Domestic refrigerator

[kwright]

The freezer is working but the fridge bottom is not?? Any suggestions??

[2oldman]

He's gone.

[dougrainer]

bikendan wrote:

kwright wrote:
The freezer is working but the fridge bottom is not?? Any suggestions??

How long have you waited? Absorption fridges take at least 6-8 hours to cool down. The freezer always cools down faster since it's a smaller compartment. Most of us plug it in to shore power overnight before loading it.

It does not cool down faster just because it is smaller. The Cooling unit has 2 areas. The FIRST top area gets subfreezing and that is attached to the Freezer back wall. The lower section takes longer due to the obvious larger area, but has to remove the existing warm air in the bottom section to get the 35 to 40 degrees higher than the freezer. The bottom section gets to 20 to 28 degrees on its back wall. Doug

[bikendan]

kwright wrote:
The freezer is working but the fridge bottom is not?? Any suggestions??

How long have you waited? Absorption fridges take at least 6-8 hours to cool down. The freezer always cools down faster since it's a smaller compartment. Most of us plug it in to shore power overnight before loading it.

[dougrainer]

The OP needs to state year/Brand RV. Model and brand of refer. Is it in a slide room or not. The correct temp measurement is a cup of water in the lower section, refer on max cool and a DIGITAL thermometer temp read out of the water after 24 hours without opening the door for 24 hours. This will determine certain things about the refer and may need more tests to have the OP conduct. Doug

[dougrainer]

Matt_Colie wrote:
Kwright,

With zero information on the situation, my first thought would be to manually defrost the unit.

Most freezer/refrigerators only actually refrigerate the freezer section and count of a passage between the freezer and the warmer refrigerator to cool the warmer section. This passage can easily get blocked by frost. Many new residential units actively defrost this section that many have forgotten about it.

Matt

This is true for Residential refers. NOT TRUE for RV Refers. There is no way any ice/frost build up in the freezer section will stop cooling in the lower section of a RV refer. The simple answer is this, IF the lower section of the OP's refer does NOT get below 50 degrees, odds are the cooling unit is bad. A common mistake novices make when buying a used RV and the seller is dishonest, is to show the buyer the Freezer is COLD and the buyer assumes the refer is to spec. But freezers in RV refers operate at 0 to 10 degrees and any temp below 32 degrees will seem very cold. They buy and then find out the cooling unit is bad. THEN they find out that an RV refer cooling unit can cost anywhere from $500 to $1500, maybe more if they have to pay someone to replace it. They see 18 CF residentials for 300 to 500 dollars and think How much could a RV refer cost? A LOT more. Doug

[Old-Biscuit]

Dometic absorption fridge.....
Cooling unit uses TWO separate cooling sections for fridge operation
Low temp evap coil...freezer------it has to get down to 10*F before there is sufficient 'absorption' capacity for coolant to cool food section down via High Temp Evap Coil,

Freezer COLD...food compartment not
*Door seals.....clean seals/frame surface for good contact
Do door bill test between seal/frame several areas of door....should feel resistance when pulling bill out. Seals leaking/place ball of cotton under each corner of seal then heat entire seal using Hair Dryers. WHen entire seal is warm---close door and allow seal to 'reset'
*Evap Fin drip tray drain tube...should have 'plug' in end of drain tube---stops insects and WARM air from entering. Drain tube should hang outside via lower access vent
*Thermistor....needs good clean contact with fin. Tip should just protrude above top of clip (Depending on actual Model determines WHERE thermistor should be located..........models WITH adjustable temp settings (1-5) thermistor far right fin mid-center. Models with Auto Temp Control---far right fin and you can move thermistor UP for colder fridge/Down for warmer fridge
*Lower circuit board not allowing FULL heating cycle....new circuit board
*Cooling Unit obstruction/blockage between freezer/food compartment cooling sections. Freezer will get cold but food compatment will not......New cooling unit or replace fridge

To test cooling units ability to fully function
1st test.....disconnect thermistor leads on lower circuit board and allow fridge to operate for at least 12Hrs w/o thermistor connected.
If food compartment gets cold---replace thermistor

2nd test----disconnect electric element leads from lower circuit board
Plug the leads directly into a Known Working 120VAC Outlet---unplug fridge AC power Cord and use that outlet/verify it works
Run fridge for at least 12hrs.....this will bypass all controls/element will be energized continuously and fridge will get very cold IF cooling unit functions/no obstructions--blockages

[2oldman]

Domestic, or Dometic?

[Matt_Colie]

Kwright,

With zero information on the situation, my first thought would be to manually defrost the unit.

Most freezer/refrigerators only actually refrigerate the freezer section and count of a passage between the freezer and the warmer refrigerator to cool the warmer section. This passage can easily get blocked by frost. Many new residential units actively defrost this section that many have forgotten about it.

Matt