Dometic Refrigerator Problem

[Toby]

Hi. Hoping you can help with a Dometic Refrigerator problem. We have an Elite 2 (Hull 329), purchased in 2018, with a Dometic RM2454 refrigerator. I noticed the last time we used the trailer that the on/off button was "finicky"....sometimes it would go on with a single touch and other times it took numerous attempts including depressing the on button for an extended period before it would go on. As luck would have it, as we are scheduled to leave for a 3 week trip to southern Utah at the end of the month, I can not turn the refrigerator on. I did some voltage testing and believe the problem is the upper control panel, a not uncommon problem I have learned. Also unfortunate is the fact that Dometic doesn't carry these any longer and I can not find one through other sources. My question is: does anyone know where I can get one of these (the part number for what its worth is 2932884030), and absent that is there another board that I could use, and absent that (and worst case) is there another dometic fridge that is essentially plug and play that I could insert in place of the old one. Given the time before we planned to depart I don't have a lot of time to modify existing plumbing/electrical/cabinetry.  Any help/guidance would be appreciated. 

[thompsonkd]

Hi Toby. We had the exact same issue, as have, unfortunately, many people who have had that model of Dometic refrigerator. We were never able to source the upper control panel and ended up having to replace the entire unit with a Norcold. Dometic was not helpful at all with trying to find the part; Oliver Service was very helpful but couldn’t turn up the part. There’s an extensive thread on the forum that talks about this issue. One suggestion was to repair the control panel yourself; that sounded doable but we don’t have the skill set for electronic repair. We had an RV shop replace ours and it was not plug and play.  And, we invested in a very nice cooler, Polar brand, similar to a Yeti that allowed us to use the trailer before the refrigerator was finally replaced. 
David 

[Steph and Dud B]

eBay: https://www.ebay.com/p/1538962234

[mountainoliver]

Toby, I’m sorry to hear about your issues with your Dometic fridge. My Oliver is hull #208 built in 2017 and I experienced the exact same issues. Oliver went above and beyond trying to help me fix my fridge with minimal to no luck in doing so. I contacted Dinosaur and at the time they had just built a Dometic control board which I tried with no success as well. Being now several years later, Dinosaur may have a working set of boards. I know that they have great replacement boards for furnaces and water heaters and other fridges so they may be a source. Talking with the folks at Dometic, they didn’t even know how to fix the issue. In fact, they didn’t even know the correct part numbers for the main board or the eyebrow board and the fact that often they would have their boards made in many different Chinese factories didn’t help matters. Supposedly the two boards had to match each other in software design and update as well which further complicated things. I ended up with a new fridge under warranty which also didn’t work. The absolute weirdest part is that the replacement Dometic fridge would not work in my trailer but once I removed it would operate perfectly in my shop! I used to have the six months old fridge and several extra boards but recently sold it all. Maybe someone with extra boards/parts will chime in and supply you with a set of boards that will work for you. In 2019 I installed a compressor fridge and have been absolutely happy with the result. Others have also done this upgrade as well and I think that Oliver is now using a compressor fridge in new builds. You can find our installation process on the forums with photos and detailed write ups. 

[Toby]

Thank you both!  Dud, I ordered the "last one" off the ebay link you sent...didnt pay the $400 they wanted but darn close! If I can get another year or more from the new board I'll be a Happy Camper (pun intended). If I was replaced my Dometic today what would you replace it with and why? I do like the 3 way (110v ac, 12v dc, and propane) capability.   

[Toby]

Mountain Oliver, thanks for the input. What a shame to have to throw out a 5 yr old refrigerator for lack of a cheap (to manufacture) circuit board. Wasteful is the word that comes to mine. Have lost some respect for Dometic due to poor design (or manufacturing problems) and lack of support. I will look at the installation process you mentioned. What brand replacement did you use? I'm reasonably handy and like this kind of project but it seems like a big, complicated task. Am I wrong? 

[mountainoliver]

Toby, private message me. I have some further information that may be of interest

[topgun2]

4 hours ago, Steph and Dud B said:

eBay: https://www.ebay.com/p/1538962234

"Currently Sold Out"

😢

[mountainoliver]

I used the NovaKool R5810 AC/DC a couple of us have used these. 

[dewdev]

3 hours ago, mountainoliver said:

I used the NovaKool R5810 AC/DC a couple of us have used these. 

Did you need to remove the door to get the old Dometic out of the trailer and to get the Nova Kool in?

Did the new Nova Kool require the upper and lower vents on the  OTT?

[mountainoliver]

To remove the old fridge I removed the fridge door and the refrigeration unit from the back. As you get into it you’ll see what needs to be removed. Just keep the unit upright and be careful with the heat transfer putty and it can be reassembled with no issues. The NovaKool install, I removed the trailer screen door from the hinges and taped the lower hinge in the closed position. I also removed the NovaKool door and hinges and it went in sideways with 1/4 inch clearance. I also added a strip of painters tape on the entry door frame to prevent scratches. I would highly recommend that you make your own measurements before you even buy a new fridge as I think but don’t know for absolute certainty that Oliver has used slightly different door designs and maybe sizes as well. The NovaKool fit my trailer perfectly with two inch top and bottom openings. You’ll see the stages of the installation in the forums. I did however have to make two sets of upper and lower grills for the two openings. The first set I made at home out of aluminum but I didn’t like the difference in color between the aluminum grills and the stainless steel bezel around the fridge. I later had two more grills laser cut out of stainless steel. 

[mountainoliver]

I may have misunderstood your question about the upper and lower vents. I first assumed you were talking about vents inside the trailer. The vents outside, I had to block them off. I kept them removable so that I could work from outside as well as inside. Oliver sent me some old obsolete cabinet doors of white plexiglass. These can also be seen in the older forums about the installation along with commentary.

[Geronimo John]

On 2/11/2024 at 7:30 AM, Toby said:

Mountain Oliver, thanks for the input. What a shame to have to throw out a 5 yr old refrigerator for lack of a cheap (to manufacture) circuit board. Wasteful is the word that comes to mine. Have lost some respect for Dometic due to poor design (or manufacturing problems) and lack of support.

Ditto on the 25 cent plastic piece in the Dometic Toilets that is not sold as a repair part.  Causing us to buy new toilets for over $300.  Dometic brand seems to have distanced themselves from the customers that they need.  Suspect that the only ones they care about are the OEM guys and not us.