Interior Dometic Gas fridge issue

[Treesyg]

HELP! Gas is not working on our big road trip after getting it serviced and fixed;-(

We are on the road and we have an issue with our dometic fridge running on gas. Had it fixed before we began our trip from west to Qld but upon arrival at first stop - not working When it was serviced and checked, apparently the selector mechanism on the fridge was separated, part 23 & 24 are the springs. We are thinking this must of happened again.

Our problem is now getting someone to fix it this time of year and with moving around living In the van, currently in Nyngan and travelling up to Brissy (from 21st Dec - 1st Jan) ‍ Any suggestions and has anyone come across videos of pulling out the fridge to investigate failing finding someone? Steps to safely pull out fridge to investigate? We have need of being off grid for some of the trip

Our service ppl sent this diagram with the parts that came apart. Not even sure how they are meant to work together.

 

[Drover]

Your right about finding someone to look at it at this time...

Was it working on 12v ???? Working on 240v ????? ........... If so then that narrows the field down to gas start which can mean the selector control, piezzo lighter or gas solenoid just for starters.....................

Gas bottle turned ON, gas tap for fridge turned ON, fire up a burner on stove to confirm gas, give it a few minutes for gas flow to fridge, initially may require quite a few start up procedures for gas to fire up, air pockets etc .............................. if it still doesn't then it could be the selector unit, piezzo lighter, or gas solenoid all of which require a meter and some knowledge of what your looking for and something I can't cover on here really.... simple things like a spiders web in the flame tube or mis aligned igniter will stop ignition ...... you can access this from the lower vent but is really something that requires some knowledge....

 

[Treesyg]

Your right about finding someone to look at it at this time...

Was it working on 12v ???? Working on 240v ????? ........... If so then that narrows the field down to gas start which can mean the selector control, piezzo lighter or gas solenoid just for starters.....................

Gas bottle turned ON, gas tap for fridge turned ON, fire up a burner on stove to confirm gas, give it a few minutes for gas flow to fridge, initially may require quite a few start up procedures for gas to fire up, air pockets etc .............................. if it still doesn't then it could be the selector unit, piezzo lighter, or gas solenoid all of which require a meter and some knowledge of what your looking for and something I can't cover on here really.... simple things like a spiders web in the flame tube or mis aligned igniter will stop ignition ...... you can access this from the lower vent but is really something that requires some knowledge....

It’s just the gas issue as it works on 12v and AC. The gas valves are open, we have primed for ages and tried many times to get it it ignited. No gas coming through - can’t smell gas in rear so no spark or anything which leads us to believe it’s at the front of the fridge and possibly the same issue we had. We had it all cleaned (the maintenance stuff) and checked before as part of working out initial problem and prior to going on our big trip so no spider webs.

Such a jolly poo!

Thanks anyways

 

[Drover]

Okay, chance you won't smell any gas as the gas is only opened when you hold the button in and press the piezzo button for spark...
What I did once was remove the lower vent, and the panel thats marked 52 in your drawing above, at least I think it was that one, I then used some canvas to make a cover over the whole vent so when I stuck my head under it was dark enough for me to see if there was a spark when someone gave the button a few pushes...... just like on your barbie .... if the igniter (41) is out of whack it won't reach ground to make a spark, if the igniter does get the gas going for a tiny bit then sometimes the temp probe called a thermocouple (42) may be out of line so doesn't get hot enough to keep the gas valve open, numerous things to stop them, in this case I think something may have shaken loose which could be anywhere from the back of the fridge to the control panel where the sector may have failed .... not something thats great to do while camping I assure you.

You could remove that panel(52) and with someone holding the button try lighting with a taper, if its flares then you have gas if not then more than likely the selector has shat itself, can you get at the control panel without removing the whole fridge ?? I can't remember that far back........ but I do know a mate ha dto replace 3 switches on his fridge while camped on the Murray once as each only lasted a day before falling to bits, needless to say he was not happy as he ended up in a park for a week or so.

Sorry I don't have magic cure.

 

[mikerezny]

A safe way to check that the igniter is working and the gas lighting at the burner assembly is to do the testing at night time when you will be able to easily see the spark and gas burning.

The manual for this fridge is easily found on the internet and I would recommend getting a copy and giving it a good read. It has some information that will be useful.

I cannot stress enough that you are playing with gas and in testing there may well be pockets of gas accumulating as you are holding in the override button attempting to get the fridge working. There may well be enough gas to cause an explosion if you are not extremely careful.
If you are not absolutely confident that you have the skills and experience to do the fault finding, leave it well alone and leave it to qualified gas person.

At night time, take off the burner cover (52) observe that area from a safe distance and get someone to attempt to light the fridge and check whether you can see the igniter spark. If so, then check that you can see the burner lighting. If not, you will have a gas problem.
If you have no spark, get someone to hold the override button in and attempt to light he burner with a match. Avoid holding the button in too long to avoid an excessive buildup of gas that could cause an explosion. Leave a gap of a minute or so between attempts to ensure any gas dissipates away from the fridge area.

Do NOT attempt to bend the igniter (41). It is brittle and will break if you attempt to bend it thinking it needs to be better aligned. I did that and it was a $40 learning lesson!

 

[Boots in Action]

It’s just the gas issue as it works on 12v and AC. The gas valves are open, we have primed for ages and tried many times to get it it ignited. No gas coming through - can’t smell gas in rear so no spark or anything which leads us to believe it’s at the front of the fridge and possibly the same issue we had. We had it all cleaned (the maintenance stuff) and checked before as part of working out initial problem and prior to going on our big trip so no spider webs.

Such a jolly poo!

Thanks anyways

Hi @Treesyg , not a good way to start a trip at Christmas!! @Drover has covered most probable issues but there are a couple of other things to consider. Firstly, did you test the fridge on GAS after it was serviced?? And did it run for a while?? Does the piezzo actually work, and can you see the spark? That should still work even if selector is faulty. However, all this is irrelevant if working beforehand. And does the gas stove work on all burners?? If no gas to burners, then could be the gas regulator at main gas bottle or very low gas level. Need specialist work on gas supply for safety sake. Unfortunately, access to front gas controls involves removing fixings for fridge to allow it to move unit forward from under bench. A gas tech can check gas flow and pressure through bottom side vent to see if gas getting to gas jet.

 

[Treesyg]

Just wanted to update my post with the followup …

This was a photo of the culprit part. Apparently in fridges of this vintage (2010) the knob can become tough to turn and in our case this possibly was the reason why the clips disconnected.

Miraculously I got onto the right guy with the fix, Adam dubbed ‘the legend’ now from Caravan Gas Man knew just what was happening. He even had a back up Fridge with the exact part to save time - he greased it up and met us in Brisbane at a pass through spot. He was very friendly, had a great sense of humor and taught my hubby a thing or two about how it functions etc. It’s been running on gas now wonderfully. Fires up right away. So thankful!

If anyone needs gas stuff done for their caravan in Brissy - call Adam from caravan gas man.

 

[Drover]

Brilliant stuff and some more good info to add to the brains trust on here .............. thanks for the update and good to see your trip not ruined.....