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  1. #1
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    Dometic Reefer "sometimes" turns off on Elec

    At this point I think I'm looking for ideas on problem solving. For the life of me, I can't figure out how it can happen in the first place.

    Specs:
    2019 Reflection 29RS. Dometic 8cf fridge/freezer. Bought new in Aug-2018 and living full time in it as we travel. It has worked flawlessly since we have had the unit (on both propane and electric).

    The sketchy data:
    We've had the issue in both Yulee (north Florida) and Daytona Beach FL, and its always happened on the electric setting. We wake up and all the lights are off on the reefer and the inside is in various stages of warming up, depending on when we discovery the issue. Note it turns off, it does not shift over to propane. The propane tank has fuel and the valve is open and the range top works fine. No other electric device has lost power during the night ie the microwave clock is not reset to 000, the 50a EMS does not show any errors. Literally, the reefer would seem to have simply been turned off at the button. When I press the on/off button, putting it into the off position, and then press it again to put it into the on position, the reefer starts normally and continues to run for days and days.

    I should also mention that I can see a little water sitting on the "floor" of the reefer compartment as viewed through the outside lower inspection cover. It would not surprise me if it was simply condensation dripping off the coils and depositing there.

    Now, we are in mid to high heat during the day, and IMHO "high humidity" both day and night. That may or may not play into it.


    Any ideas on what might cause this rare, sporadic behavior?

    Thanks
    Mike

  2. #2
    Site Team WhittleBurner's Avatar
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    Call Dometic, You are still under warranty? It could be the circuit board starting to go. Our old Atwood would mysteriously turn off randomly at odd intervals and it was the main circuit bord starting to go.
    Marcy & Gary
    2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by WhittleBurner View Post
    Call Dometic, You are still under warranty? It could be the circuit board starting to go. Our old Atwood would mysteriously turn off randomly at odd intervals and it was the main circuit bord starting to go.
    Thanks. I'll give them a call and see what they say.
    Mike

  4. #4
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    Problem Solved, the rest of the story

    Just wanted to close the loop on this in case it should help someone else some time.
    In the end it was the circuit board on the back of the reefer. The RV tech said there is little that can go wrong but includes, the brow panel on the reefer, which the lights lit up and the buttons worked correctly. The two temp sensors, one of the upper tube of the outside cooling unit and one of the chimney flue and since the reefer worked at times, those were probably good. Ultimately he figured something on the circuit board would get hot, disconnect, cool down and then work until it over heated again. He talked with dometic who agreed to send a new board to him and required us to send the old board back to them. That board change solved the problem. Dometic covered it under warranty and I paid the $85 mobile rv tech charge to come out. Neither dometic nor grand design covers that charge, but I don't want to waste my time taking the rig to a dealer and play the waiting game there.

    But here's what I think I may have learned... I had to stay where I was an extra 10 days on what I think was an already too long visit at my inlaws. My spouse may differ on that point, but it is what it is. On a gamble, I could have ordered that board on Amazon for about $65. Assuming it was not defective on arrival, I could have hit the road 10 days sooner. If we had been staying somewhere like an RV Park, those 10 days would have cost a lot more than $65. Should the same symptoms appear again in the future I think I'll just replace the board and see if that does it. If it doesn't, I'll have a spare board and can troubleshoot the next most likely suspect.

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