Fridge acting funny, thoughts

[sm350bl]

Greetings everybody, I have my Chinook out of storage getting ready to comb through it. It has been mostly in storage or short drives since I have acquired it about 1.5 yrs ago. I have it plugged into shore power currently so I thought I would get the fridge turned on and cycling. I turned it on and selected AC and checked on it a few hours later. freezer was down to about 37-38 degrees and fridge was at 45ish. Starting point was 65 degrees in both. Check again later in the day and the fridge had kicked off AC and the "check" light was illuminated. Tried to restart it on AC and it wont select AC now. If I select AUTO it will go to gas ( which is shut off at the moment because I have the furnace out of the coach) then goes back to "check". I can go to DC and its been running that way for the last 4 hrs ( and cooling ). I am perplexed why AC isn't working. My first thoughts are maybe the AC heating element is defective or could this be a circuit board problem? I figure I can do a check on the heating element. There should be a ohm rating on it shouldn't there? I don't know if just checking continuity through the element is a valid test or not. I want to say that I have verified at this point the fridge physically works chemically since I have witnessed real temp drops in a few hours time. Thoughts from you guys?
PS coach is a 2001 concourse with its original fridge.

[chin_k]

If it works on LP or DC, there is nothing wrong with the thermo-chemical part of it. There are specs on the AC heating element, so you many want to check the manual and see if it has continuity. Make sure the AC is off before touching the heating element, I am sure you knew. They do not last forever, and considered a consumable and replacement.

[sm350bl]

I can definitely check the heating element for continuity. Powered off of course.
I was able to get it back on AC and it ran that way for about an hour. Freezer dropped to 20 degrees and fridge 41. then the CHECK light came on and it kicked off AC. Now it it will only illuminate AUTO and wont switch to anything nor can I change to DC , AC, GAS if I wanted to. The bench-top racer in me is leaning towards a control issue vs heating element but I have compiled no hard data to support that. I will check the element for continuity this afternoon. Does Dinosaur make a replacement board for the rm3663? I would imagine that somebody on the forum here has had a board go out by now and have had to replace with something.

[chin_k]

If it is heating the fluid in the tub, then the AC element is working. I won't bother with taking it apart. Sounds like a controller issue, and I would do more search online, instead of worry about the heater. There should be a few threads on Dino board replacement on the forum already. Good luck.

From their website:
https://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/Dom_Chart.htm
Prod. # 921140114 - 921140119 3850415.01 RM 3663 Micro P-711

https://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/MICRO_P-711.htm

(I would call the Dino people. From what I heard, they were helpful with a trouble shooting over the phone, and do not lie about your fridge just to finalize a sale.)

[caconcourse]

I can definitely check the heating element for continuity. Powered off of course.
I was able to get it back on AC and it ran that way for about an hour. Freezer dropped to 20 degrees and fridge 41. then the CHECK light came on and it kicked off AC. Now it it will only illuminate AUTO and wont switch to anything nor can I change to DC , AC, GAS if I wanted to. The bench-top racer in me is leaning towards a control issue vs heating element but I have compiled no hard data to support that. I will check the element for continuity this afternoon. Does Dinosaur make a replacement board for the rm3663? I would imagine that somebody on the forum here has had a board go out by now and have had to replace with something.

It sounds like the AC is dropping out or the controller is not detecting it after a while. I would check the AC outlet in the outdoor fridge compartment for proper voltage, and inspect the controller board and box for possible corrosion or debris from bugs or spiders, etc. I think there is an AC fuse on the controller board you can check for voltage and check the contacts. Check all the board connections, reseat fuses etc. What did you do to "get it back on AC"? Did your batteries hold up after 4 hours of DC operation? It's possible the charger won't keep up with the discharge rate, or if AC really drops out, the charger doesn't charge either.

This is the Dinosaur board I have in my rm3663 (same model as your fridge): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002 ... UTF8&psc=1

[chin_k]

Clay's reply reminds me of the fact that the fridge is on the GFIC (it is the only appliance on GFIC), so if any of the AC outlets have power issue, maybe the GFIC is aged and needs replacement.

[sm350bl]

If it is heating the fluid in the tub, then the AC element is working. I won't bother with taking it apart. Sounds like a controller issue, and I would do more search online, instead of worry about the heater. There should be a few threads on Dino board replacement on the forum already. Good luck.

From their website:
https://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/Dom_Chart.htm
Prod. # 921140114 - 921140119 3850415.01 RM 3663 Micro P-711

https://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/MICRO_P-711.htm

(I would call the Dino people. From what I heard, they were helpful with a trouble shooting over the phone, and do not lie about your fridge just to finalize a sale.)

I did end up getting to the pigtail for the AC heating element and getting a continuity test ran through it. It does pass that test. agreed that the AC element most likely isn't the culprit but figured at least I would know for sure. Thank you for the link!

[sm350bl]

I can definitely check the heating element for continuity. Powered off of course.
I was able to get it back on AC and it ran that way for about an hour. Freezer dropped to 20 degrees and fridge 41. then the CHECK light came on and it kicked off AC. Now it it will only illuminate AUTO and wont switch to anything nor can I change to DC , AC, GAS if I wanted to. The bench-top racer in me is leaning towards a control issue vs heating element but I have compiled no hard data to support that. I will check the element for continuity this afternoon. Does Dinosaur make a replacement board for the rm3663? I would imagine that somebody on the forum here has had a board go out by now and have had to replace with something.

It sounds like the AC is dropping out or the controller is not detecting it after a while. I would check the AC outlet in the outdoor fridge compartment for proper voltage, and inspect the controller board and box for possible corrosion or debris from bugs or spiders, etc. I think there is an AC fuse on the controller board you can check for voltage and check the contacts. Check all the board connections, reseat fuses etc. What did you do to "get it back on AC"? Did your batteries hold up after 4 hours of DC operation? It's possible the charger won't keep up with the discharge rate, or if AC really drops out, the charger doesn't charge either.

This is the Dinosaur board I have in my rm3663 (same model as your fridge): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002 ... UTF8&psc=1

I did read online a similar sentiment about the fridge sensing 120vac at the plug in the fridge compartment, I can check that. Where is the fridge controller board? I assumed it was overhead in the front area? To get it back to AC I turned it on and off a bunch of times and repeated the process for selecting AC many times. I have the coach plugged in to shore power currently and a automatic 10 amp on the front battery ( van starting battery) The multimeter on the house batteries is 13.7 , never really dropped when the fridge was on DC.

[SMan]

Not that I am knowledgeable in this area but I had similar issues when purchasing my Chinook some years ago. Installing the Dinosaur board corrected all my AC check light issues. The board is located outside in the Fridge access as is the 110 outlet which is on the GFCI circuit.

I have installed the Dinosaur board in 2 motorhomes and 1 trailer to date with no issues afterward.

[sm350bl]

Had it on AC this morning and it kicked off again, checked the ac outlet in the outside fridge access area, had 118vac there. 12vdc at its junction too. I did get the cover off the board and inspected it ( turned off at this point) visually everything look really clean and proper. fuses all intact and very shiny retaining clips. I am leaning towards pulling the trigger on the Dino board then retesting.