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Old 06-13-2005, 07:15 AM   #1
tweir
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M.O.C. #572
"Check" fridge light

When returning from our last trip to Vegas, I noticed when we got home the "Check" fridge light was on. Usually what I do, is bring the unit home the day before we leave and put the fridge in the "auto" mode. This usually get the unit cold and the freezer frozen...!The once we connect to shore power, the unit runs on electricity, not on propane. On the return leg, we leave it in "auto" to keep the remaining perishables cold/frozen. The question I have is, "is there a minimum psi of gas pressure needed to operate the fridge"? The curb side tank is low, but the stove still worked. The automatic switch-over regulator could be "fritzed"---never move the lever from the left-hand position. I hope the p/c board did not take a dive---we're outa warranty on the coach and I assume Dometic's warranty as well---have to check the "owner's manual". Tried contacting Dometic, but no e-mail reply. Thanks in advance for any info from y'all...!
 
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Old 06-13-2005, 11:36 AM   #2
CountryGuy
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Do check those warranties, Steve R just had a frig replaced, found there was, I believe, a 3 year warranty on the frig.

Call em on the phone, from what I see reported here, emails tend to NOT get answered. Don't know the reason, just is the way of things I guess. Not just Dometic either, from the stories we read.

If you had enough gas to run the stove, you should have had enough to run the frig.

Good luck, let us know what you find out!
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Old 06-13-2005, 02:42 PM   #3
sreigle
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The warranty on the fridge is 3 years. The third year is parts only, you pay for labor to replace.

The problem could be air in the line. As Carol said, make sure you are getting gas to the stove. If the stove burner looks normal when on high then you should be ok on LP pressure.

Turn the fridge off, then back on and give it 45 seconds to light the propane. If it won't, and there is no shore power, the check light will come on again. If it works on electricity, then it could be an ignitor problem.

Plug it back into shore power and see if it works then. If you still get the check light, then it's not an LP problem.

Besides a bad board, it could be a weak battery. The board has to have enough power to do its thing.

I may have missed some possibilities.

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Old 06-13-2005, 04:15 PM   #4
Fordzilla
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Ours is doing the same thing. I checked the tanks and one is completly MT and the other is full, the regulator is pointed at the full tank and valle is open as far as it will go. Stove worked fine, I guedd we never used the propane on the H2o heater. Looks like another trip back to the dealer.
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Old 06-13-2005, 04:28 PM   #5
Searchers
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Just had a similar situation with our Dometic. Electric works fine, but shortly after switching to gas the check light would illuminate. By removing the outside cover I could initially see the flame light when resetting the gas, but after a short time I'd hear a click, the flame would go out and the check light on the unit would illuminate. Repairman diagnosed it by phone as a bad thermocouple or control board. Turned out to be a bad control board. The extended warranty is covering a new control board and thermocouple.
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Old 06-14-2005, 02:23 AM   #6
tweir
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Thanks to you all for the inputs. I'll fill up the tank and run it through the cycle again. Luckily, if covered by warranty, an authorized repair facility is within 2 miles of the house. I will double-check the documents and go from there. Thanks again.
tjw
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Old 06-14-2005, 04:45 PM   #7
sreigle
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Another possibility - remove the outside cover and look for signs of spiders, insects or mud daubers. They all seem to love the smell of propane or for some other reason are drawn to propane. We recently had a problem with the water heater not firing off on propane. Removed the cover and could smell the propane. Blew out the tubes and some kind of dead bug came out and the water heater has worked fine since. I suppose something similar could happen with the refrigerator.
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Old 06-15-2005, 05:26 PM   #8
Northstar
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I just went through this problem. Check light came on. Dealer tech. said the flame went out. Went through start up to clear the check light.
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Old 06-15-2005, 05:34 PM   #9
Fordzilla
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I called the dealer today and he told me to check for bugs or rust that may have fallen on the ignitor. He stated that if there was something on there it would ground out the ignitor and would not lite. I checked it and blew everything out. Switched the fridge over to Gas and it started right up. Let it run for a half hour and then switched it back to Auto. Unplugged it from shore power and waited ten minutes. No light!! Hopefully that was all it was.
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Old 06-16-2005, 01:10 AM   #10
tweir
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...and the rest of the story:
Brought the unit over to the house yesterday so we could "pre-trip" for this weekend. Went down and had the propane tank filled--still had about a half gallon left in it. Placed the fridge in "auto" and waited a few minutes---no "check" light. Went outside, removed the cover and yup, the unit was running on propane. This was about 4:30 yesterday afternoon. Had to come into work this morning, opened the door and did not see the "check" light illuminated. Walked around the unit and checked to see if it was still lit---yup; it works. Hopefully the low propane level was the culprit. Thanks to you all for your insights.
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Old 06-16-2005, 06:19 AM   #11
sreigle
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Thomas, I think you said one tank was nearly out and the other was full when you originally had the problem, right? The fridge and all appliances should still work even when one tank is empty and the regulator is pointing towards the empty tank, assuming the other tank is turned on and is not empty. If it didn't work that way for you then you may have a problem regulator or hose from the other tank. Sometime you might switch the regulator to the other tank and make sure the fridge stays lit, eliminating any problem with a hose.
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Old 06-16-2005, 06:46 AM   #12
tweir
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Thanks Steve---I know there have been some issues with the switchover-type regulators. I'll run an isolation test & see what I come up with.
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