RM 8501 wiring issue
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URL: https://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=14126
Printed Date: 11 Jul 2026 at 1:04pm
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Topic: RM 8501 wiring issue
Posted By: jato
Subject: RM 8501 wiring issue
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2020 at 8:05am
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Found out the following: you cannot switch door from right to left
or vise versa. What I did do was to basically take all the hardware off
my old unit and put it on the new one so I now have a door with the
hinge on the right side. Had to bend the latch on the left side of the
door to make it work. Also took off my old top bracket that holds the
readout for the fridge (new one came broken) and switched that all out.
Still going to call FR and have them send me a "correct" one so I have a
spare. Now that all that goofiness is
behind me I have another issue. When I plugged it in to house current I
had nothing power wise. Realizing I need 12v (now I do) to have the
interior light come on as well as run the mother board I hit a wall.
Called Dometic and they sent me a picture of where the pair of 12v wires
go. However in that spot I have 3 wires coming out that are attached
in a plug. On the cover these read PS IN 12V VDC and it shows - +(D) +(S). Now attached to the - (black wire)
+ (purple wire)
+ (D) white wire) solar ? +(S) open ------------- 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." |
Replies:
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2020 at 8:40am
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According to the manual here the D and S terminals are not used in the MES model, which is I think what we have.
http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/Service%20Manual,%20RM8xxx.pdf Terminals 1 and 2 are the 12V supply to the electronics and 5 and 6 are the supply for the 12V heating element. The photo on pg 41 shows the hookup. As you say, do not trust the color codes, use you voltmeter to confirm the polarity of each wire before connecting. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 12:06pm
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Thank you Offgrid !! I didn't see that wiring block as it is
located real low ( I didn't get down on my belly to see this) on my
original it was located and screwed on the top of the refrigerator where
one can easily see it. Anyway, my original was not hooked up to the
heating element - it appears from the schematic on pages 43 and 44 that
this is for a heater in the door? What is the advantage of that? Will
this minimize the amount of ice buildup on the aluminum fins or what?
Also will this eat up a lot of battery if this is running all the time?
Any ideas of amperage use for this heating element? Boondocking
most of the time, battery longevity is important and I am used to
getting 6 - 7 days out of my 9.5 year old Interstate batteries when
night temps are under 50 and furnace runs a lot. They are deep cycle
group size 24.
------------- 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." |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 12:16pm
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Usually door heaters are just to dry up condensation on the door gasket so you don’t get mold. I agree it’s a waste of a electricity boon docking. I’d leave it off and see if you have any problems you can’t deal with by just cleaning the seal. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 3:11pm
Sounds good to me. It wouldn't be too difficult to add a couple pigtails in the future to hook up the heater. On the original fridge it would be, because the wiring block to do this was screwed on the top of the unit, on this new one, it is on the back of the fridge near the floor. Over the past 10 seasons camping with the 177 we have noted that spring and fall not much moisture on the seal but in summer or high heat/humidity season, quite a bit of moisture needs to be wiped off at times.
------------- 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." |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 3:19pm
The older RV fridges didn't have door heaters. I used to get a little mold in the gasket folds, some vinegar always seemed to take care of it. But no one went around thinking that a little mold was gonna kill you back then like folks seem to nowadays.  ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 3:30pm
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Yeah, I hear you. The mold nowadays is smarter than it was 20 years ago! Anyway, my brother just sent me a text about this and told me that on his Dometic (5 Cubic foot) 2017 model year that the condensation heater for the door draws 0.5 amps or 6 watts. That works out to be 12 amp hrs./day.
------------- 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." |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 3:38pm
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Either the mold is smarter or the humans are dumber, not sure which.... Waste of 12 amphours unless its really humid. Didn't look in the manual but is there an on/off setting for it built into the control board? If so maybe wire it up and leave it off till you really need it or have shore power. Or add a switch somewhere... ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |