Refrigerator Problem

tcmbk · 06-28-2010, 09:57 AM

We are getting ready for a camping trip, and we checked to make sure that the refrigerator and freezer on our 2004 Sunline T-2475 worked ok using electric. The freezer got cold right away, but the refrigerator did not work. It worked fine on our last trip. Are the frig. and freezer entirely separate units? Can anyone suggest probable causes or things to check?

Tom

awellis3 · 06-28-2010, 10:48 AM

Tom, did you check them both with a thermometer? Were they both empty?

Teach

Poppy & Nana · 06-28-2010, 11:20 AM

Remember that the size of the frig is much larger than the freezer so it is going to take time for it to get cold......we usually put the refrigerator on a day or two before we are planning a trip....this year we are doing something entirely different, we are leaving it on all the time. Oh my I just thought of something we lost power last night because of the storm....guess I should go and check it out. Give your frig a bit more time to see if it in fact doesn't cool down.

tcmbk · 06-28-2010, 12:10 PM

The refrigerator and freezer were both empty. Although we did not check it with a thermometer, it was obvious just by touching the inside walls that the freezer was working and the refrigerator was not. We had it hooked up for a number of hours, and normally we can tell whether it is working by that time. We do put the refrigerator on a couple of days before a trip, but we were just giving the trailer an overall checkup before our next trip.

Tom

**Sunline Fan** · 06-28-2010, 12:42 PM

Might want to check the slider on the fins at the back of the unit inside. If something fell on your last trip, it could have moved the slider down to the point where it keeps the refrigerator cabinet very warm.

Jon

Steve Collins · 06-28-2010, 01:31 PM

If the large aluminum fins at the upper rear of the refrigerator compartment are cold, then your fridge is cooling properly.

As far as I know, if the freezer is working OK, then the fridge should be too. Never heard of one or the other failing by itself.

**JohnB** · 06-28-2010, 10:02 PM

The frezzer and the fridge use the same cooling coil. You get both or none.

You do need a load to cool to make sure it cooling some to ensure it is working right. We put ice blocks in the freezer when I turn it on and it will take a full 8 hours to cool down. When the ice is froze the fridge part is at 33 and that comes about 8 hours later on electric.

We have a thermometer inside to tell as it is hard to tell since no air is moving and there is nothing in there to cool but air.

Hope this helps

John

awellis3 · 06-29-2010, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnB

We have a thermometer inside to tell as it is hard to tell since no air is moving and there is nothing in there to cool but air.

Hope this helps

John

Amen. I'm big on measuring. I carry a digital thermo to use BBQing but it doubles as a trouble shooter for anything temp-related.
Such as:
Wife - "I dont think the A/C is cooling properly."
Me- "The digtal thremo says the air coming from this vent is 36 degrees."
Wife - "Oh, I guess it's just me."

Ya gotta love how that ended.

Wright

tcmbk · 06-29-2010, 09:06 AM

Thanks to everyone that posted regarding the frig problem. Jon, you were right, the slider on the fins had moved down and we didn't notice it. We had it on electic overnight and now the frig is cold. What a relief. I've been camping most of my life, but only RVing the last two years. There are still alot of things that I don't know. We plan on putting a thermometer in the trailer. This is a great place to get help!

Tom

kanyonkitty · 06-29-2010, 09:30 AM

Glad your fridge is now working. "IF" your plastic slider is really loose, you might want to get one of those "small" binder clips and clip it over the slider
to snug it up just a bit.

Here is link to what I am referring to:

OfficeMax Heavy-Duty Black Binder Clips

**JohnB** · 06-29-2010, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcmbk

We plan on putting a thermometer in the trailer. This is a great place to get help!

Tom

Tom

Here is what we did. Used a remote thermometer. Stick the remote sender inside the fridge. Then you can read the temps and never open the door. And it gives inside your camper temps too. Bought ours for like $10 at Wal-Mart

John

luvrque · 06-29-2010, 10:46 AM

What is a plastic slider?
I have a white plastic strip on the very top of the fins but it don't move.

As for temp. reading in the refg. I have a wireless unit, the sender stays in the refg. all the time & the digital readout is mounted on the wall under a kitchen cab. This way I can always see the temp. without opening the refg. door & letting cold air out.

Got it in wally's app. $10. to $15.

awellis3 · 06-29-2010, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvrque

What is a plastic slider?

I want to know also.

Wright

Gene · 06-29-2010, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvrque

What is a plastic slider? ...

Here is a picture of mine. It is on the fin at the far right and sliding it up or down should change the temp a little bit. There is a little thermister inside the plastic slider, you can see the cable below the fins.

kanyonkitty · 06-29-2010, 09:02 PM

OK, since I don't happen to have a pic right on hand, but if you look inside your fridge towards the back you will see metal fins. On the last fin on the right there should be a white plastic slide clip approx 4" long with a wire attached to it that goes to the control circuit. That clip can be slid up or down to change the temp inside the fridge. Up is colder, down is warmer. Oten this clip begins to move on it's own, and that is when I have had to use a "binder" clip to keep it where it needs to be. Clear as mud hey ???

OK, Gene had a picture of it, now it should be clearer than mud

awellis3 · 06-30-2010, 05:54 AM

We're pulling the trailer out of storage tomorrow to spend the weekend working on it. I'll check for a slider then.

Y'all are a great help to us newbies. Although I've camped for 50 yrs., this is my first TT.

Wright

luvrque · 06-30-2010, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene

Here is a picture of mine. It is on the fin at the far right and sliding it up or down should change the temp a little bit. There is a little thermister inside the plastic slider, you can see the cable below the fins.

I ck'd. my Dometic (built 2006)and there is no slider or wires of any kind in the refg.
Maybe the newer refg's don't have that ?

Steve Collins · 06-30-2010, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvrque

I ck'd. my Dometic (built 2006)and there is no slider or wires of any kind in the refg.
Maybe the newer refg's don't have that ?

I visited a friends '09 TT and it had the slider in the fridge.

kanyonkitty · 06-30-2010, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvrque

I ck'd. my Dometic (built 2006)and there is no slider or wires of any kind in the refg.
Maybe the newer refg's don't have that ?

Can you tell us the model # of your Dometic ?

Kitty

**Sunline Fan** · 06-30-2010, 09:45 AM

I believe the Que units were different, they had a dial on the front to adjust the temperature. The slider should only be in the units with a separate door freezer.

Jon