Skip to main content
Gerry | Vanagon
Checking account...
← vanagon.com home · Continue the discussion in the forum
Subject:Re: Dometic refrigerator fail
From:Bill M
Date:Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:54:14 -0400

Dave 
Did you check to make sure you have power at the outlet in
the sink cabinet? If the breaker pops below the outlet in
front of the rear seat kick panel it will also cut power to the
fridge outlet. Use one of the plug in circuit testers that you
should have in your van already to verify that power at 
the campground is safe. If not anything that uses AC power
will work. If you have power there it's time to dig into
the fridge deeper and most likely require you to pull it out. 
I have had that circuit breaker go bad in a van before and it
would not reset. I don't recall their being any fuse protection 
on the fridge itself. I don't think that I have anymore extra 
Dometics kicking around as I tried to give them all away. 
I upgraded to a TF49 for medical reasons and have not
looked back. 

Bill
87 Westy
Zetec Turbo 

On Oct 19, 2012, at 4:30 PM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET> wrote:

> Help.  My Dometic refrigerator seems to be in partial failure mode.  The propane mode works fine, cools well.  I usually precool the refrigerator at home on A.C. before putting food in and switching to battery to drive to wherever I am camping, where I switch to propane.  This week, it would not cool on A.C., but worked fine on propane.  I also usually check to make sure it is cooling after a couple of hours, then let it run overnight at home.  This time, for some reason, I plugged it in and pushed the A.C. button, but never checked it again until I was almost ready to leave.  That's when I realized it was not cooling, and I did something I have never done before.  I fired up the propane and drove to my secret creekside spot in eastern Oklahoma with it running that way.   I figured the D.C. mode would not cool from ambient adequately during the warmish day.  Cooled fine on propane, even though the daytime temperatures exceed 75 F, forming frost on the cooling fins.
> 
> When I got home, I tried it again on A.C., without success.  I tried two different extension cords, just in case, but to no avail.
> 
> So, any ideas before I dig into the thing?  Thanks, mcneely