Dometic DM265RBX fridge freezing fresh food

[Ranald]

We have a 2016 Micro Minnie 2106 DS. Love the camper but the fridge has become too enthusiastic. Ut is freezing things in the fridge as well as in the freezer, and I cannot find a way to set it warmer. Any suggestions?

 

[Morich]

First step in sorting a problem is getting the basic facts and part of that is knowing what we are talking about. The problem is that all RV may have different frig installed, so we need to know what frig you have! What RV it is installed is not that important but helpfull if it gets into a question on power, etc.
This sounds more like something that needs a check of the frig manual! I would assume there are controls on the front that need adjustment? But how to do that correctly will be the question.

 

[RayIN]

No-one can offer any assistance until you tell us the brand and model # of the fridge.
Or if you prefer to DIY, you can download the owners, and service manual for your refrigerator from; Service Manuals - My RV Works

 

[Morich]

One of the small points that change the way the cool from the top gets to the bottom is a fan blows air down. The more frequent problem is that airflow fails if we set something in front of the vent or the fan fails. Your case is a bit different in that you are getting too much cool in the lower part, so we have to look at what other parts are involved in getting that lower section cooled. Maybe there is a little item that clips to fins in the rear of the frig section and it has been knocked off those fins? Or maybe there is some other form of temp senseing that has failed? Sometimes the fix is really tricky but it pays to first know what and how the frig is built so the easy fixes may be found!
There are times when the little mechanical brain just needs to be reset but we first need to know what controls are involved.

 

[Waterbug]

The little item that clips to the rear heat sink, that Morich mentioned, this a thermister (thermal resistor). It varies in resistance as temperature changes. If it fails and goes open, the refrigerator has no reference temperature and can go FULL COOL. They are $8-10 on Amazon and are an easy DIY fix. If you have an ohm meter, it can be easily tested by measuring resistance from room temperature to freezing.

 

[Morich]

That's where I like to cut the amount of guessing way down by doing the things that are suggested in order. One is that it saves so much time but also saves lots of money when compared to just doing the things we might think about doing. The sensor "may" be bad and making the fan run to pass too much cold air down from above but then it may also be some form of relay that the sensor turns on and if the relay sticks , leaving the fan run it may do the same thing.
But that is where having an actual troubleshooting plan helps so much as there are way too many small points that may make each frig operate just slightly different.
Right now it is only my guess that there IS one of those in this frig!

 

[Ranald]

First step in sorting a problem is getting the basic facts and part of that is knowing what we are talking about. The problem is that all RV may have different frig installed, so we need to know what frig you have! What RV it is installed is not that important but helpfull if it gets into a question on power, etc.
This sounds more like something that needs a check of the frig manual! I would assume there are controls on the front that need adjustment? But how to do that correctly will be the question.

Hi Morich. Thanks for your response to my question and your suggestions. The fridge is a Dometic model DM265RBX and the seial number 64490667. That little slider (themister?) is on the furthest right fin in the back of the fridge and is all the way to the bottom of the fin. I will take a closer look at that today.

 

[Ranald]

No-one can offer any assistance until you tell us the brand and model # of the fridge.
Or if you prefer to DIY, you can download the owners, and service manual for your refrigerator from; Service Manuals - My RV Works

Thanks RaIN, The fridge is a Dometic model DM265RBX and the seial number 64490667. I will see if I can download a service manual for it today. that certainly would help.

 

[Ranald]

The little item that clips to the rear heat sink, that Morich mentioned, this a thermister (thermal resistor). It varies in resistance as temperature changes. If it fails and goes open, the refrigerator has no reference temperature and can go FULL COOL. They are $8-10 on Amazon and are an easy DIY fix. If you have an ohm meter, it can be easily tested by measuring resistance from room temperature to freezing.

Hello and thanks for your reply. I do have an Ohm meter and will take a look at that thermister today. The fridge is a Dometic model DM265RBX and the seial number 64490667. On the suggestion of another responder I will download a service manual for it and see if that helps.

 

[Ranald]

Ok, now I feel stupid! I just took a careful look at the temp adjustment slider in the fridge and found that the little thermister lead had come off the back of the slider and slid down behind the drip tray. I guess I should have used a brighter flash light on my first inspection, or pugged in! So, now it is plugged in and the fridge on and cooling. I'll check it later with a thermometer and see how it does.

 

[Morich]

Oh, YES!
Now you have officially jointed the real repair folks! IT is a select group of folks who have been doing it long enough to have made the mistakes! But the real difference is that you have gotten to the stage you can admit mistakes and not feel that bad!
One way to look at it? Is it really a mistake when we look at the options?
One might have made a mistake but still saved yourself a bunch of money in the process! So I look at the difference in the results being much, I take a small hit on ego but it's worth maybe several hundred dollars SAVED. In my world we definitely call that a winner!
And now you have the RV to do what you might like instead of leaving it at a shop for "X" number of days/weeks!
Go play and let people pat you on the back!
Success often does not come in a straight line!

 

[Waterbug]

I recently had one of the two roof AC units quit on my 2012 Itasca 37F Suncruiser. I'm too old to be climbing on the roof, so resulted in calling a mobile RV repair service. He went on the roof, removed the cover and determined that the unit was operational but had an open neutral. (Had 120 VAC to ground but 0 VAC to neutral.) He was at a loss as to where the open could be. I'm familiar with the RV wiring and knew where ALL of the wiring to the roof went thru a single location. He had looked in every overhead cabnet and closet for a wiring access. My butting in and adding my 2 cents worth probably cut his troubleshooting time in half. I felt that I did half of his job, but he did half of mine. Two heads are better than one. If 20 years younger, I would have figured it out myself. (Was an inflight avionics tech in the navy.)

 

[Ranald]

Oh, YES!
Now you have officially jointed the real repair folks! IT is a select group of folks who have been doing it long enough to have made the mistakes! But the real difference is that you have gotten to the stage you can admit mistakes and not feel that bad!
One way to look at it? Is it really a mistake when we look at the options?
One might have made a mistake but still saved yourself a bunch of money in the process! So I look at the difference in the results being much, I take a small hit on ego but it's worth maybe several hundred dollars SAVED. In my world we definitely call that a winner!
And now you have the RV to do what you might like instead of leaving it at a shop for "X" number of days/weeks!
Go play and let people pat you on the back!
Success often does not come in a straight line!

Thank you for your kind remarks, they made me feel good about this job. I think I have fixed the problem but a few more adjustments are needed. The fridge is still a bit too cold, but at least the themister is back where it should be. Now we are off for a week of rambling the byways and backroads of Vermont.

 

[Ranald]

I recently had one of the two roof AC units quit on my 2012 Itasca 37F Suncruiser. I'm too old to be climbing on the roof, so resulted in calling a mobile RV repair service. He went on the roof, removed the cover and determined that the unit was operational but had an open neutral. (Had 120 VAC to ground but 0 VAC to neutral.) He was at a loss as to where the open could be. I'm familiar with the RV wiring and knew where ALL of the wiring to the roof went thru a single location. He had looked in every overhead cabnet and closet for a wiring access. My butting in and adding my 2 cents worth probably cut his troubleshooting time in half. I felt that I did half of his job, but he did half of mine. Two heads are better than one. If 20 years younger, I would have figured it out myself. (Was an inflight avionics tech in the navy.)

I'm 75 now, still pretty fit, but I am very, very cautious when I have to do anything on the camper roof. It's only 10'8" up there, but one would accelerate a lot during a fall from there!

 

[RayIN]

Ok, now I feel stupid! I just took a careful look at the temp adjustment slider in the fridge and found that the little thermister lead had come off the back of the slider and slid down behind the drip tray. I guess I should have used a brighter flash light on my first inspection, or pugged in! So, now it is plugged in and the fridge on and cooling. I'll check it later with a thermometer and see how it does.

When the thermister stops working, for any reason, the control board goes into max cooling by design.

 

[Waterbug]

I'm 75 now, still pretty fit, but I am very, very cautious when I have to do anything on the camper roof. It's only 10'8" up there, but one would accelerate a lot during a fall from there!

.I'm 82, so even more cautious than you are. Old bones take a long time to mend.

 

[Ranald]

Good morning. I checked the fridge last night after dinner and it's working fine now. The freezer was at 17F and the fridge at 39F so I know that the little sliding thermister is doing its job correctly now. Thanks to all who responded to my question this turned out to be an easy fix, my favorite kind. Happy and safe camping to all, Ranald.

 

[RayIN]

I'm 75 now, still pretty fit, but I am very, very cautious when I have to do anything on the camper roof. It's only 10'8" up there, but one would accelerate a lot during a fall from there!

The fall doesn't hurt, the sudden stop at the ground does. Been there done that_once.

 

[Morich]

Quote:
"I recently had one of the two roof AC units quit on my 2012 Itasca 37F Suncruiser. I'm too old to be climbing on the roof, so resulted in calling a mobile RV repair service. He went on the roof, removed the cover and determined that the unit was operational but had an open neutral. He was at a loss as to where the open could be. I'm familiar with the RV wiring and knew where ALL of the wiring to the roof went thru a single location. He had looked in every overhead cabnet and closet for a wiring access. My butting in and adding my 2 cents worth probably cut his troubleshooting time in half. I felt that I did half of his job, but he did half of mine."

This is one of the biggest problems I find in going to a shop for repairs!
There are too many "mechanics" that are good at doing the "manual" part of a repair, but not enough of the "techs" who know (and bother) to sort the question before they start!
If the repair needs thought before action, they may spend a lot of hours missing what and where they need to do the work!
When they did not know where to look for the wiring, why did they not stop and take a few minutes to look for that info as it is easy enough to find!
The "installation" drawings show the route the wiring takes!
From the basic Winnebago drawings that are posted online:

If we take a car in for repair, we don't often have to go out to the shop and tell the tech where to find the oil filter! Why do we have to hold their hands when we take the RV for repair?