How to Troubleshoot Your Dometic RV Fridge (With a Mobile RV Tech)

all right ladies and germs your absorption style fridge in your RV isn't working and you want to figure out why my name is Emily I'm a certified mobile RV repair Tech based in Las Vegas grab your multimeter hop on board we're going for an adventure together today I'm going to walk you through step by step how to test every part of your fridge to figure out what your problem is let's go jump in vomos you can lead the way I was raised on Dora if it hasn't come across in all these videos I can speak zero Spanish but I was raised on Dora if you do not know how to use your multimeter just head on over to my multimeter basics for RV owners where I walk you through every test that you're going to need for today's video if you just want to skip to the juicy parts that are going to help you today just know that you need your DC voltage test your ac voltage test and the continuity test that's it today I'm going to be walking you through on a dedic fridge because that's what I have on my RV and I can get you good footage of it if you're in a nor cold fridge the process is going to be very similar with a couple differences here and there and I'll hopefully have a video coming out specifically for you soon if I can get my hands on a or cold fridge to take some footage of but with all of that out of the way let's grab our multimeters and go on an adventure all right so to get ourselves prepped we're going to go outside of the RV we're going to look for a panel that looks like this we are going to turn these two clips 90° and that panel is just going to shimmy off of there it's going to be kind of a pain in the butt but you're going to get it off I promise weirdly worded Emily once you do the inside of that access panel should look something like this ooh ah before we dig in too deep we are going to find our ground if you have watched my how to troubleshoot your water heater video then you know one of the most important things when diagnosing electrical problems is to find your known good ground when it comes to these fridges you can find a screw that looks very similar to this with a whole bunch of wires going to it and just know that that screw is going to be our known good ground for the rest of the video anytime we're testing for AC volts or DC volts we are going to be putting our black Probe on this screw and then using our red probe to poke around the circuit and see where voltage is and is not so the first place that I want you to look for voltage is on this terminal block and we're going to be looking for DC volts we're going to be switching between DC volts continuity through most of the beginning of this process so just keep that ac voltage setting off to the side so again black Probe on the screw red Probe on one of the screws of this terminal block that has a red wire going to it you should see something in the realm of 12 volts but anything in between 11 and 14 and2 is a okay if you are seeing something close to zero volts the problem is most likely not with your fridge but with something Upstream of the fridge so let's go check our fuses I show you how to do that in this video let's go check our fuses let's go check our battery let's go check our converter cuz our problem is most likely Upstream if you're getting a wild reading like something well above 50 volts into the hundreds and it's wiggling around everywhere one make sure that you are reading volts and not molts any reading of a molt anything is too small for us to worry about in this video so if you see molt anything just think zero in your mind okay also make sure that you are in DC volts and not AC volts again if you have wild readings check and make sure that you're not seeing this squiggle line on your meter that means you're reading AC volts not DC volts we're only looking for DC voltage right now but if we are getting 12 volts to that terminal block then that means we can move on to the next step and that is to look for voltage at this thermal day disc editing Emily here in order to get to that thermal disc you're going to have to take this aluminum panel off on my RV it's like three screws on yours it might be four you just undo them and that panel comes right off and then your thermal disc is sitting there waiting for you to test it you got this the thermal disc is normally closed meaning it normally lets power through it think of it like a drawbridge when it's closed people can walk through when it's open nothing can get through so that thermal disc is normally closed it normally lets power through and its job is to check and make sure that this tube isn't getting too hot if it gets too hot then it opens up and shuts everything down and sometimes they can get stuck open if you have a really old fridge there's a chance you do not have a thermal disc and power goes directly from this terminal block into the circuit board but they're really trying to add thermal discs and thermal fuses to like all the fridges out there cuz they're a really good safety mechanism so just something to keep an eye out the way that we're going to test the thermal disc is to put our black Probe on our screw and our red Probe on one side of the thermal disc and then the other you should see 12 volts on either side and again that can be anywhere between 11 to 14 and 1/2 we're just going to call it 12 volts for the rest of the video if you have 12 volts on one side of the thermal disc but not the other then the thermal disc is most likely your problem you can double check by disconnecting the wires from either side of the thermal disc setting your meter to continuity and then putting one Probe on either side of the thermal disc if you have continuity then the thermal disc is good if you do not have continuity then the thermal dis is bad switch that bad boy out and you should be up and running if you have power both going into the thermal disc and out of the thermal disc then we need to look at getting into the circuit board which can be a little tricky editing Emily here if you were getting power to the terminal block but you are not getting power to either side of the thermal disc just keep watching the video the next thing I'm about to talk you through is how to test your thermal fuse sometimes that thermal fuse is wired before the thermal disc and sometimes it's wired after it does not matter if you had power to the terminal block but don't have power to this disc just keep watching The Next Step might be your problem take a flathead screwdriver and shove it into this little slot right here and just press in and wiggle eventually the cover is going to pop off and usually slide to the left and you can get that off and reveal the circuit board now at this point we have gotten power coming out of the thermal disc we have taken off the cover now we are going to look for power on the battery positive connection of our circuit board on mine it's labeled j4 and yours might be labeled battery positive you're going to see that it's the wire that connected the thermal disc to the circuit board if we are not getting 12 volts to the circuit board on that pin then the problem is most likely with something called your thermal fuse which is a fuse that is in that wire that's going in between the thermal disc and the circuit board the way that we can double check is to disconnect the thermal fuse from the circuit board and from the thermal Disc set our meter to continuity put one Probe on either side of the thermal fuse if we have continuity then the thermal fuse is good if we don't have continuity then the thermal fuse is bad the thermal fuse's job is very similar to the thermal disc it is just to shut everything down if things start getting too hot great safety but does mean we need to replace it from time to time so if you've gotten 12 volts to this terminal block 12 volts through the thermal disc and 12 volts going through the thermal fuse and into the circuit board then the next place that we want to look for power is on this fuse on your circuit board check for 12 volts on either side if you have 12 volts on one side of the fuse but not the other then the fuse is most likely your problem you can double check by carefully taking that fuse out checking it for continuity you can get these fuses at AutoZone O'Reilly's your local car store they're very cheap and easy pop a new one in and you should be good to go just make sure that the fuse that you put in is the exact same size and has the same number on it that the fuse you took out does if that fuse is doing a okay then the next place we want to look for power is on the upper left hand pin of this six pin connector I think the wire is orange black Probe on the screw red probe going into this orange wire and we should be seeing 12 volts if we do not see 12 volts then the circuit board is most likely your problem and I'm sorry you need to replace it but you at least diagnose the problem all on your own I'm very proud of you so the circuit board on the front of the fridge that has the buttons that you touch with and play with every day is called the eyebrow board and that orange wire is how this circuit board tells the eyebrow board that everything is Hakuna Matata and ready to go so if we have 12 volts on the orange wire we should be seeing just Signs of Life at the eyebrow board lights should be turning on at the very least Le the on light should be coming on if we are getting 12 volts at the orange pin but we are not having signs of Life at the eyebrow board then the problem is either with the eyebrow board or with the wire connecting the lower circuit board to that eyebrow board I'd recommend taking that eyebrow board off and just taking a peek behind it maybe the connector that connects the wires into the eyebrow board isn't fully seated maybe a mouse or a miscreant has chewed out a wire this is a little less cut and dry you're going to need to do some digging and some problem solving but you got this so if we have 12 volts at that orange wire and the eyebrow board is showing signs of life this is where our party today is going to diverge we're going to break up the party I know leg gas if you are trying to get your fridge to work on gas stick with me now if you are trying to get your fridge to work on electric you're going to want to fast forward to this point in the video okay but before these two roads diverge in a yellow wood if you are already feeling overwhelmed by this video I totally understand there's a lot of steps if you're in the Las Vegas area go ahead and hit me up you can find me at RV repairwoman tocom I'm mobile which means I come to you I'm certified which means I went to school specifically to learn how to fix these fridges they a pain in the ass some times and I'd love to help you out but back to the video all my gassy people stay with me now I got Crohn's I burp a lot we're going to work together if you're trying to get your fridge to work on gas the next place I want you to look for DC power is on the upper right hand pin of the six pin connector the wire is most likely green again black Probe on the screw red Probe on the green wire and we're looking for something in the realm of 12 volts that green wire is how the eyebrow board sends the signal down to the circuit board to tell it that we want the fridge to be on gas so also in here go make sure that the eyebrow board is set to gas and not Auto that's going to help you a lot if you are getting 12 Vols on the orange pin but not on the green pin then your problem is again either with the eyebrow board or with the wire connecting the eyebrow board to this circuit board do a little digging I'm sure you can figure it out if we we have 12 VTS on that green wire then we actually get to put the multimeter down walk away slowly and from this point on we are going to use our ears and our nose if you've been watching a couple of these videos I know you know what I'm about to say we are going to listen for a click tick tick tick tick tick wh The Click is the gas valve opening up to allow propane into this little brackety chamber which is where we make our Flame the te tick tick tick is the igniter trying to make a spark to ignite the propane and the wh is hopefully that propane igniting and us having flame very exciting if you not hear a click then check for 12 volts here to see if we are sending 12 volts to the gas valves if the gas valves are getting 12 volts but they are not clicking there's a good chance that the gas valve is your problem if you hear a click but no tick tick tick tick tick then the igniter is our problem we need to figure out if it is the igniter on the circuit board or the igniter inside of that bracket area to check the circuit boards igniter we are going to take some insulated needlenose pliers and we are going to very carefully maybe even throw on a glove if you want disconnect the wire from the circuit board igniter and hold the two close together you should be seeing a little Arc trying to jump across from the black igniter on the circuit board to the wire that you're holding if you hear the click and then don't hear a tick and see an arc trying to happen from the circuit board igniter to your wire then your circuit board igniter is bad we cannot replace just the igniter so you have to replace the whole circuit board but congratulations you diagnose it on your own if you're getting an arc there but then once you reconnect you are not getting a ticking down in this bracket area then the problem is most likely with your igniter go ahead and to give it a little clean out with some fine grit sandpaper and make sure that the prongs are properly spaced I don't remember off the top of my head but they should have a spacing of roughly this and the easiest way to make sure that the spacing is correct is to get a allen wrench that is this size and hold it in between the two if you're getting a click a tick tick tick tick tick but no wh That's where we use our nose we're going to smell do we smell propane coming in if we don't let's make sure our gas is on don't just trust your husband when he says he turn it on go see for yourself go inside your RV let's try to light the furnace or the stove or the water heater one of our other gas appliances and make sure something else can ignite if other things are struggling to ignite then it's most likely that you have a propane problem not a fridge problem if other things will ignite but the fridge won't hm what would I do I would do some sniffing I'd use my my schnaz and see if I could smell propane at the fridge if I can hear a click but I'm not smelling propane come out I mean I would I would call myself I would call a tech because you're getting into some finicky territory but most likely your gas valves are bad they're technically relays like solenoids so they can click but not actually open it's rare but it happens they're Mechanical Devices mechanics fail there is a way to test the gas valves it's just kind of a pain in the butt so yeah you're at a point where it's time to call a tech you're you're in finicky territory but you've done really well up to this point I'm proud of you you're doing really great if the tech tries to come back and tell you that the circuit board is the problem have them walk you through their diagnosis if you're getting 12 volts to the solenoids to that gas valve then it's most likely that the circuit board is not your problem and a lot of lazy techs just try to replace out circuit boards because they're expensive and uh we make money off of them so like in this instance if they tell you the circuit board's the problem have them walk you through how they got there okay don't tell them I sent you but that's about it for getting your fridge to work on gas if you trying to get your fridge to work on electric thank you for as forwarding to the right part of the video let's go you want your fridge to work on electric so we have gone inside we have made sure the fridge is set to Auto we are now coming back down to the lower circuit board that we've been playing with before and the last place that we're going to look for DC voltage before we change our meter over to AC volts is on this black wire and we are again looking for 12 volts that black wire is how the eyebrow board sends the message down to this lower board that we want the fridge to be on electric so if we have 12 volts on the orange wire but not 12 volts on the black wire then our problem is most likely either with the eyebrow board or with the wire connecting the eyebrow board to this lower circuit board not really a cut and dry way to solve this it's most likely that eyebrow board if you have 12 volts on this black wire it is now time to switch your meter over to AC volts the first place that I want you to look for AC volts is actually at the outlet let's make sure the outlet is good un plug your fridge from the outlet put your probes here and here and you should have a reading in the realm of 120 volts anything in between uh 110 and 130 I guess is fine but like as you get closer to 110 and 130 things are weird you're really hoping for something in between like 115 120 okay but we'll we let 110 to 130 stand if you're closer to the 110 and the 130 let's look at that pedestal you're plugged into cuz it's giving you some weird voltage but you at least have power going to this Outlet you got power go ahead plug that fridge back in give that plug a little squishing just to make sure it's really in there the next place that you want to look for Power again AC volts is at this pin it's called the a see in you can put your black Probe on that screw red Probe on that pin and you should see something in the realm of 120 volts if you do not have 120 volts at that pin what would you do you really should have 120 volts at that pin it means something's up with the wire or something's up with your ground that the circuit board isn't grounded properly and I would start looking at this wire and making sure that it is connected to the screw all the way and connected to the circuit board all the way just go and give all of the connections going into the circle board just like a little push in and make sure that everything is seated properly cuz things like to wiggle out if you have 120 volts at that pin then the next place you want to look is across this fuse so again black prob on screw red Probe on one side of the fuse and then the other you should see 120 volts on both sides if you only have 120 on one side but not the other then the fuse is most likely your problem you can double check this by very carefully taking that fuse out the easiest way to do that is to take one of your probes come in along the side and pop it out don't go at it with needl nose because uh there's a good chance you're going to like smash that por fuse or that you're going to short something with those metal needle-nose prongs that you don't want want a short and then you could ruin your circuit board that happened to a guy while we were learning and it's scary it's a big pop you don't want it to happen I would even unplug the fridge before I go in to take out that fuse just so there's no chance I shorten anything switch that fuse out you can double check if the fuse is good by setting your meter to continuity putting a probe on either side of the fuse if you have continuity then the fuse is good if you don't have continuity then the fuse is bad go ahead and replace it with a fuse of the same size and you should be good to go if power is making it all the way through the fuse then the next place that I want us to look for voltage is on this pin the AC heater pin this is the PIN where we send out power to the electric heating element again black Probe on the screw red Probe on that pin if we do not see 120 on that pin then the circuit board is most likely your problem there's actually a relay right here on the circuit board this relay is looking to see if you have 12 volts on that black wire that we tested earlier then it's going to close and allow 120 volts through so if you have 12 volts on this black pin and 120 volts ac on this fuse but you're not getting 120 volts on this heating element pin then it's most likely that that relay is your problem unfortunately we can't just switch out the relay so you most likely are going to have to switch out the whole circuit board the one thing you can do is just try to give that relay a little flick I know it sounds silly but just like give it a good swack with your fingernail relays are actually mechanical mechanisms like there is actually you can imagine it like an arm in there that's opening and closing and they can get stuck and so sometimes if you're lucky you can just give them a little Flack and help that arm get unstuck but if that doesn't do it then you're looking at replacing the whole CC circuit board if you have 12 volts on that pin then this tube should be getting hot if it is not getting hot if you have a fancier meter that has an amp clamp you can set it to AC amps clamp around one of the wires that's heading to this heating element and you should be seeing a reading in the realm of this number I can't remember it off the top of my head if you were getting I'm trying to think this through if you were getting 120 volts on this pin but you're not pulling any amps I would make sure that the two wires coming off of the heating element are fully plugged in where they're supposed to be just give them a good push in if you're still getting zero amps or close to zero amps I would and this tube is not getting hot I would go ahead and disconnect them from the circuit board set your meter to resistance put one Probe on either wire coming off of the heating element and on a dtic fridge you should be seeing a reading in in the realm of this if you are way off of that then look at replacing that heating element that is about it that's basically all there is to your fridge they are a little more complicated than water heaters so if you got a little overwhelmed in this video don't be concerned I hope you found this video helpful if you did please consider hitting subscribe I put out new videos like this on the reg where I give you the tips and tricks that most techs don't want you to know this has been RV repair woman you got this

Channel: Rv Repair Woman

Views: 20,526

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Id: yc4kJ_HPTSs

Length: 23min 35sec (1415 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 19 2024