R-pod Owners Forum : RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC http://www.rpod-owners.com/ This is an XML content feed of; R-pod Owners Forum : I need HELP!!! : RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC Copyright (c) 2006-2009 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Thu, 21 May 2026 01:57:54 +0000 Tue, 28 Feb 2023 12:28:57 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 9.64 360 www.rpod-owners.com/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=15459 R-pod Owners Forum http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_images/web_wiz_forums.png http://www.rpod-owners.com/ RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : We replaced our Dometic RM8501... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=151174#151174 Author: jato
Subject: 15459
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. 
]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2023 12:28:57 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=151174#151174 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : Hi, I found the same thing, very... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=151168#151168 Author: Bungee
Subject: 15459
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.]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2023 08:09:17 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=151168#151168 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : For not much more, you can get... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=151166#151166 Author: StephenH
Subject: 15459
Posted: 28 Feb 2023 at 6:17am

For not much more, you can get a new refrigerator. That is what I did.]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2023 06:17:55 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=151166#151166 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : Does your RM8501 have a control... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=151163#151163 Author: jlferris
Subject: 15459
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.]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2023 04:39:54 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=151163#151163 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : It's hard to imagine that... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149978#149978 Author: offgrid
Subject: 15459
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. 
]]> Tue, 01 Nov 2022 14:40:01 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149978#149978 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : After picking up the refrigerator... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149977#149977 Author: Bungee
Subject: 15459
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 Angry
]]> Tue, 01 Nov 2022 13:26:06 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149977#149977 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : Have you tried lining it up with... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149898#149898 Author: StephenH
Subject: 15459
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.]]> Mon, 24 Oct 2022 15:33:13 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149898#149898 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : John, clearly I am interested... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149897#149897 Author: Bungee
Subject: 15459
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 Wink

Again, thanks for the assistance
]]> Mon, 24 Oct 2022 14:49:50 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149897#149897 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : The circled area shows wires going... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149893#149893 Author: StephenH
Subject: 15459
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.]]> Mon, 24 Oct 2022 10:32:25 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149893#149893 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : Like Stephen everything died on... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149892#149892 Author: funks
Subject: 15459
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
]]> Mon, 24 Oct 2022 10:03:58 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149892#149892 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149885#149885 Author: Bungee
Subject: 15459
Posted: 23 Oct 2022 at 5:29pm

]]> Sun, 23 Oct 2022 17:29:51 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149885#149885 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : Hi, thank you both. Here is... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149884#149884 Author: Bungee
Subject: 15459
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?



]]> Sun, 23 Oct 2022 17:25:11 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149884#149884 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : Whups your right, I was checking... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149556#149556 Author: offgrid
Subject: 15459
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. ]]> Fri, 09 Sep 2022 11:29:29 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149556#149556 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : I agree with offgrid’s procedure... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149547#149547 Author: Rpod-Couple
Subject: 15459
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.


]]> Wed, 07 Sep 2022 21:11:55 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149547#149547 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : You could try to determine if... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149542#149542 Author: offgrid
Subject: 15459
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! ]]> Wed, 07 Sep 2022 03:15:09 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149542#149542 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : When mine died, everything died.... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149534#149534 Author: StephenH
Subject: 15459
Posted: 05 Sep 2022 at 6:57pm

When mine died, everything died. No propane, battery, or AC.

This might help:
http://www.manualslib.com/manual/1606205/Dometic-Rm-8-Series.html#manual


]]> Mon, 05 Sep 2022 18:57:38 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149534#149534 RM8501 refrigerator not working on AC : Good day,Just got back from a... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149533#149533 Author: Bungee
Subject: 15459
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


]]> Mon, 05 Sep 2022 16:55:48 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15459&PID=149533#149533