RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC |
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Bungee
Newbie Joined: 08 May 2020 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
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Topic: RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC Posted: 05 Sep 2022 at 4:55pm |
Good day,
Just got back from a 2 week trip and everything worked perfectly. Got home and plugged into shore power and still all good. Plugged in a portable shop vac and cleaned things up and noticed the next day that the refrigerator was alarming that AC was not working. Switched to propane, all good. Switched to battery, all good. hmm. Read the manual and it says check the breaker and fuse and make sure "mains power" is correct. Did all that. Even plugged the refrigerator directly into an extension cord and that still didn't work. looked for a tripped GFCI and the only one that I have wasn't tripped. All outlets have power. Followed the wiring thru the two service vent panels and everything looks good. The power at the receptacle is 120 VAC and it goes into the polyswitch along with all the other connections. I looked for an inline fuse and didn't wee anything. The manual doesn't say anything about a fuse either. The manual does say that if the heater element is bad, it would give a different error light sequence. Anyone have a similar experience? Anything left to check? any recommendations. I am thinking it is the polyswitch but that is just a guess. Thanks |
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2020 r-pod 191
2019 Honda Ridgeline |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 05 Sep 2022 at 6:57pm |
When mine died, everything died. No propane, battery, or AC.
This might help:
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 07 Sep 2022 at 3:15am |
You could try to determine if the ac heating element has failed.
With the fridge disconnected from both 12vdc and 120vac see if you can trace the 2 wires to the 120V element. According to the schematic they are brown and connect to terminals x102 on the control board. Disconnect them and measure the resistance. Should be around 1 ohm I think. If it shows open then the element is bad. Otherwise it's probably the circuit board, which is exorbitant to replace unless you can find someone with a good one from a fridge they're replacing. Good luck! |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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Rpod-Couple
Newbie Joined: 21 Jun 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 37 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 07 Sep 2022 at 9:11pm |
I agree with offgrid’s procedure however the element resistance will be much higher than 1 ohm. At 1 ohm and 120V the fridge heating element will pull 120 amps! It should be around 120 ohms which is 1 amp at 120V which results in 120 watts which matches the specs in the manual.
The manual mentions there is a fuse on the circuit board that can be changed but it doesn’t provide any picture or details. I expect it looks like a small glass tube about 1 inch long with silver end caps in a snap-in holder (guess on my part.) If you find it, pull it out and ohm it out. Fuse should be less than 20 ohms. |
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Steve & Elaine
2021 R-pod 2023 VW Atlas Cross Sport |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 09 Sep 2022 at 11:29am |
Whups your right, I was checking the power consumption, which is about 120 watts and would draw about 1 amp, so 120 ohms. Fuse should be less than an ohm typically, if it's good.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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Bungee
Newbie Joined: 08 May 2020 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 23 Oct 2022 at 5:25pm |
Hi, thank you both. Here is the latest. I was easily able to measure the DC heating element (green outlined connector) and that was 1 ohm. The AC element (the one that could be an issue) is not going to be easy to measure (yellow outline). The connector for the AC element is baffling as to how it gets removed. I do not see any clips and it almost looks like the wires are pressed in. Any ideas?
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2020 r-pod 191
2019 Honda Ridgeline |
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Bungee
Newbie Joined: 08 May 2020 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 23 Oct 2022 at 5:29pm |
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2020 r-pod 191
2019 Honda Ridgeline |
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funks
Groupie Joined: 05 Nov 2014 Location: CALIF Online Status: Offline Posts: 98 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 24 Oct 2022 at 10:03am |
Like Stephen everything died on my refrigerator so I had to replace it. I noticed that you are in California.
I am located in Pioneer, Ca and I still have my RM8501. If you are close to my location and want to pick it up you are welcome to it. You might want it for parts. John
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 24 Oct 2022 at 10:32am |
The circled area shows wires going into a connector. Is the connector something that can be removed? To me, it looks like the top connector in the picture is partially unplugged. That might be the explanation of why it isn't working.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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Bungee
Newbie Joined: 08 May 2020 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 24 Oct 2022 at 2:49pm |
John, clearly I am interested an about an hour + away. I will contact you offline.
On the connector that I was asking about, It may look loose but it is by no means loose. I have tugged on it, squeezed it, picked at it, etc. I took a break from it hoping I would find inspiration today Again, thanks for the assistance
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2020 r-pod 191
2019 Honda Ridgeline |
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