Dometic fridge question

[Anja dunford]

so maiden voyage for our expanda this weekend! Woo hoo
All good except the fridge. I can go back to the dealers and see if they play ball but unsuspect they won't!
On gas setting it sits on the start of the green line. It's not very cool, but Ice box is Icey. A plus
But on Ac.... Nothing? No movement of the dial? Doesn't seem to get cold? Is that green line but just for gas?
First time we have plugged it in as we don't yet have an amphibian to use at home.
Tomorrow I can play more as the previous birthday cake will be partly destroyed!
Suggestions?
It's the bigger of the fridges

 

[dagree]

@Anja dunford The green dial/gauge is only for when on gas. It only shows that the gas is working and not the temp!

 

[dagree]

Just had a thought.... Not working on AC?
Might be a silly question but is the control dial set to AC?

 

[chartrock]

As @dagree says, the dial is only there to tell you the gas is lit, you run out of gas or it goes out the needle will drop back to the left. It has no bearing on the AC or DC settings and does not move when using these settings. The temperature must be controlled by the other knob with the indicating .numbers and where it is set depends on ambient temperature plus other factors such as how cold you want the fridge, how much is in it and how long it has been on (have you had it on at home before going away, has it been on DC while travelling). You will probably just have to experiment with settings until you get it figured out. A fridge thermometer is a real asset.

 

[Smirke]

We've got the big 2 door one also. It takes AGES to cool on AC,and ours is temperamental. It doesn't like to work if we put less than freezing cold items in it. It is to be looked at under warrantee, as ours refused to get below 11 degrees for 2 days.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

@Anja dunford there is no indication on the fridge to indicate temperature.

The needle is only there to tell you that the gas is alight.

When you switch to AC, you need to have 240v connected and the knob on the fridge switched to AC. There will be no indication on the fridge other than it getting cold.

You should also remember the van needs to be perfectly level front to back and left to right for the fridge to work.

We usually set ours to 4 or 5 and run it for a couple of days prior to our trip, but have found it works quite well on AC or Gas.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

We've got the big 2 door one also. It takes AGES to cool on AC,and ours is temperamental. It doesn't like to work if we put less than freezing cold items in it. It is to be looked at under warrantee, as ours refused to get below 11 degrees for 2 days.

@Smirke is yours the RM4601 ?

We have found ours to work really well. The main problem we have it stopping t freezing everything in the fridge compartment.

 

[17triton]

@Anja dunford as @chartrock said get a fridge thermometer and plug in the power and whack it on AC and see how you go, we normally have our temp knob between 2 - 3 for around 2 - 4 degrees but i have heard others need it up around 5 so trial and error and get everything nice and cold before switching to DC as it doesnt cool very well at all.

 

[Colsar]

basic stuff, but remember the fridge will make no noise so don't expect to hear anything, put a thermometer in the fridge and turn on AC overnight.
we run ours on the number dial 4 for day 3 overnight.

 

[Smirke]

@Smirke is yours the RM4601 ?

We have found ours to work really well. The main problem we have it stopping t freezing everything in the fridge compartment.

Yes, that's the one. We found on 12 V it didn't hold temp. Gained 18 degrees while driving for 6 hours. (Car was wired up to jaycos specs). Then it wouldn't get cold. Ran it on gas and the coldest we could get it to was 11 degrees. After 2 days plugged it in again and it got cold. Back down to 1 - 3 degrees. Was thinking of getting someone to install a solar fan on it, as I have no idea where to put it.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Yes, that's the one. We found on 12 V it didn't hold temp. Gained 18 degrees while driving for 6 hours. (Car was wired up to jaycos specs). Then it wouldn't get cold. Ran it on gas and the coldest we could get it to was 11 degrees. After 2 days plugged it in again and it got cold. Back down to 1 - 3 degrees. Was thinking of getting someone to install a solar fan on it, as I have no idea where to put it.

Definatley a warranty question, they usually work best on gas, then AC and all crap on 12v (except for @Crusty181, his works well on 12v)

 

[Bellbirdweb]

We found on 12 V it didn't hold temp. Gained 18 degrees while driving for 6 hours. (Car was wired up to jaycos specs).

I had a similar issue with the 12v on our trip at Christmas. Fridge was -1 in Sydney and +15 in Albury.

Got the multimeter out only to find no 12v was reaching the fridge at all.

Checked the 12 pin plug and found ours was wired differently to Jayco spec.

Moved one of the fridge cables to the correct connection and all of a sudden 12v at the fridge.

Still doesn't work all that well, but only losing about 5 degrees in a day's drive now instead of 16.

Am looking to swap over so the Anderson plug goes directly to the fridge from the aux battery in the car to see if that improves it.

 

[Capt. Gadget]

Hi @Anja dunford Have a look at this thread here http://www.expandasdownunder.com/threads/fridge-issue.6337/#post-102813

and here for a few 3 way fridge tips http://www.lets-getaway.com/caravanfridges.htm I've fitted a 12v fan in mine to assist with hot days but it is a must that you switch your fridge on a day or 2 before wanting to use it to allow it time to cool down

 

[Anja dunford]

Ahh ok. Yes I had it set to Ac. I found the dc setting once we arrived here. Will test the dc setting at home.
For it to work off the car electrics I'm assuming I needed it set to dc?
Working ok on gas.
Just defrosted and warmed up on Ac so not working.
I'm not missing a switch etc am I?
Difference between 4 and max?
Not issue is hot water.. Not hot!

 

[dagree]

@Anja dunford yes you do need to set the fridge to DC to run off the cars electrics..... And the car has to be wired up to suit also.
As for AC not working have a look in cupboards etc next to the fridge.... There should be a powerpoint nearby. Check and make sure that the switch is on or the plug hasn't been pulled out!!!!!!

The standard hot water system has a small black on/off switch inside the compartment it is housed in..... Usually hidden between some pipework. Does it work on gas?

 

[Anja dunford]

The cars electrics were changed by the dealers to include the pins for the fridge to run. I will try dc.
So Sod's law I've worn out the kids. Can't take a picture!
But a cupboard to the left of the fridge has the hot water switch, turn it on and red reset light just comes on. No hot water.
There's - switch above this? What for?
Then a plug socket to the right. No plug nearby?
And the safety fuse switch bit.

 

[dagree]

Running on DC from the vehicle will just maintain temperature if you are lucky. The wiring size in the vehicle is sometimes too small if wired through the trailer plug. Best to use heavy gauge wires and utilise an anderson plug seperate to the trailer plug.

Open the external cover for the hot water unit....... The black switch I mentioned is in there. Just remember to turn it off if you have power going to the van with no water in it otherwise it will burn out the heating element!!!!

Pics of your plugs/switches might help to determine what they are for!

 

[chartrock]

This photo may help with the switches.

The gas switch is turned on and the light turns on. There is a delay and then the gas then tries to light. It quite often will not light first time so it shuts down and the light does out for about 30 seconds and then tries again. It will go through this procedure until it successfully lights.

 

[dagree]

And this might help with the location of the external switch I mentioned @Anja dunford