RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC

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   Have you tried lining it up with the socket and pushing it in? It looks like the two short tabs on the top should be engaging slots on the socket and the plug should slide in deeper into the socket. John, would you take a picture of yours for comparison? I may be all wet, but to me, it looks like it is partially unplugged. Of course, I no longer have mine to check.

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StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288	Post Options Post Reply Quote StephenH Report Post Quote Reply Topic: RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC Posted: 24 Oct 2022 at 3:33pm
	Have you tried lining it up with the socket and pushing it in? It looks like the two short tabs on the top should be engaging slots on the socket and the plug should slide in deeper into the socket. John, would you take a picture of yours for comparison? I may be all wet, but to me, it looks like it is partially unplugged. Of course, I no longer have mine to check.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Bungee Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08 May 2020 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Post Options Post Reply Quote Bungee Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 01 Nov 2022 at 1:26pm
	After picking up the refrigerator from John, I ran a couple experiments. first I confirmed that the connectors are press fit and the wires are impaled (for lack of a better word) into the connectors. It was a lot better visualizing this on a bench rather than on my Rpod. I measured my AC heating element. It was open so I replaced it with the 110 Ohm spare. AC still giving an error as before. I replaced the Dometic control box with the spare. Could not get anything to light up. I confirmed 12vdc to the unit but that is about it. disappointed but continued on. I reinstalled the original controller and again, not working on AC mode. Connected an extension cord directly to the fridge and still not working in AC mode (as always the warning triangle lights up and blinks). I have to "assume" I guess that the controller failed on AC mode and took out the heating element. Double failures seem odd but I suppose it could happen. I really want to thank John for allowing me to run this experiment. He is a great guy and we really enjoyed meeting him and seeing what improvement he did to his Rpod. Side note, these control units are not repairable. the PC boards are potted
	2020 r-pod 191 2019 Honda Ridgeline

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Post Options Post Reply Quote offgrid Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 01 Nov 2022 at 2:40pm
	It's hard to imagine that a control board failure would take out a heating element. All it is is a resistor, it either has 120Vac to it or not. Could your old heating element have developed been the first failure, creating a ground fault which then damaged the relay in the control board? If you haven't already, you might want to check that the 120V heater isn't shorted to ground now. Depending on how much more time you want to spend on this, it looks from the manual that there is a service mode where you can manually toggle through activating the various operating modes, including manually energizing the ac heating element relay. Possibly you could do that with 120V and the heating element disconnected and see if the relay contacts close or not using an ohmmeter.
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jlferris Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 26 Apr 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13	Post Options Post Reply Quote jlferris Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Feb 2023 at 4:39am
	Does your RM8501 have a control unit that looks like this? Do you know if it is still good? Mine is bad and I'm finding it difficult to get a replacement for under $1000.

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288	Post Options Post Reply Quote StephenH Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Feb 2023 at 6:17am
	For not much more, you can get a new refrigerator. That is what I did.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Bungee Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08 May 2020 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Post Options Post Reply Quote Bungee Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Feb 2023 at 8:09am
	Hi, I found the same thing, very hard to find and very expensive. I have yet to travel down the road of shopping for a new fridge but that is the way I plan on going as I imagine buying a Dometic controller would have limited return options (not sure, just assuming) if something goes sideways. If you do happen to buy a new one (fridge or controller), it would be kind to let us know what you found. John got his fridge off of Amazon and it looked comparable. Sorry for the general bad news but this is what I experienced. I wish you better luck.
	2020 r-pod 191 2019 Honda Ridgeline

jato Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Location: Kewadin, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 3221	Post Options Post Reply Quote jato Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Feb 2023 at 12:28pm
	We replaced our Dometic RM8501 when it was just over 10 years old. Purchased the same from FR back in September 2020 for a price of $ 1150 complete which also included shipping. The changout would have been much easier with a second person to help.
	God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."