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Old 04-25-2019, 01:10 PM   #1
Mroe
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3121 RV fridge issue

First time out with our 3121 RL. In the walkthrough fridge worked fine. Started fridge the day before our first trip. Had it set on 9. Fridge was 30 degrees by morning. Loaded food, headed for the local campground lake. Freezer is fine fridge at 50 degrees. Called dealer, said to try it on Propane, vs Electric. Did so for about an hour, no change. Then after looking closer at unit, noticed center door flap was not closed properly, which was open to room air. Closed it, now waiting to see if that was it. I’m fairly sure it is, but the fridge is THAT sensitive????!!!!! That it can’t deal with a air leak. Thinking that I should have gone with the 3120 with the domestic fridge. Will see and let you all know
 
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Old 04-25-2019, 02:27 PM   #2
LGTX
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3121RL has a residential fridge that does not use propane. Turning the propane on would have done nothing. Hopefully it was just the door flap. I have the 3121 and have not had any problems with the fridge. It did take me a bit to figure out the ice maker though!!
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Old 04-25-2019, 02:42 PM   #3
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After 2 hours still at 50 degrees even with door flap closed, now to try and get it in for repair, always a real treat at most dealers
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Old 04-25-2019, 10:25 PM   #4
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Wow!! Got lucky, dealer can fix tomorrow. Also back a/c is freezing up, front is working fine, either low air flow over Coil, or leak and low on refrigerant. Will see what they diagnose. Used to be in the a/c business before retirement but not touching it since it’s a warranty issue.
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Old 04-28-2019, 02:39 PM   #5
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Service surprise!!! So the dealer says they will swap out the a/c unit and fridge. Ok...... i’m Not complaining, but don’t service centers have techs to actually fix stuff. I was in the A/c businesses for several years and know the ANYTHING can be repaired. Hmmmm????
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Old 04-28-2019, 03:56 PM   #6
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Some things are not worth the $$$/hr to actually make the repair.
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Old 05-02-2019, 02:15 PM   #7
Mroe
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Herrrrrre we go........ so dealer called and said they left the a/c on for two days and nights soild and it’s not freezing up, and the fridge is down to 37 degrees. In other words........ nothing is wrong. I told them to put a load of warm stuff in the fridge, so they are going to try that. I would hate to take it back and have it happen again. Not sure what to do about fridge. But I if the a/c freezes up again I could see it through the side of the unit on the roof. But couldn’t take the main cover off to take a picture to prove it due to them using some type of Phillips screw that seemed to be “tighten” only. Any suggestions how to get these out? Maybe special screwdriver? Thought for sure they were just going to replace both units. Plus now i’m dealing with a pissed off wife!!!!!
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Old 05-02-2019, 04:08 PM   #8
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don't know anything about where you are but the A/C should always be on high! that eliminates the freezing. I suspect your A/C is fine


you might want to separate your issues in your threads too.


as for you refrig, it is a residential refrig and it should not really be an issue...ummm i wonder.
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Old 05-04-2019, 04:23 PM   #9
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If not already a member, feel free to look up the 3120/21rl Montana Owners Facebook page and join.
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Old 05-04-2019, 05:08 PM   #10
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don't know anything about where you are but the A/C should always be on high! that eliminates the freezing.
I ran both AC units on our 2012 3585SA on auto for 6 years and have run Both AC units on our current 2018.5 3791RD on auto for 1.5 years and never had a freeze up or any other problem. All this time was full-timing too and we are usually in the Southeast part of the country.
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Old 05-08-2019, 11:57 AM   #11
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Dealer called and can’t find anything wrong with fridge or A/C unit. I asked if they tried putting a load in it. IE; bottles of room temp water or something. Said they didn’t have anything. So I am to pick the unit up. I foresee this problem happening again as soon as we put stuff in fridge. So now what?
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Old 05-08-2019, 12:06 PM   #12
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Slightly off topic, but on our trip this past weekend, DW didn't think fridge was working right. Thermometer showed it only down to 50. Told DW it hadn't been on that long, had just put stuff (cold) in it, it was being opened, and that it needed 24 hours to stabilize, etc. She was convinced it needed to be replaced. Turned it up to the coldest setting from the middle where it was.

So, next day, at lunch, she finds that the potato salad, macaroni salad, and some green salads up on the back of the top shelf..... were frozen solid. Guess it does work! But then we had to throw out 15 bucks worth of food. Potato salad doesn't do well after it's been frozen. Yeah, I tried nuking it to thaw it out but it was just gross. And of course the green salads were wilted and wet from being frozen. But. Hey. The fridge works!!
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Old 05-08-2019, 12:55 PM   #13
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First you should not put "warm" stuff in the fridge when loading it. Cool stuff in the house then transfer to rv. Run it on gas until temp is stabilized. These units run slow motion compared to the house fridge. Make sure the doors seal, give it overnight, and chances are it will be fine.
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Old 05-10-2019, 09:48 AM   #14
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Dealer all say their service is the best, what a crock. They still can’t find anything wrong with the fridge. They said they can’t put a load in it as they don’t have anything. Yah right. What about all the cases of water you give out to people!!!!??? Day before yesterday I called to try and pick it up, and they said they have to send paperwork to billing and will call me. BILLING!!! WHAT???? It’s under warranty you idiot!!!! But said there’s still paperwork. Waited two days and just called today, said the same thing and would call me. I said NO!!! I need to pick it up today. I have a trip I need it for on Monday. Lonnnng pause by him....... said he should be able to have it ready by 3pm.
I am done with going to dealerships for warranty work. Someone suggested going to a RV center where they JUST service RV’s, and are authorized but do not sell them. I guess I learned my lesson. Going to get it home and see if it indeed does work fine. I know this though, if we go on our trip Monday and the fridge warms up, i’ll turn my totally pissed off wife o them.
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Old 05-10-2019, 09:55 AM   #15
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First you should not put "warm" stuff in the fridge when loading it. Cool stuff in the house then transfer to rv. Run it on gas until temp is stabilized. These units run slow motion compared to the house fridge. Make sure the doors seal, give it overnight, and chances are it will be fine.
I always load a case of room temp water in fridge to get it stabilized - someone told me - the RV fridge takes heat out more than it cools down - since doing that it might take a day, depending on outside temp to get it down. 95+ will take a 36 hours
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Old 05-11-2019, 10:10 AM   #16
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Started fridge at 4:30 pm yesterday, it’s now 9am the next day and it’s on 51. I was told it takes a good 24 hours to come down to temp. So maybe I just need to wait longer. But I did notice that the three cooling condenser fans are not working. I understand the temp switch don’t turn them on till 130. Can’t get to the switch due to a metal panel at the top access is in the way and glued in place. Anyone know what wires to jump to see even if fan works. Someone said to try a hair dryer on the temp switch. Not sure the wife will part with herS. ��
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Old 05-11-2019, 11:34 AM   #17
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The hair dryer brought the switch to close and fans are running. Will see what happens now

Fans ran for about 15 minutes and the inside temp dropped two degrees, i’m wondering if I should bypass the themo-switch so they run all the time. But worried this would by quite a draw on the 12 volt system. I do have two solar cells on the roof to assist when i’m not plugged into power or have the truck electric connected. Any thoughts? Or should I not be at all worried and just give it 24 plus hours?
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Old 05-11-2019, 03:56 PM   #18
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Man there is nothing more frustrating that a refrigerator that will not cool. Been there and there are so many things that can be causing the problem.

Once you get it working I recommend you add a fan on a clicker to come on say at 110 degrees. The fan needs to be placed on at the bottom of the refer so that air will be pushed up over the coils and out the top.

That will help the installed fans in cooling the unit.

I used an AC type fan as I never boondock.
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Old 05-11-2019, 06:15 PM   #19
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Mroe, did you see what i wrote on the A/C? make sure it is always on high. there is nothing wrong about the A/C other than that.
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Old 05-11-2019, 06:53 PM   #20
Mroe
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Maybe adding an additional fan may help, but you think the designers would have thought of that.

Regarding the a/c, the only way it will work is with the fan on high. That is even adjustable on most units, RV or home units. I believe it froze due to low ambient temperature at night. Although design wise. Home units don’t freeze up if they have a proper amount of refrigerant in it. We’ll see what happens next week on our next trip
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