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Fridge won’t run on 12 volt


Guajiro79

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I need a little help on trying to figure out why my 3 way Dometic runs fine on 110 and gas but not on 12 volt. This is a relatively new problem as not too long ago it was working fine. All that I know to check are the fuses and they seem to be fine. I can also tell it is not pulling power from the coach battery because when it was operational, the Controll panel would lower by one bar when I would switch the fridge to 12 v. Now, it stays at 100%. More importantly, it don’t get cold!

One thing worth mentioning is that right around the time I first noticed the issue, I had taken my motorhomes to an car audio shop to switch my stereos power source from my ignition battery, to my coach battery. This shop supposedly has experience with RVs so I figured it would be fine. Might be coincidence, might not.

Any ideas out there? 1988 Sunrader shorty in case that matters. Don’t remer the model Dometic but I can get that info if needed.

thanks

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VOLTMETER get a cheap Harbor Freight one. You can check the fuses and voltages with one and you can check the 12v heater coil in the refer. With out one your just fumbling around in the dark.

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If it was working before and stopped right after someone was messy with your 12v wiring, I strongly suspect that it's nothing more than a loose or disconnected wire/connection. Take it back and ask them to check their work. I'd guess they hooked your radio power wire to the converter/distribution center, which is also where your fridge probably gets it's power from.

Fridge CCT.jpg

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No go on the fuse fix. Unplugged the fuse and radio still worked. Also passed by the audio shop that did the work and they are out of business. 

I haven’t noticed any loose or disconnected wires though I don’t know if I would notice given that it looks like a rats nest under my steering column. My question now becomes, where should I start checking with the voltmeter? I am very green when it comes to electrical issues.

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They may have used the fridge wire for the radio it's fairly heavy and fits into a barrier strip (right at the fridge) it's possible they just removed it to hook up the radio. But again you need a voltmeter or at least a test light or everything else is just a guess (be sure the 12 volt fridge is on other wise you may get phantom voltage). With a DVM if you indeed have power you can next test the resistance of the heater element.

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  • 1 month later...

Update.

Weirdest thing happened. I took off the bottom plastic cover that covers the temp dial and fuel selection knob. Fiddled around with both of them and felt something like a spring pop when turning the fuel selector. Thought I should stop before damaging anything so I put the cover back on. Tried the 12v setting cause why the heck not,  and it worked! 

What did I learn? Sometimes you have to threaten your appliances with destruction so they can act right.

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