Dometic 2652 refrigerator

[Bama_Brian]

 New to the camper world.. tented for years and this TT is really starting to get on my nerves... It cools on LP but no on electricity. I unplugged it from the shore power and the refrigerator light came on with battery power. I plugged it into shore power unhooked the battery and the interior refrigerator light came on again. I checked the fuses inside on the fuse panel all of the fuses were good. I checked the two glass tube fuses on the refrigerator control panel located in the picture they were both appear to be good. I don't know how to use a multimeter (please don't judge me 😂) any ideas or advice is GREATLY appreciated...

[oldjohnt]

Welcome Brian, When all else fails, you might take a look for some manuals if you don't already have one, here are a few links to start your search:

https://www.dometic.com/assets/59/39/operating manual_55939.pdf?att=true

Dometic Refrigerator troubleshooting: not working and not coolings Dometic (100refrigerator.com)

dometic refrigerator dm2652 manual - Bing

If alllllllllllllll the fuses are good (see below) and iffffffffffff its plugged into a good working 120 Volt Receptacle ??? Is there a receptacle there in the back next to it ???????............Is it plugged in there?????? Plug something else into the receptacle and see if its hot ?????? If not look inside the 120 Volt AC power distribution  panel and see if a breaker is tripped ?????????? ITS NEVER GOING TO WORK ON AC UNLESS ITS PLUGGED INTO A GOOD SOURCE OF 120 VOLTS AC THERE IN THE REAR

It should have a glass 3 Amp DC control fuse and a glass 5 Amp fuse for the 120 Volt AC Heating element THEY ALL NEED TO BE GOOD 

Iffffffffff its plugged into a good working receptacle ??? and ifffffffffffff there are no blown fuses ???? BUT ITS NOT WORKING ON AC the fridges 120 VAC heating element may be bad/open orrrrrrrrrrrrr the control circuit board is bad and not sending hot 120 VAC to the fridges heating element  orrrrrrrrrrrrr there's a bad/loose connection on the board or heating element orrrrrrrrrrrrrorrrrrrrrrrrrrr its not set at the correct  AUTO  or whatever allows 120 VAC,,,,,,,or it may be set for LP Gas only up top inside on the panel ???????????? Check controls on the fridge for to see if its set to allow operation on 120 VAC ??? or if it has an AUTO setting ???

It has to have a good 12 Volt DC to its control board or it wont work you know and that's true for LP gas orrrrrrrrrrrr Electricity. Can you tell if your camper battery is low ??? because low battery voltage can cause problems. If plugged to shore power if your battery charger/converter is working and the battery isn't shot you should have enough battery voltage. IS THERE 12 VOLTS TO THE CONTROL BOARD ????????? A 6/12 test lamp can help if you're not into meters

PS did this start all of a sudden and previous it worked fine?? IF SO and the fuses are fine and there's good  12 VDC and 120 VAC present and the controls are set correct,  I suspect the 120 VAC heating element may be bad/open. That's easy to check with an ohm meter or even continuity tester. If its good ?? the control circuit board may be the fault.......    

Theres more but that's enough for starters. Look at the manuals and troubleshooting and check for 120 Volts in the rear and the plug and receptacle and all the fuses and check the fridge control and Gas and Auto settings and insure when plugged into shore power your RV battery is good and charged. It takes a good while to cool initially you know are you sure its not working at all on AC ??

 

John T

 

Edited March 11, 2021 by oldjohnt

[Bama_Brian]

Thanks John, lots to check... Yes it is set to auto, yes the glass fuse things are good, no there are no breakers tripped HOWEVER I will plug in something else to the "outlet" in the access hatch... Also I stuck a thermometer in the freezer for 12+ hours and it still read 60+° ps... Used camper only camped in it once and used the LP unknowingly... Also brand new deep cycle battery... Like a week old new...

Edited March 11, 2021 by Bama_Brian
Adding new info

[oldjohnt]

You're welcome Brian, Yeppers insure there's power to the "outlet" and iffffffffff its good,,,,,,,,, and the fuses and connections are all okay,,,,,,,,,,,, and there's a full  solid 12 VDC present to the control board,,,,,,,,you may be left with a bad/open 120 VAC heating element (not too expensive) or a control board (more expensive),,,,,,,,,,,,,or a faulty electronic eyebrow panel ........Look at the manuals for info on the 120 VAC heating element (It has two wires to it from the control board) if its an OPEN circuit its burned up and needs replaced, that's an easy check with an ohm meter or a simple continuity checker.

PS I dont know if that fridge "outlet" is fed by a GFCI breaker perhaps in the bathroom or kitchen?? But if it doesn't have power look for a tripped GFCI breaker elsewhere in the RV........If you find a GFCI thats tripped it will be dead (needs push to reset) PLUS any downstream LOAD side fed regular outlets will also be dead.

 

 John T  

[Kirk W]

9 hours ago, Bama_Brian said:

Used camper only camped in it once and used the LP unknowingly...

Did you check to see that the refrigerator would work on 120V before you bought it or might this problem have existed when you purchased it? What year model is the RV? I am asking because the DM2652 refrigerators have been around for quite some time. As the cooling units begin to fail it is very common for them to work better on propane than 120V because the propane has a higher heating capacity than the electric heater. Another possibility is that the electric heater has failed and needs to be replaced. That isn't a common problem but it does happen and I have replaced a few.  If you download a copy of the Dometic Service Manual it may help you.

When you checked the two fuses, did you check them with a meter or try new ones? It is quite possible for the glass fuses to have an open circuit but not look to be blown. If you have a meter, try removing each fuse and use the ohm scale to verify that it is good. A good fuse should read 0 ohms or very close to it. 

You may find it very helpful to take a look at this video, How to Use a Multimeter.

[oldjohnt]

14 hours ago, Bama_Brian said:

I don't know how to use a multimeter (please don't judge me 😂)

 

33 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

You may find it very helpful to take a look at this video, How to Use a Multimeter.

EXCELLENT ADVICE Ditto,  if he had one and can use it testing the 120 VAC heating element and checking fuses and 12 Volts would be soooooooooo easy

Think about it Brian, they are inexpensive and easy to use, post back any questions.

John T 

Edited March 11, 2021 by oldjohnt

[Bama_Brian]

2 hours ago, oldjohnt said:

 

EXCELLENT ADVICE Ditto,  if he had one and can use it testing the 120 VAC heating element and checking fuses and 12 Volts would be soooooooooo easy

Think about it Brian, they are inexpensive and easy to use, post back any questions.

John T 

Thanks guys (seriously) I have a freebie from harbor freight I guess I need to learn to use... John I did plug something into the outlet in the access hatch and it did work, Kirk for the price we paid I was just excited to get out of a tent 😂 I am guessing the fridge is an 09/10 since the TT is a 2010 keystone springdale summerland

[Bama_Brian]

Guess I'm headed to harbor freight 😂

[oldjohnt]

9 minutes ago, Bama_Brian said:

John I did plug something into the outlet in the access hatch and it did work,

Thanks for the update, that narrows it down a bit.....What's left now is the fuses (but you already checked those) ,,,,,,,,,,,,Eyebrow Control Panel electronic issue (Ive seen them fail),,,,,,,,,,,Low voltage 12 VDC issue, but thats likely NOT the problem,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The 120 VAC Heating element is bad/open,,,,,,,,,A bad connection from the board to the heating element,,,,,,,,,,The Circuit Control Board (most expensive) is bad grrrrrrrrrrrr and of course other possible things I cant cover them all    .

If you look on the side of the stack (thats above where the flame is) you will find two wires connected to the 120 VAC heating element that come from the control board area. Iffffffff its on and set for 120 VAC (like Auto if plugged to shore power and NOT set on Gas) and the fridge T stat calls for cooling, if the board and its relay is working there should be 120 VAC across those two terminals ????????    If not the Board or its relay may be bad or a connection or wire is bad..........HOWEVER for the fridge to work on AC  the heating element must be getting its 120 VAC power from the board PLUS IT HAS TO  BE GOOD AND CONTINUOUS NOT AN OPEN CIRCUIT (infinity ohms) .

NOTE use caution if testing for 120 Volts getting TO the heater !!!!!!!!!

NOTE before testing for heater element continuity  (If none infinity ohms the element is broke open) or resistance REMOVE THE WIRES FROM THE BOARD TO THE HEATER AND PROTECT THEM FROM ANY SHORTING. The heater element continuity needs to be tested with NOTHING connected to it other then the two ohm meter leads......To do that I would have the fridge OFF and that plug completely disconnected........

Nuff for now, not being there this is hard and Im working on OLD memory here so no warranty on any of the above. LOOK THROUGH THE MANUALS for better troubleshooting and pictures and information 

John T

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, Bama_Brian said:

I am guessing the fridge is an 09/10 since the TT is a 2010 keystone springdale summerland

It is pretty sure that the refrigerator is the original one and so is now 11+ years old. As such, if it has been used a lot then there is a chance that it could be the cooling unit starting to fail, but I'd check other possibilities first. A failed heating element is more likely, pretty easily replaced and it costs far less. Once you get that meter, locate the connections to the heating element and lift one of the two electrical connections (after removing all power by pulling the plug). A good element should read about 40 ohms and a failed one will be near 0 ohms or in excess of 500 ohms. 

[oldjohnt]

6 hours ago, Kirk W said:

A good element should read about 40 ohms and a failed one will be near 0 ohms or in excess of 500 ohms. 

If its near zero ohms (like a dead short) it will probably have blown the fuse which HE states is good ?

Ive seen them go bad and burn up completely OPEN which would result in them approaching near infinity ohms (yep thats in excess of 500 ohms for darn sure) IE an Open circuit.

INDEED if in excess of 500 Ohms the current draw would be to low to produce enough heat and she wouldn't cool on AC Electric operation. 

Let us know what you find Brian. Best to hope for a failed (often burned open, approaching infinity resistance on an ohm meter, often what Ive found) heating element, that's cheaper then a new control board. 

John T

Edited March 12, 2021 by oldjohnt