RV Education

RV Resources and Tech Advice

Mike Wilson is a RVDA Certified Master RV Tech. with over 25 years experience and now he's sharing his knowledge with you.
Mike is the president of Wilson RV and developer for The RV Help Desk.

RV Refrigerator RV Refrigerator Repair

RV Refrigerator

Make sure you have read and understand Basic Power
before reading this article.

An RV refrigerator is quite different than a conventional refrigerator.
RV refrigerators are a heat absorption type instead of a compressor type.
They almost always feature 2 way operation. 1 way is 120 volt ac electricity and 1 way is L.P. gas.

Most modern RV refrigerators have an automatic feature. When in the automatic position,
they will operate on available power. AC electricity will override L.P. gas when available.
AC electricity will be available only by power cord connection or gasoline generator.
Without ac electricity the refrigerator can operate on L.P. gas.
For the L.P. feature to work, the refrigerator must be switched to either L.P. or automatic.
The L.P. tank and leak detector must be on and there must be 12 volt dc power from the coach battery available.
The refrigerator L.P. gas valve requires 12 volt dc power to operate.
If the coach battery is dead, the refrigerator will not operate.

Safety: An RV refrigerator has a small flame outside the RV when in the L.P. mode.
You need to be absolutely certain the refrigerator and any other L.P. operating item is switched off
to extinguish the flame before entering a gasoline or L.P. filling station.
I recommend turning the refrigerator off electrically.
This means switched off at the control panel not at the L.P. tank shut off valve or leak detector.
The leak detector should always remain on, even when filling the L.P. tank.
Anyone filling the L.P. tank will turn the tank shut off valve to the off position
so be sure the refrigerator is switched to off at the control before entering the fill area.

(The reason the refrigerator should be turned off at the control
is because it needs to have the L.P. gas valve turned off.
If the L.P. tank shut off valve is closed without switching the control off,
the refrigerator will continue to run for a short time until the lines are empty.
This will cause a flame to continue until all L.P. is evacuated from the line.
Once the valve is opened, the refrigerator will not start again without cycling the power switch.
If the L.P. line is empty, the gas valve will get only air and will not relight for several attempts
causing a "check" light and no operation.)

To operate the refrigerator, turn the power switch to the on position.
Some RV refrigerators do not have a temperature adjustment.
There will be some type of power light that will come on.
If there is an automatic position, I recommend using it.
If you prefer the refrigerator to operate only on L.P. gas, you can switch to L.P. instead of automatic.
When the power is turned on, the refrigerator should start. You will need to be sure it actually runs.
To do this, wait about 30 seconds to be sure the "Check" light does not come on.
If there is no L.P. flow, the 12 volt coach battery is dead,
or there is no 120 volt ac electricity available if switched to that position,
the refrigerator will go into fault or "check".
In the "check" mode the refrigerator is not running and will not cool.
Sometimes if the L.P. has been turned off at the shut off valve, or at the leak detector,
there may be air in the L.P. line.
If there is air in the line, the refrigerator may not light the flame on the first attempt.
This will cause a "check" light and no refrigerator operation.
This is why it is important to be sure the refrigerator is operating.
When powering the RV with 120 volt ac electricity, the refrigerator will change to that power source
if in the automatic position.
This means either the shore power cord or the generator will power the refrigerator.
Because the refrigerator will be transferring from L.P. to ac electricity,
I recommend checking the refrigerator control
to be certain it is still operating and did not go into fault ("Check").
If the "check" light is on the refrigerator is not running.
To reset the "check" simply turn the power switch off, count to ten, then back on.
This can be repeated until the refrigerator stays on.
(it usually takes about 30 seconds to go to "check" if there's a problem)

Since RV refrigerators are absorption type, they are slow to cool and slow to recover.
You will need to have the refrigerator on several hours prior to needing it.
I recommend having items already cold before placing them in the refrigerator.
Be sure to keep door opening to a minimum.
Be sure the doors are latched while traveling and items inside are secured.
Do not leave anything open in the refrigerator while traveling.
Be careful not to scratch the refrigerator with sharp items.
Freezers are not frost free and will need to be turned off and melted to clear ice.
I have seen entire refrigerators destroyed by people trying to chip ice out.

RV refrigerators will do a good job for you as long as you remember to follow the correct procedures