thanks for your tips Chris. I will try cleaning as you described.
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VDOCAD
Arcadia, CA
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itsalleasy wrote:
Ovens have a screw beneath the thermostat knob, maybe you are thinking about that?
Nope, actually I read it on RV Mobile Inc Tech pages regarding electric thermostats, not sure if this applies to my unit.
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VDOCAD
Arcadia, CA
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Chris Bryant wrote:You can just jump across that thermostat- this will run it wide open.
I did and the temp went from 48 to 36 in 24 hours. I guess I have a bad thermostat...
No adjusting screw found.
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Chris Bryant
DeLand, Florida, USA
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I've got to think about that a bit- usually thermostats don't fail like that.
IIRC, that model has the capillary tube running up into a steel tube on the left side- I might try pulling it out a bit to get it farther away from the "cool", simply because it is working, it's just not working right.
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