Upper Refrigerator Vent

ddurkeeiii · 10-22-2013, 12:02 AM

Does anyone know a reason why the upper refrigerator vent would be mostly blocked with a piece of paneling? I'm having trouble (after 18 months of full time living) with the refrigerator shutting down with no indication on the front panel…just warming in the main compartment and thawing in the freezer. Turning the unit off, waiting a minute, then turning it back on would begin lowering the temp but then it would stop, allowing a rise in temp again. My mobile repairman found that the upper vent was 80-90 percent blocked by a piece of paneling screwed on to the inside of the coach. Some insulation above the unit had fallen and was blocking the vent completely. Right now it seems that opening up the upper vent and reattaching the insulation above the unit has not helped the overall problem. AC wasn't working at all and now on LP it seems to be not working as well as it was. Any ideas out there?

Elliott & Vicky · 10-22-2013, 07:13 AM

I asked the service manager at my dealer why the vent was partially blocked. He said that it brigs the airflow from the fans completly up the coils and improves the cooling of the coils. This seemed reasonable to me, but I'm not sure.

Grandpa · 10-22-2013, 11:44 AM

My service guy removed the blockage and commented that it could be the reason my fridge was not cooling properly. Maybe he had a point because the cooling has improved.

SueMar · 10-22-2013, 12:55 PM

Our refrigerator shut off last winter showing code for hi-temp. Same thing -- a piece of paneling had fallen down blocking the upper vent He fastened the paneling up and we haven't had any further problems (RW reimbursed us for the repair and it clearly stated the problem and solution).

Happy Camper · 10-22-2013, 01:50 PM

I had the Dometic rep meet me along the Highway after leaving the factory service center. He told me to make a metal vent at the top to help the air flow down the coils on the back and toadd insulation over the top/sides of the fridge. I did this and our fridge is working wonderfully. Before, the freezer would not go below 32 degrees. It is now running at 20 to 22 degrees. You may want to check these ideas out and ask your service dept about it.

Grandpa · 10-22-2013, 04:42 PM

By any chance would you have some pictures of your modifications?

**hoosierguy** · 10-22-2013, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddurkeeiii

Does anyone know a reason why the upper refrigerator vent would be mostly blocked with a piece of paneling? I'm having trouble (after 18 months of full time living) with the refrigerator shutting down with no indication on the front panel…just warming in the main compartment and thawing in the freezer. Turning the unit off, waiting a minute, then turning it back on would begin lowering the temp but then it would stop, allowing a rise in temp again. My mobile repairman found that the upper vent was 80-90 percent blocked by a piece of paneling screwed on to the inside of the coach. Some insulation above the unit had fallen and was blocking the vent completely. Right now it seems that opening up the upper vent and reattaching the insulation above the unit has not helped the overall problem. AC wasn't working at all and now on LP it seems to be not working as well as it was. Any ideas out there?

At the Redwood rally in August, it was stated that the paneling needs to be there to help direct the airflow, from the two fans,over the cooling fins. The fans blow air over the fins from down below and there is supposed to be a piece of paneling at the top to help direct the air out the vent.

ddurkeeiii · 10-22-2013, 06:50 PM

No modifications by me. Going to need to replace the paneling that the repairman took out when he didn't understand it's purpose. Still need to figure out the real problem with the refrigerator.

Happy Camper · 10-22-2013, 08:49 PM

I do have some pics. Just have figure out to post.

ddurkeeiii · 10-24-2013, 04:37 PM

Thanks to all for your comments. It turns out that insulation falling onto the cooling unit blocked all heat and cooked said cooling unit. Norcold has indicated that blocking a portion of the exhaust vent is contrary to their installation instructions and if that block had not been there, the insulation falling onto the top of the unit would not have blocked the vent completely as it did. New cooling unit is on it's way and will be installed by Monday.

Thanks again for your comments.

tsimpsonerau · 10-24-2013, 11:32 PM

Hi everyone, we had the same problem with our fridge, but it turned out to be the thermister... the fans were not running which caused the fridge to get hot, trigger a code on the front.. turns out it was still covered by the Norcold warranty - the repair guy "hot wired" the fans so they would run until the new thermister was received.. installed new one on the vanes located in the top outside panel - no problems since then...

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