# Fridge not working on 240v



## martinr (Jul 13, 2021)

Looking for help with regards to my Dometic RMD 8505 fridge freezer not working on 240v
works fine on gas ,have checked all the obvious even changed controller circuit board the funny thing is the matrix on the back of the fridge is getting hot but not cooling fridge. All voltages on the controller are ok ,no alarms on the fridge it thinks everything is ok changes over automatically when needed and as I say works fine on gas
Hope one of you tech guys can suggest something I have not checked


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## n brown (Jul 13, 2021)

i can only suggest you check if the 240v element is getting hot . if not , do a continuity test on the  element . no continuity means it's dead .


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## martinr (Jul 13, 2021)

Thanks for the surguestion but the matrix is getting hot so I would think the heating element is working


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## r4dent (Jul 13, 2021)

Basics -
 is the fridge level? 
Have you got 230v working on other devices?


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## Glass man (Jul 13, 2021)

I have found that my fridge is sensitive to the voltage, some sites have poor wiring and a big voltage drop. Below about 190V my fridge won't work on mains but does on gas.
Have you checked the mains voltage?


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## martinr (Jul 13, 2021)

At home on hook up flat all other 240v ok fridge works fine on gas matrex on back of fridge getting hot but fridge still cold


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## Phantom (Jul 13, 2021)




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## n brown (Jul 13, 2021)

only thing i can think of now is the element is working but defective


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## martinr (Jul 14, 2021)

Thanks for all your words of wisdom think I am going to have to get it booked in , my feeling is it is something to do with the heater element don’t fancy pulling fridge out to check it


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## Deleted member 56601 (Jul 14, 2021)

Just a thought, but when on 240v have you checked that the gas burner is not lit. Wondering if the fridge switches to gas automatically when the 240v fails and that is why the matrix is hot?


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## Drover (Jul 14, 2021)

Following this as I have exactly the same problem..
I have no idea either, at first I thought it was because it was not level but that progressed to the same fault.


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## n brown (Jul 14, 2021)

did you check the continuity ?


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## Drover (Jul 14, 2021)

n brown said:


> did you check the continuity ?


I am leaning towards the element being defective. it will work for a couple of days then stop .... no fault code showing.
Gas and 12 volt perfect...
I dont use 240 that often ,


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## Fisherman (Jul 14, 2021)

If the fridge works fine on gas that rules out many other possible issues.
The fact that it fails to function on Leccy, suggests as Nigel states its the element.
Elements can look ok on a visual, but its important to check their continuity on a multi meter.
Obviously its important to check that mains voltage is reaching your fridge.
I hope you get this sorted.


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## n brown (Jul 14, 2021)

just in case we're assuming you understand what we're on about . to check continuity ,turn off power , then find the 2 wires [+ earth] that come from the back of the switch to the element ,then put the probes on the stripped ends where they go into a terminal block or spade connectors . if there's no audible signal then the element is faulty


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## martinr (Aug 2, 2021)

Hi guys thanks for all the input but when on electric and not working the fins and pipes are still getting hot but fridge still not cooling so would think element is ok the next day it will work fine for a few days


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## trevskoda (Aug 2, 2021)

Dump it and fit a compressor fridge which is much better.


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## Drover (Aug 2, 2021)

Mine is a 8555 and found a manual on manualslib.com
There is a list on there.
Going to take another look tomorrow as it worked for 5 days then stopped again.


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## greg1 (Aug 16, 2021)

Just a variation on this theme- my 3 way works on mains and gas but not on 12v. lighting works so cant be insufficient power and solar shows sufficient output- any thoughts?


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## Fisherman (Aug 16, 2021)

greg1 said:


> Just a variation on this theme- my 3 way works on mains and gas but not on 12v. lighting works so cant be insufficient power and solar shows sufficient output- any thoughts?


Your 3 way fridge only works on 12v when engine is running.


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## greg1 (Aug 16, 2021)

You know when you feel you should have known this already!!! Thank you


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## Drover (Aug 16, 2021)

Fisherman said:


> Your 3 way fridge only works on 12v when engine is running.


And if it dont then there are a couple of fuses to check. Large amperage one from alternator and a 5 amp one on a relay .
No idea where they are though.


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## Drover (Aug 16, 2021)

trevskoda said:


> Dump it and fit a compressor fridge which is much better.


So after not being able to find the 240 supply as it goes in a new fangled box and splits in 2, both with power out only nothing at other end... disappears into the unknown somewhere in the cabinetry..
Wife says to look for a compressor fridge...


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## Penny13 (Aug 17, 2021)

We have a Dometic Fridge it did not work on electric like you just a day or so maybe less then turned off. We changed all sorts on it including electric element, it still did not work.  We gave up running on gas only. 
So this year we had a different problem when our trip switch blew we then changed trip switch to 16 amp it was a 13 amp bingo fridge been ok on electric ever since. The parts we changed costs us £600 ? This switch was £10 on Amazon. 
Our conclusion is maybe the circuit breaker switch had been breaking down for some time.


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## trevskoda (Aug 17, 2021)

Penny13 said:


> We have a Dometic Fridge it did not work on electric like you just a day or so maybe less then turned off. We changed all sorts on it including electric element, it still did not work.  We gave up running on gas only.
> So this year we had a different problem when our trip switch blew we then changed trip switch to 16 amp it was a 13 amp bingo fridge been ok on electric ever since. The parts we changed costs us £600 ? This switch was £10 on Amazon.
> Our conclusion is maybe the circuit breaker switch had been breaking down for some time.


I would have changed to a compressor fridge from day one, cost £80 new.


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## Drover (Aug 17, 2021)

Penny13 said:


> We have a Dometic Fridge it did not work on electric like you just a day or so maybe less then turned off. We changed all sorts on it including electric element, it still did not work.  We gave up running on gas only.
> So this year we had a different problem when our trip switch blew we then changed trip switch to 16 amp it was a 13 amp bingo fridge been ok on electric ever since. The parts we changed costs us £600 ? This switch was £10 on Amazon.
> Our conclusion is maybe the circuit breaker switch had been breaking down for some time.


It's a nightmare, 237 out of the circuit breaker. 237 into water heater  and 237 into and out of the box under the fridge ..nothing into fridge , though last time when it worked there was .... I cant find another junction box ..
Gave up and just using gas....


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## Tookey (Aug 17, 2021)

greg1 said:


> You know when you feel you should have known this already!!! Thank you


I dont think you should have that feeling in this case unless of course you have been motorhoming for many many years...........then yes, hang your head in shame   

Other than the bed and then only if it's fixed, it's all confusing


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## Tookey (Aug 17, 2021)

People are impressed by how much stuff can be fitted in a MH, I'm impressed by how many problems and complications can be fitted into such a small space


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## gasgas (Aug 18, 2021)

Try buying a new Rapido for £64,000 and giving it back to Brownhills three times to get the electric bed to work properly. They couldn't fix it so after I got the bed's workshop manual from the bed designer chap in Italy I spent a full day chasing the wiring to find that the Galloise smoking, Bordeaux drinking moron in the Rapido factory couldn't bother himself to push an eight pin plug and socket together. I cut the wires and soldered them together. Then the bed collapsed in one corner, fortunately while I was not driving. Needless to say I got rid of it costing me £6000. That was cheaper than taking Brownhills to court.


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## gasgas (Aug 18, 2021)

Back on topic. My Domestic RMT7651 fridge is getting just cool on gas, works fine on 12v and 230. I'm a retired gas man so you would think I could fix it! The flame is nice and blue, I've cleaned the burner and fitted a new injector (jet). I still think the flame can't be hot enough but the flame sensor is nicely orange.  I'll have to check the actual burner pressure but hob and oven work fine. We're on holiday in Wales using Wild, bouncing off all the 'No motorhomes' signs but still finding nice places to stop.


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## Fisherman (Aug 18, 2021)

gasgas said:


> Try buying a new Rapido for £64,000 and giving it back to Brownhills three times to get the electric bed to work properly. They couldn't fix it so after I got the bed's workshop manual from the bed designer chap in Italy I spent a full day chasing the wiring to find that the Galloise smoking, Bordeaux drinking moron in the Rapido factory couldn't bother himself to push an eight pin plug and socket together. I cut the wires and soldered them together. Then the bed collapsed in one corner, fortunately while I was not driving. Needless to say I got rid of it costing me £6000. That was cheaper than taking Brownhills to court.


When buying a new Motorhome it’s almost certain that you will have initial problems. There is so much put into them it’s almost inevitable. What would annoyed  me more than anything from your situation would be the dealership, not rapido, or the engineer who erred during the vans construction.
Also I am confused as to why when you found that the eight pin plug was not connected to the socket properly that you then cut the cable and soldered the cables together. Why not simply push the plug properly into the socket.


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## trevskoda (Aug 18, 2021)

Thank heavens I have a home build and have forgotten where things are.


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## Annsman (Aug 18, 2021)

I'm not questioning your intelligence, because I fell for this. Have you checked the plug is in and switched on? Our three way fridge did a similar thing and I was all set to take it in. I mentioned it to a guy on the next pitch to me and it was his suggestion. The plug is in a cupboard below the fridge and sure enough when putting stuff in the cupboard we'd knocked the switch off!


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## wildebus (Aug 18, 2021)

Annsman said:


> I'm not questioning your intelligence, because I fell for this. Have you checked the plug is in and switched on? Our three way fridge did a similar thing and I was all set to take it in. I mentioned it to a guy on the next pitch to me and it was his suggestion. The plug is in a cupboard below the fridge and sure enough when putting stuff in the cupboard we'd knocked the switch off!


It is amazing how many fridge problems reported seem to end up being such a basic thing as power not getting to the thing!   
One of the first steps has got to be not just checking the switch is on and plugged in, but checking after that with a meter if is there 240V at the fridge terminals.


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## gasgas (Aug 18, 2021)

As a domestic gas boiler engineer I did sometimes chuckle when I went to a customer with a non working boiler, only to find it wasn't switched on, or more usually the programmer was off. To answer fisherman's question I soldered the wires together because the bed spec said wiring should be rated at 20 amps and the little connectors were rated at 15A. Sorry to be off topic, my brain diverted me to the time when a fridge I had wouldn't work on 12v and the reason was that each of the many connections in the supply dropped the volts a little bit leaving only 10.8v at the fridge so it didn't work. I rewired it with thicker wire and soldered joints, then it worked fine as it now had 12.8v with the engine running.


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## gasgas (Aug 18, 2021)

Driver, you need at least a10A fuse in the 12v supply as a caravan / MH fridge is commonly rated about 100W. Check the wattage of the fridge , work out the current and double it for the fuse.


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## wildebus (Aug 18, 2021)

gasgas said:


> Driver, you need at least a10A fuse in the 12v supply as a caravan / MH fridge is commonly rated about 100W. Check the wattage of the fridge , work out the current and double it for the fuse.


Back of my Thetford N180 3-Way ....


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## gasgas (Aug 18, 2021)

Thanks to driver for the advice to go to manualslib.com. my fridge is now working. Looking at the manual on line I was able to check the various voltages which confirmed my feeling that my injector was a bit blocked presumably by a tiny bit of dust. I took it out and wiggled a very small needle in the tiny hole. I reassembled the jet and burner mechanism two hours ago and now I have frozen bacon and frozen orange juice. On the subject of fuses this particular fridge, Dometic RMT7651L uses 170Watts at 12v which is 14 Amps so it would need a 20 or 25 Amp fuse.


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## trevskoda (Aug 18, 2021)

gasgas said:


> As a domestic gas boiler engineer I did sometimes chuckle when I went to a customer with a non working boiler, only to find it wasn't switched on, or more usually the programmer was off. To answer fisherman's question I soldered the wires together because the bed spec said wiring should be rated at 20 amps and the little connectors were rated at 15A. Sorry to be off topic, my brain diverted me to the time when a fridge I had wouldn't work on 12v and the reason was that each of the many connections in the supply dropped the volts a little bit leaving only 10.8v at the fridge so it didn't work. I rewired it with thicker wire and soldered joints, then it worked fine as it now had 12.8v with the engine running.


Should be 14.4v


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## Drover (Aug 19, 2021)

It's not me with the 12 volt problem , mine is fine,
Chausson have a 5 amp fuse hidden in wiring To work a relay which connects the wiring to the 30amp fuse which switches the alternator power to the fridge.. bloody french designers
Mine works great on gas though its working out around £3 per week extra with a refillable bottle
When I've time I will strip the carpentry out to chase the wiring as it's not worked for a while now, but I am using it manually as fed up of gone off stuff in the fridge


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## wildebus (Aug 19, 2021)

Drover said:


> It's not me with the 12 volt problem , mine is fine,
> Chausson have a 5 amp fuse hidden in wiring To work a relay which connects the wiring to the 30amp fuse which switches the alternator power to the fridge.. bloody french designers
> Mine works great on gas though its working out around £3 per week extra with a refillable bottle
> When I've time I will strip the carpentry out to chase the wiring as it's not worked for a while now, but I am using it manually as fed up of gone off stuff in the fridge


Watch out for stuff going off!

The person who bought my Thetford 3-way got it as his existing identical Thetford turned off and he didn't notice ... whatever was in the fridge went off and contaminated the fridge interior so badly it was unusable


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## yeoblade (Aug 19, 2021)

Drover said:


> It's a nightmare, 237 out of the circuit breaker. 237 into water heater  and 237 into and out of the *box* under the fridge ..nothing into fridge , though last time when it worked there was .... I cant find another junction box ..
> Gave up and just using gas....


Just run a new cable and don't forget to isolate the old one, what is the box


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## Drover (Aug 20, 2021)

yeoblade said:


> Just run a new cable and don't forget to isolate the old one, what is the box


I think it's what they call a 30ma differential circuit breaker but I not 100% sure. Anyway power in and power out to 2 sockets and nothing to fridge.. only other 240 I can find is to the boiler and that works.
Will have another look in a few weeks when we get out of Cornwall....


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