wadingthroughlife

Actually! Thanks to AtlantaCamper for the help via PM. I decided to just tap into the 12v connection to the overhead lights, since it was available. Thanks all!

Hi All, I am replacing the 3-way with a 2-way, but there’s still a 12v connection question I have on the new one for lights, board, and the fan it has. I’m asking because there is a white and black wire coming down from the area above the fridge to the 12v cigarette plug? that had also connected into a molex plug of the old one aside from the 12v positive and negative that came from the front of the truck. Black from above was into the red from the truck battery. White was into a separate molex with the other white from the truck with the red. I’m not sure if I should or could tie those in to this new fridge. Or connect up to a different 12v supply while I have the chance. The fridge manual says not to run other outlets or appliances off the fridge. Old pic on top, new below Thanks so much to everyone for the help.

Ouch! I definitely intend to install solo. I'm hoping the toughest part is physically removing the old and then shimming and trimming the new one in. Thanks for all the help, all. I'll post about the install. I think I still owe a general posting about the rig too.

Thanks yall. The deed is done. Want to keep this thing capable for boondocking and slightly modernize with less finicky controls. Going with the Dometic 2 way.

Yippie, haha. Cooling unit or total replacement? It's 2x the cost to replace, but is that genuinely worth it? The Dometic 2-way (not sure 12v is really needed for our use) RM2351RB1f is about $1250 to the door presently at Camping World, but it seems no door panels are available (Could harvest from the old fridge for similar aesthetic). I'm also not sure how well the gas connection on a new fridge is going to line up, and there will be some minor shimming and trimming to do, since it's slightly smaller. https://www.campingworld.com/dometic-americana-3-cu.-ft.-two-way-absorption-compact-refrigerator-right-hinge-108156.html The cooling unit is about $600 with shipping/core/tax etc. I should probably do both heating elements too, as they seem to fall apart in repair videos I've seen. (Add $70 each for both the 12v and 120v) ~$750 I'm a little intimidated at replacing the unit, mainly getting all the bits back in the right place. https://atcoamerica.com/products/cooling/#catalog If both were the same price, what would all here do?

Well, it seems like maybe nothing is cold to be honest. Things seemed to be going the right way under my assumption the gas was doing the trick, but I did have the ice blocks in the fridge to speed things up still. I want to say last night it got down to mid 50s but back to 60 this morning. Does neither AC or Gas cooling lead toward thinking it’s the cooling unit?

So I used an infrared thermometer and it was definitely warm on the boiler (maybe 95f as it’s insulated) and heating element (135f ish) but the fridge was a meager 68f, probably from the help of the ice blocks. It’d been running all day long on 120v shore. Between checking it before bed last night at 60, went totally back to 80f overnight. I guess I thought the element would totally die not fizzle as was mentioned. I can lightly hear the system working from the back, but I wouldn’t really call it the death gurgle sound I’ve read about. I’m getting right at 120v at the fridge outlet, but I haven’t pulled the elements loose to check their connectivity. The board is also kind of nestled under a pretty inconvenient looking spot to check voltage there too. Here’s hoping the LP gas chills it overnight to prove it actually works overall. The temp on the insulated boiler stack is presently about 150f and close to 290 at the pilot light cover after a couple hours of running on gas. The whole system is running much hotter back there on gas than it was on shore.

Can you tell from this diagram if the heater is one unit or two separate? There are 4 wires. I just haven’t been able to take off the shroud and pull the elements. I do have proper voltage to the outlets box, but it was a little confusing on what to pull to check the continuity of the elements. Also, it seems like maybe, if this is possible, that I have an RM2400, not the 10? The manual says 2400 and I’m not sure where on the unit other than the face plate that matches, to check.

The 2410 manual I've found online indicated: AC Heating Element: Amperage1.3 Ohm Resis. +/— 10% 92.3 Wattage160 AC COMPONENTS HEATING ELEMENT To check a heating element, remove the heater leads from the terminal block and measure for proper resistance across the two leads. You should obtain the following readings, plus or minus 10% RM2410: 92 I dont see anything in the diagrams showing a separate 12v vs 120v heating element though. I need to physically look again, but alas at lunch at work.

I see the confusion - sorry. I'm not super concerned with the 12v portion, but rather the 120 when plugged to shore. I noticed the fridge not cooling when plugged in to our shore outlet at home to pre-chill the fridge ahead of our weekend trip. I wiggled the switch and thought it started working, as it got down to 60 degrees and I felt warmth on the boiler stack. However, this morning it was back to 80 degrees. I'll test the ohms on the heat element as WME initially mentioned, but is that still looking for 40-100ohms if it's the 120v element? Is the 12v heater element obviously different than the 120v element in the boiler stack?

So is there a separate 12v heater vs AC heater? Or is the 12v one WME and Linda listed for the 3way vs 2way fridge? I’ll try to locate a manual too. I’ll do more troubleshooting tonight too. Thanks y’all.

So perhaps MC Enterprises 0173756016MC Heating Element for RM2300/2400 160W-120V Dometic Refrigerators https://a.co/d/7dGndpw

Seeking confirmation on this being the replacement part in case it’s what’s bad. https://www.rvpartscountry.com/MC-Enterprises-Refrigerator-Cooling-Unit-Heater-Element-Use-With-Dometic-Refrigerator-Models-RM2300-RM2400_p_39365.html

Thanks so much! (As usual)

I went back out, after checking it on gas, and swapped back over to electric. I hear it trying to work on the inside of the fridge and inside the exhaust grate as well as feel heat coming off the burner now. Maybe it’s a finicky dial? No cobwebs or bug nests initially visible. I’ll report back in the morning to let y’all know if it’s actually cooling or not.