# Dometic fridge-heating elements



## RV Doc

How do you check to see if heating elements are malfunctioning? Have a dometic RM 3804 two-way.


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

Dometic fridge-heating elements

You can do it two ways.  One, the more professional, is to trace the wires off the element back to the board and then check voltage.  I THINK you should find 120v.  The lesser professional way is to have the refer. turned off until the chimney is cold, turn it on electric, and in a few minutes you can feel heat on the element.  If you just want to know if it is working, in about 15 mins., you won't be able to touch it.


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## sp

Dometic fridge-heating elements

Doc, Boz had said in my thread that you can use an OHM meter to test the element. He wasn't sure of the resistance but thought it may be 40. My question was to him, aren't they two different systems...gas or electric? Maybe I just don't get the resistance thing.
sp


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

Dometic fridge-heating elements

Yea, resistance can be checked, but I also do not know what it should be.  I can check that out tomorrow.  What I was saying is if you don't have voltage, the problem could be the circuit board.  If you have voltage and the element does not get hot, you have a bad element.


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## sp

Dometic fridge-heating elements

so, there is a circut board in a 1976 unit? Thanks


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

Dometic fridge-heating elements

No one has said 1976 before.  Could have had them, I honestly don't know.  That is when I graduated HS.  Sorry, but I was talking about newer units.


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## Kirk

Dometic fridge-heating elements

The Dometic RM3800 series refrigerators have a heating element with a resistance of 44 ohms, according to the service manual. If you check across the terminals on the circuit board, it should read 120V with AC selected. If there is 120V there, I would then pull the power plug and lift the leads from the circuit board and check the resistance value. It doesn't need to be exact, but it should be pretty close to that value. The rated current is 2.7A and is fused for 3.15A, so check to see if that is open. 

This data comes from the Dometic service manual. While I'm not sure just when these were manufactured, I am quite sure that it is more recent than 1976.  And the 3800 series do all have circuit boards.


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## RV Doc

Dometic fridge-heating elements

Kenneth.aka Grandview sales. I did the less than professional way and shortly after turning the fridge on it began to heat on the 120 side...I put a new thermostat in today and am waiting to see if that helps the problem. Thanks for the good info..this website is fabulous with so much tech talent and folks that just care. RV Doc


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## RV Doc

Dometic fridge-heating elements

Problem solved!!! I determined that the heating elements were ok based on Ken Hurts,Grandview Trailer, recomendations. Thought this thing through and based on some other recs took a $40 chance and bought a new thermostat. Bingo..changed it out and in less than two hours the freezer was getting frosty and in several more hours the fridge was cool. I hope this helps someone out and I thank all of you guys for the recs.I learn more in a few hours here than looking through pages and pages of book data. Thanks to all....Just in time to hit the highway this weekend..Best Regards...RvDoc!


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

Dometic fridge-heating elements

Glad to be of help!  Thanks for getting back to us and letting us know.  Now if I run into this in the future, I will look into the thermostat.


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## sp

Dometic fridge-heating elements

GTS, There are to similar posts, one with Doc's issue and one with mine for the 76. Both posts had the same issue but the years were way different. I'm going to try to find a new therm for the 76 based on Doc's good luck. It is what I thought the problem was for awhile now.

Hey Doc, yeah new toys are fun but you don't really need to work on them. I'll post pics of the new toy as soon as i get some time them.

Thanks to all for you help and i'll post how it all worksout.
sp


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