Guest Derek Uzzell Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Our motorhome has a Dometic RM7651L fridge. This has an upper 26 litres freezer compartment, a lower 150 litres refrigerator section and curved door panels. The travel-locking mechanism is between the two doors and comprises a pair of horizontal 'sliders' that latch on to a metal bracket screwed to the front of the fridge. The points of contact between sliders and bracket are not designed to be adjusted. The problem with our fridge relates to the locking mechanism for the large lower door. First of all it was fine, with the slider moving easily between locked and unlocked positions, but this smooth action became increasingly stiff. Even when I fiddled with the door's top hinge (which improved the situation) the stiffness reappeared soon after. It's clear that the problem is caused by the door's upper edge moving downwards slightly and I naturally thought this might be due to the weight of goodies stored in the door itself. However, the reason may be more subtle as the fridge is currently empty but the catch has become impossible to move to the locked position without simultaneously lifting the base of the door. As the slider moved OK before the current spell of cold weather it may be that the door is shifting shape due to temperature changes, which could explain why the locking action worsens when the fridge is in use. Before I moan to Dometic about this I'd be interested to learn whether any one else has experienced the same problem with a similar model fridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter goddard Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Hi Derek, We have the same mech on our smaller fridge. We too find it slightly difficult to slide the lock over on occasions. For some reason we have most trouble when parked on uneven ground. We solve the problem by pushing slightly on the edge of the door and the lock then slides easily. I know we should not have to do this but it does solve the problem and it does seem to go away when we are parked on level ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 HiDerek, W ehave the smaller fridge in our Ace Milano, same sort of problem catch worked fine for a while then started to get stiff, enventualy not able to put the fride door in the open storage position. the service dept at our dealers replaced the catch its only a plastic slider. inside ther is a little plastic lug that breaks off after it has been bent due to trying to get it to lock. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Thanks for the feedback. I think the mechanism on my two-door fridge differs from the single door models. There's a critical relationship between the bracket on the fridge front and the 'hooked' plates that the sliders move. The bracket is dual-function with the top part relating to the upper door and the bottom part to the lower door. As the bracket looks reversible I thought it might be upside-down - but doesn't work at all the other way up, so it must be correctly installed. It looks like I may have to take off the doors, which doesn't seem that difficult, and add a spacer to the lower door's bottom hinge. However, if I do this and the door reshapes itself when it warms up, I shall be back to square one and even more irritated than now. I might try scrounging a replacement bracket from Dometic first just in case mine's not quite right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bill Ord Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 Hi Derek, We have the same fridge freezer in our van and had some stiffness in the locking catch when new but it has not been a problem after the first two weeks. We thought it was down to "newness" but it seems to be more than that. Keep us informed of any progress you make as I'd like a cure if the problem returns. Bill Ord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rodger Hilton Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 Hello derek, We have the same fridge/freezer fitted in our Rapido. Our catch has now broken and we have been waiting for about 8 weeks for a new one. We noticed at Brownhills, Earls Court and Excel that several vans with the same fridge/freezer either had the catch missing or broken. We also had a lot of condensation between the fridge and the frezer as a result of a poor door seal on the freezer. Dometic have informed me that there is a replacement hinge assembly and they will replace the freezer door, catch and hinge. The door is in stock but they are waiting for new catches and hinge. Rodger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ron Donovan Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 We have had our lock replaced once and its now gone again after 12 months, I know of 4 vans with this fridge and all have the same problem, it is a very cheap catch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted November 25, 2005 Share Posted November 25, 2005 Interesting stuff... Now it's been mentioned I recall that I've also seen exhibition/demo 'vans with broken Dometic fridge locking catches, but I'd always put this down to the rough treatment these vehicles get from kack-handed visitors to leisure shows and dealerships rather than innate weaknesses in the catches themselves. There are differences between the catch Dometic uses for RM7601/7605 (flat door) fridges or for RM7651/7655 (curved door) models. The latter catch (as used on my own 7651 fridge) looks reasonably rugged but, if there is a common fault with door closure, I can appreciate it could well fail if serious force were applied in attempting to engage the lock. Rodger: If there's a fault with the freezer's door seal then excessive condensation will result, but you're going to get a fair bit of condensation in the between-doors area anyway just because of the fridge's design. That's why Dometic include a frame-heating button to evaporate the droplets. (Sorry if this insults your intelligence but, even if you get a new door, I think you'll still get condensation.) How old is your fridge please? I don't want to be demanding equal treatment from Dometic then find (as I suspect) that I've already got the latest versions of the door, catch and hinge. 8 weeks is too long to wait for a simple small part. Try complaining about the delay directly to the factory - usually works for me. Thanks again, guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted November 25, 2005 Share Posted November 25, 2005 Hello Derek et al Same fridge door, same problem. However, I took the door off and changed the spacer washer beneath the bottom pivot for a slightly thicker one. It is now much better, although the catch does at times still stick. This we "work around" by lifting the slam adge slightly as we shut it. My conclusion is that I need a washer that is slightly thicker again. All trial and error with packs of washers from DIY stores, odds and ends I've never chucked out etc. The design is flawed, in that the vertical tolerances on the prongs of the catch and/or the locking pin are too fine. Any wear due to use and travel vibration drops the door and it needs raising again. I'm just assuming that after a bit more use the wearing surface have polished smooth and flat, and settle into a reasonably stable condition, when I can add the definitive washer! Hope this is of interest/help Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rodger Posted November 25, 2005 Share Posted November 25, 2005 Hi Derek Thanks for your information. I was aware that there is some condensation between the fridge and freezer but mine was excessive. I'll try the agent again on Monday and if the information is not satisfactory I'll try the manufacturer. The van was bought new in March this year. The fridge/freezer is the large 150 litre one with the curved front. I had already come to think that it was the weight of food and drink in the door that was causing the problem but the catch broke before I could repair it. Brian. Do think that there might possibly be an employment possibility road testing fridges?. Rodger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Posted November 25, 2005 Share Posted November 25, 2005 Hello Rodger I think we've done the road test already, so I guess to that extent wer're already employed. I don't think it'll generate much income though, unless Dometic wants to pay us!! Since we're cribbing - sorry, contributing positive feedback - about their product, I suspect financial recognition of our efforts will be somewhat limited. Still, it is nearly Christmas! Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted November 26, 2005 Share Posted November 26, 2005 I'll have a go at Dometic on this. Brian's diagnosis exactly matches mine and, short of packing the hinge as he's done, there doesn't seem to be an obvious fix. I'm thinking about taking off the bracket and giving a good whack in a vice to bring the lower catch lower (if you see what I mean). But essentially the catch/lock design seems flawed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 It seems that it's not so easy nowadays to get at Dometic directly by e-mail as, unsurprisingly, the company wants to delegate enquiries to local Dometic agents. Everything tells me that's not going to be much use in this instance, so I may not bother trying to find out whether Dometic recognises this locking problem as widespread or can offer advice about it. As far as my own fridge is concerned, I've now taken a really good look at the locking mechanisms. There doesn't seem to be anything intrinsically wrong design-wise, merely that the central locking bracket on my fridge is slightly too high for the locking mechanisms' 'hooks' to make optimum striking contact. If the bracket had been located about 2mm further down then the lower door's lock should work perfectly and even the action of the upper door's lock would be improved. Unless a redesigned bracket is available, I appear to have just two bracket-related options. The first is to fill the original fixing holes for the bracket retaining screws in the fridge front, then re-drill the holes 2mm downwards. The second (and my preferred choice) is to modify the bracket (ie. slot its existing screw-holes) so that, when it is reattached to the fridge, it can be adjusted 2mm lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Derek Isn't the bracket chrome/bright zinc palted? I'm sure mine is shiny stuff, which I don't think is stainless steel. If you slot the holes (filing or whatever), won't you remove the plating locally and leave a route for corrosion? I know it's internal, and not very noticeable, but it is in a fairly poorly ventilated location just above the fridge door. Atmospheric moisture always seems to attack something during the winter and it seems a shame to open the door for it. Once it's in, it'll travel! I know the packing washer/shim is a bit less refined, but it is fairly easy to do, easy to re-set if required, and doesn't involve any intervention of Dometic's bits. Should you carry out your mod and the catch subeequently fail, you may have a bit of a spat with Dometic over why the failure arose. I don't doubt your ability to do the job well, or your reasoning, and I therefore hesitate to offer advice. It's just that altering the bracket does seem a bit of a radical measure when there is an easier, albeit less engineered, fix. In the nineteenth century a bodger was a highly skilled, honourable and much sought after tradesman who fixed minor constructional problems. His services were greatly valued. Don't be ashamed to try a good bodge first time round, you can always do the proper, engineered, fix later if you need to! Hope you're not offended. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Brian: Too late (but I was aware of the plating risk as you'll see from the text below that I wrote before I read your response). By the way, don't worry about offending me, I've got skin like a rhino. "Having concluded earlier that there were only two ways my fridge's central locking bracket could be repositioned so that it contacted the door mechanisms better I realised there was a third option. Owners of this model of fridge/freezer will know that the central bracket carries two 'studs'. The upper (freezer) door locks against the upper stud, while the lower (fridge) door locks via the lower stud. Each stud is a short metal column topped with a flat mushroom head. What these mushroom heads are actually for I'm not sure but, on my fridge, it was the head of the lower stud that was in misalignment with the hooks of the door lock, preventing them from engaging properly with the stud's column. So, rather than attempt to move the bracket so that the column aligned with the hooks, I just ground off the edges of the lower stud's mushroom until it was the same diameter as the column. This does two things - extends the column length downwards (equivalent to lowering the bracket) and reduces the requirement for an exact vertical match between bracket and door lock. As the freezer door locked pretty well, I decided to leave the upper stud alone. This simple modification to the bracket has totally cured my fridge's locking problem and I see no reason why it should recur. There is an obvious potential drawback to the 'fix' - grinding the mushroom head damages the stud's plated surface inviting future rusting. Can't say this concerns me much as it looks like the complete bracket will need regular treatment against corrosion anyway." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rodger Hilton Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Hi Derek and Brian, The service engineer came today as promised. He replaced the freezer door, the door catch and the middle hinge that supports the freezer door and the fridge door. I was rather surprised that the bottom hinge was not being replaced as well but apparently the replacement centre hinge should cure the droppeed fridge door. I loaded it up with bottles etc. and at the moment it works well. What it will be like after a couple of thousand miles only time will tell. It appears that at one of the continental shows a different hinge with a height adjustable screw in peg was available but it is not available in the UK. As an aside I was told that many owners are taking out extended warranties - something that I never do. I'll let you know how the door performs over the next few months.(Off to Spain and Portugal next month - that should test it) Rodger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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