Repaired Dometic DM2652 RV Fridge - Not Cooling Properly, Refrigerator Temp 40F+ , Bad Thermistor

Disclaimer: Working with Electricity and LP Gas is very dangerous and should be performed by a qualified technician. This article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered instructional. I’m not a qualified RV Technician. If you decide to do the same repair I’ve done here, then research and beware of the risks. Have it checked out by a professional. I accept no liability. You have been warned!
In this video, I repair my Dometic DM2652 RV refrigerator. It was having trouble maintaining a cool enough temperature. 40-42F degrees was as cold as it would get in the fridge compartment, and that was on the top shelf, usually the coolest location. Normally, it's between 32-36F there. Luckily it turned out to be a faulty thermistor sensor. Simple and cheap repair!
Part:
Dometic 3851210025 - USA Amazon amzn.to/46XryvJ
Amazon Canada - amzn.to/46ELgwz
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[@raycalandra1887]

Hi Ray. Been following you for years. Thank you for the great Info on the thermistor. I found an upgrade to the standard thermistor called the "Snip & Clip" thermistor replacement. It replaces the thermistor end with an adjustable thermostat that reads the fridge temp instead of the temperature of the fins. I have gotten a lot of great tips from you over the years, so I thought I would send one your way.

[@LoveYourRV]

Cool! thanks for the tip. I ended up installing an adjuster knob from Dinosaur Electronics that goes inline. Guess it does the same. Got the fridge dialed in exactly the temp I wanted. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4bSZGmPgJapgZY Cheers, Ray

[@82gamerprincess31]

This makes sense as thermistors wear out especially when subjected to abuse like vibration or radical temp changes if they are not rated for that. Another one of those things of putting sensitive electronics in a big wobbly box lol.

[@Zihuatanejo...]

Good troubleshooting. I noticed on my rv fridge that where ever I put anything on the top shelf, ice would form on the fins. So I took everything off the top shelf and now the fridge stays colder especially during the warmest part of the day. I also have a wireless temp sensor inside the fridge, the monitor on the outside also shows the max highs and lows

[@donnac.1609]

My Dometic refer quit cooling like it had. It always ran cold. Tech installed a new thermistor but refer would not cool even with adjusting the slide control. After thinking on it he decided to add a shrink wrap cover to the end of the thermistor! An odd thing to do but by golly it worked!! Refer cooled like it used to and freezer to 9 degrees . Just thought I would mention this! All basic checks were done to diagnose a bad thermistor!

[@LoveYourRV]

Weird, I can't think of what adding shrink wrap would do

[@donnac.1609]

@@LoveYourRV It insulated the thermistor sensing temp to make it sense temp differently. It had to get colder in the refer to activate to return cycle off.

[@LoveYourRV]

ahh, I see, maybe the wrong thermistor part was ordered so that adjusted a bit

[@donnac.1609]

@LoveYourRV No my tech double checked the thermistor part number ......He thought maybe he got a defective one but decided to add the sleeve to see if it would cool like it should. He was pleasantly surprised that it fixed the issue. I was about ready to go with a 12v refer!

[@jeffgriffith878]

Thank you so much. After watching this video I purchased a new thermistor. It immediately cooled down 7 more degrees then ever before. Also my ohm meter showed only about 400 on the continuity test in cold water on the old thermistor. The new thermistor is 9200. Thank you again.

[@LoveYourRV]

Great to hear!

[@alphabetsoup7918]

Ray, welcome back to the real world.

[@donmorgan3873]

Thanks for the video! I thought the cable o the thermister was a bit too short to allow enough travel of the thermistor on the refrigerator fin. I spliced the wires and added a bit more to allow for more travel. The fridge is working fine now. Perhaps I just bought some more time before I have to replace the thermistor all together. I did ohm out the existing thermisor against a chart I found and thought it was within spec. Time will tell! Safe travels this winter season!

[@robertedmundson5212]

Love you. Been watching for years. We full time and have a 12 volt 10 cubic foot. Think about a change and get rid of that dinosaur! Seriously

[@LoveYourRV]

We carry a second 40 quart 12V compressor fridge/freezer called a Lion Cooler lioncooler.com/products/hy-x40a It's nice to have the gas fridge for the times we camp and don't get much sun. Like right now, we are camped at Rathtrevor Provincial Park near Parksville for a week and get barely any solar power due to clouds, rain, and all the tall trees. :)

[@crazyman3157]

I had a similar issue before. What I found was the rubber roofing roofing at the top of the vent passage was restricting the air flow out the roof vent. In a nut shell, the cover you removed at the bottom to access the back of the fridge draws air in and it vents out the roof or the side of the rv. Make sure the “chimney” is free of blockage and the air can flow from the bottom all the way out either out the top or side of the top vent. It really is a simple to understand, hot air rises and creates a vacuum that draws in the cool air. Any restriction(s) in that system reduce air flow and thus reduce the cooling effects of the fridge. I can attest that the this is correct in that after I made sure the pass threw behind the fridge had clear air flow ( the top of the pass threw was 40-50% blocked and after removing and clearing the path I could feel a drastic amount of better air flow that resulted in a much much colder fridge. As always, great video Ray. 👍🏻

[@LoveYourRV]

Yes, good tip, air flow really helps out in the hot summer months. I have a set of fans that draw air in from below as seen in the video and also a second set up near the the roof that draw air up the stack improving the natural chimney action of the fridge venting. Both sets have thermostat controls that adjust the fan speeds as needed. www.loveyourrv.com/installing-12v-rv-fridge-and-vent-cooling-fans-from-titan/ Cheers, Ray

[@herb7877]

Nice fix. So many people just have them (frig) removed. Thats an expensive "fix" vs doing a little trouble shooting. $15 vs $1500 + new unit. I'm one to go the trouble shooting route. When I can only narrow it down to two parts I'll just replace them both. Still a big savings over total replacement. I know the current trend is to the new 12v ones; but at this point mine works fine as is. If it ain't broke; don't fix it !

[@WingmanNation]

Great video! Thanks for sharing!!

[@mesnkc]

Welcome back!

[@timalmich1964]

I put in a couple of battery operated fans inside the fridge to cerculate the air around inside

[@LoveYourRV]

I have a little circulation fan tucked inside the lower fridge that I used a small DC-DC converter and wired it into the 12V power that comes to the fridge light, so don't need to worry about batteries. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHqzgaKXecmWpLMsi=ZFYHvwnQw8A3faKI Cheers, Ray

[@MrDonkybonk]

Thanks for the info

[@tommackay7433]

Wish I had Ray’s skills.

[@G_RAThbun]

Good afternoon, ray, I got the frigerator that you have. And I'm having a problem with it. I can't get it to run on electric. It runs OK on gas,I have tried 2 different motherboards. Both of them do the same thing. I'm thinking maybe the upper board. I have one on order. There are only 20 bucks, it's worth a try. You have any ideas? I have tested everything as you have shown on your videos. And it all seems to point do my switches. Also I am missing the slide that holds the thermostat that you're working with. Do you know where I can pick up just to slide? . if you're coming through Idaho on your way to Arizona. Please stop by and spend a couple days. I got a spot for you.

[@LoveYourRV]

Have you tried bypassing the board and wiring the AC 120V right to the electric element and see if it works? I'll have to see what the weather is like when we start to head south but in early November it may be too cold already to got the Idaho route Cheers! Ray

[@G_RAThbun]

​@@LoveYourRVNo I don't know how to do that. I'll have to look that up, stay warm.

[@DontDoDaylight]

Hello, sir! Thanks for all of the great content! I’m coming from your Mr Heater Big Buddy video and I have quite the ridiculous question. Does the Big Buddy use a “AAA” battery for the igniter? The paper that the unit came with says that an AAA battery is required but I can’t seem to find where it goes… or does the unit just use the D batteries?

[@LoveYourRV]

Mine doesn't use AAA maybe its a newer version I don't know about. But on my Big Buddy the flame igniter is manual only, activated by turning the knob.

[@drs3055]

QUESTION: Ray, I always look forward to your video’s. I look forward to learning something every time. This one hit a cord for! I have Dometic Rm2454 Frig. While on shore power and automatic, the eyebrow display randomly lights the various display lights including all of the lights, then starts over. The light cycling continues with little pause eventually settling to automatic and ac lights being correctly lit. I don’t know if you have any thoughts on this as to cause? Also, a simple one, one I embarrassed to ask! How do you remove the cover to the bottom (outside) accessible power module? Thank you in advance for your insight!

[@LoveYourRV]

I've heard that sometimes those little switches on the eyebrow can go intermittent. May try cleaning them with electronic spray designed for switches. The plastic cover has screws and a clip you need to depress with a screwdriver to release it. Bottom right hand corner if I remember right.

[@drs3055]

@@LoveYourRV Thank you. I always look to see what your experiencing and observe your problem solving thought process. 🙂

[@seanwalsh999]

Hi Ray, two questions, are those More Ride or Lipert steps? How do you keep your RV graphics looking so nice?

[@Pack.Leader]

Does the ground still feel like it's moving beneath you? How long did it take to get used to being off the boat? I hope Anne is adjusting. Have a wonderful winter down in the States.

[@LoveYourRV]

Thanks! Transition wasn't too long maybe a day or so. I think becasue we were stern tied in a very calm cove for the last week and the sea was calm for the last trip so not much movement beneath our feet.

[@MrPerryz]

I am debating replacing my absorption unit with a 12v compressor unit mainly out of fear of fire. What is your opinion on this? The travel trailer is 5 years old and sonfar the fridge has worked OK. I have solar and lithium, so I'm not too concerned about power use.

[@LoveYourRV]

There have been RV fridge fires over the years, I remember that Norcold fridges had problems years ago and there was a big recall. I think if properly maintained the risk is pretty low. Likely most are caused when people don't bother cleaning the area around the LP gas burner and dry leaves or bits of wood or a bird, insect nest is there and ignites. I bet a great deal more RV fires are related to overheated/unfused electrical wiring. But you don't hear people talk about that as much as fridge fires, guess they make a bigger impression. ;) Cheers, Ray

[@raybbj]

Does this mean no more Thunderbird Campground? Summers on the water and Winters down south????

[@LoveYourRV]

We may stop in at Thunderbird in the spring/fall for a few days here and there but summers will be in the boat now.

[@Jurornumber5]

QUESTION: About those fans you installed on the access plate. Are they pulling air from the outside and pushing it into the back of the refrigerator or reverse?

[@LoveYourRV]

The natural cooling process of the fridge is convection up through an internal stack. Air rises as the fridge's back cavity heats up. The hot air rises escaping out the upper or roof vent. When that happens cooler air is drawn in through the lower vent. The fans are positioned to help pull more of that cooler air into the lower vent aiding this natural chimney action. I also have a set of fans in the roof vent set to draw air out. Normally one set of fans is plenty but on really hot days 85F+ I'll also turn on the second set. Cheers, Ray

[@Jurornumber5]

@@LoveYourRV AWESOME! Thank you for the reply. I will be making some improvements to my 13 year old Dometic. The fans and the thermistor for now. Just gathering info on how to make these upgrades. Thanks again for your time and video.

[@patsyparker-ps1jj]

Ray how did you get the thermistor wire back through from board into fridge you don’t show that in the video .

[@LoveYourRV]

The is a little plastic grommet that is removable from the inside of the fridge making it easy to feed the wire through to the outside.

[@patsyparker-ps1jj]

Yes I see that grommet that you remove and when you pull the bad wire out how do you get the new one up through the back into the hole in the fridge . It does not look that easily accessible .

[@LoveYourRV]

I have long arms and was able to get one up in there to thread it through. You could try getting a piece of string through first then tape it to the thermistor to pull it through. If not you need to disconnect the gas line and some undo some screws to pull the fridge forward a bit for more room. Its not to hard to do. I've had the fridge out to change things in the past. Here are a couple videos kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGPdmqKAbL2qo68 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnileGSArt1oibc Cheers, Ray

[@garryhammond3117]

Thanks Ray! - My "very similar" fridge seeme to run quite cold in moderate Ontario temperatures (between 10c and 20c) with the fridge hovering around the freezing point anf the freezer at around - 12c - I've tried adjusting the height of the plastic holder on the fins with little difference. - Do you think I might have a similar (but opposite) effect - where the resistance is too high, instead of too low? My TT is a 2014. - Cheers!

[@LoveYourRV]

Could be, sounds like the fridge is being told to run too much, so either the thermistor is off value or something on the controller board is faulty is my guess.

[@Yukonjackman1]

How old is your unit ? Mine is a 2018 and my control AC board craped out already but electronic don't like Arizona heat

[@LoveYourRV]

Original was 2011 but failed in late 2016, bad cooling unit, leaked. www.loveyourrv.com/fridge-meltdown-extended-rv-warranty-s/ Luckily we got this newer model free from an extended warranty so its 2016 model. We have been full time RVers since 2011 so fridge gets a lot of use.

[@Yukonjackman1]

​@@LoveYourRVI'm going to replace my thermistor at the same time I do the board thanks for the reminder, for the board I went with a Dinosaur Electronics 3850712.01 we have had good luck with there products.

[@lroyson]

How does it feel to be back on land, Ray?

[@LoveYourRV]

Now that the nice summer weather has come to an end and its often cold and rainy, it feels great! The RV is much better suited for it.