Dometic fridge interior bulb.

[Tin Man]

Hello all,

 

Just thought I'd share this one with you. The interior bulb has gone in my 'fridge so I thought I'd buy another. But you can't apparently. You have to buy the whole unit costing £42!!

 

If Dometic think that I'll pay £42 for a bulb that costs pence, they can *********.

 

I'll use a torch if needed.

 

I feel better now. :-D

[Derek Uzzell]

An earlier thread:

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Dometic-Fridge-Light/27532/

 

You've not revealed which model of fridge you have, but (prior to Dometic using LEDs) a 12V/2W bulb was employed on 7-Series appliances. Although automotive 12V/2W bulbs are readily available with various base designs (an example here)

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schiefer-mini-light-ature-screw/dp/B008LT04AI

 

I've a nasty suspicion Dometic used a 'funny' bulb-fitting unique to their fridges. To quote from a Caravantalk October 2009 thread:

 

"Dometic/Electrolux want £7.99 for a very small 12v 2w bulb for the interior lamp on a 7 series fridge. Unfortunately, it is a special fitting so there is no other source."

 

There's this on-line advert

 

http://caravan-parts.store.buegle.com/product.php/electrolux_dometic_bulb/?k=:::4392593

 

but you'd need to check whether it's relevant to your fridge.

 

You are certain that it's the bulb that has failed in your fridge - basically, have you tested the bulb and confirmed that it's duff? This other earlier thread refers:

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Fridge-light/23735/

 

 

 

[Tin Man]

Thanks for the info Derek.

Yes, the bulb itself has blown, (tested with my multimeter). I've removed the bulb from its plastic holder and will now try to find one that will fit into it via the links that you have sent to me from previous postings.

Cheers,

John

[747]

The whole light unit will not stay in place in my fridge and keeps dropping out.

 

At £42, that is the way it is going to stay. *-)

[silverback]

747 - 2013-03-21 1:40 PM

 

The whole light unit will not stay in place in my fridge and keeps dropping out.

 

At £42, that is the way it is going to stay. *-)

 

 

 

 

velcro is the way to go! :-D

[Derek Uzzell]

747 - 2013-03-21 1:40 PM

 

The whole light unit will not stay in place in my fridge and keeps dropping out.

 

At £42, that is the way it is going to stay. *-)

 

A small gobbet of SIKAflex adhesive, or some ordinary bathroom silicone sealant should stop that. Even Blu-Tack might be adequate - or chewing gum.

 

What's happened to those 40+ years of engineering experience? ;-)

[747]

Derek Uzzell - 2013-03-21 3:06 PM

 

747 - 2013-03-21 1:40 PM

 

The whole light unit will not stay in place in my fridge and keeps dropping out.

 

At £42, that is the way it is going to stay. *-)

 

A small gobbet of SIKAflex adhesive, or some ordinary bathroom silicone sealant should stop that. Even Blu-Tack might be adequate - or chewing gum.

 

What's happened to those 40+ years of engineering experience? ;-)

 

I thought to myself 'this is good information, thanks Derek' ....... until I googled 'gobbet'. 8-)

 

Oooh Derek ...... you are awful ........ but I like you. :D :D

[Derek Uzzell]

747 - 2013-03-21 5:16 PM

 

Derek Uzzell - 2013-03-21 3:06 PM

 

747 - 2013-03-21 1:40 PM

 

The whole light unit will not stay in place in my fridge and keeps dropping out.

 

At £42, that is the way it is going to stay. *-)

 

A small gobbet of SIKAflex adhesive, or some ordinary bathroom silicone sealant should stop that. Even Blu-Tack might be adequate - or chewing gum.

 

What's happened to those 40+ years of engineering experience? ;-)

 

I thought to myself 'this is good information, thanks Derek' ....... until I googled 'gobbet'. 8-)

 

Oooh Derek ...... you are awful ........ but I like you. :D :D

 

I actually did look up "gobbet" before using it and, although the word apparently relates originally to a mouthful of food, it has other applications. For example

 

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gobbet

 

I suppose I could have said "... a small 'blob' of SIKAflex...", but that's potentially even iffier if the dreaded Urban Dictionary is consulted. Anyway, I like the sound of "gobbet" and, as it's not an unknown word in Herefordshire, I'm guessing I must have picked up the word locally.

 

In a listing of Herefordshire place-names the "Gobbets" entry says:

 

"There are four instances of this name, in places far apart: Peterchurch, Pudlestone, Stretton Sugwas, and Ullingswick. The Ullingswick Gobbets is quite close to Corbet's Bridge; the Corbet family held lands in Herefordshire in 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. We may have in this a suggestion as to the origin of the name, or it may not be so. In any case, I can find no early forms. There is a Gabbets in Lancs. which in T. de Nevill is Gerbot."

 

[PJay]

Tin Man - 2013-03-21 8:17 AM

 

Hello all,

 

Just thought I'd share this one with you. The interior bulb has gone in my 'fridge so I thought I'd buy another. But you can't apparently. You have to buy the whole unit costing £42!!

 

If Dometic think that I'll pay £42 for a bulb that costs pence, they can *********.

 

I'll use a torch if needed.

 

I feel better now. :-D

Have you tried www.espares.co.uk we have found them very useful for fridge parts

PJay

[Tin Man]

Thanks again all. Some amusing posts :-D .

I've tried eSpares PJay but no use.

To be honest, I don't feel it's worth the trouble. Not a deep fridge and I can see in easily enough anyway.

[PJay]

Tin Man - 2013-03-22 9:31 AM

 

Thanks again all. Some amusing posts :-D .

I've tried eSpares PJay but no use.

To be honest, I don't feel it's worth the trouble. Not a deep fridge and I can see in easily enough anyway.

 

Have to agree. The one advantage of having a light, it does let you know the fridge is working

PJay

[ham]

We spoke to Dometic man at Malvern last year . as we needed a bulb, He quoted £28 or try Maplin or http://www.edmundson-electrical.co.uk/. I eventually got one From Radio spares £1.50

[Derek Uzzell]

ham - 2013-03-24 12:29 PM

 

We spoke to Dometic man at Malvern last year . as we needed a bulb, He quoted £28 or try Maplin or http://www.edmundson-electrical.co.uk/. I eventually got one From Radio spares £1.50

 

I guess you are referring to "RS Components", that was originally called "Radiospares".

 

Can you say, please, what the RSC part number (or RSC description) was for the bulb you obtained as the company has a helluva size catalogue?

[ham]

I have been looking for the bill but no can find The bulb is available on US ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dometic-RV-Refrigerator-Light-Bulb-3850455019-/230586900757 or you can get them from this site which i have used before

http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/product/2801/value-12v-10w-g4-box-of-10/ this looks same bulb

[Derek Uzzell]

Thanks for replying.

 

Both of the links you've provided relate to G4 12V 10W halogen bulbs that are readily and inexpensively available in the UK. For example

 

https://www.energybulbs.co.uk/10w+g4+12v+capsule+-+clear/17863290

 

These may well be suitable for the interior lights of Dometic-branded fridges fitted to USA RVs, but the bulb specified by Dometic for 'European' fridges is 12V 2W and (as I understand it) apparently has an unusual end-fitting.

[BGD]

PJay - 2013-03-22 11:29 AM

 

Tin Man - 2013-03-22 9:31 AM

 

Thanks again all. Some amusing posts :-D .

I've tried eSpares PJay but no use.

To be honest, I don't feel it's worth the trouble. Not a deep fridge and I can see in easily enough anyway.

 

Have to agree. The one advantage of having a light, it does let you know the fridge is working

PJay

 

 

 

On gas?

[Derek Uzzell]

BGD - 2013-03-27 11:13 PM

 

PJay - 2013-03-22 11:29 AM

 

Tin Man - 2013-03-22 9:31 AM

 

Thanks again all. Some amusing posts :-D .

I've tried eSpares PJay but no use.

To be honest, I don't feel it's worth the trouble. Not a deep fridge and I can see in easily enough anyway.

 

Have to agree. The one advantage of having a light, it does let you know the fridge is working

PJay

 

 

 

On gas?

 

The interior light on modern Dometic fridges illuminates whether the appliance is operating on gas, 12V or 230V. When it illuminates, it proves that the fridge is turned on (ie. 12V power is operating the fridge's 'control electrics') - what it doesn't do is prove that the cooling function of the fridge is working. If there's no gas, 12V or 230V to operate the cooling function the fridge won't cool but, if there's 12V power to operate the fridge's control-electrics (and the fridge is turned on) the interior light will illuminate.

[Derek Uzzell]

An update on this...

 

My Dometic fridge/freezer is a RM-7651L model and, on its interior light, is a label warning that a bulb above 3W should not be fitted.

 

Out of curiosity I removed the bulb-fitting (it's very simple to do) and, as far as I can make out from a cursory inspection, it's as shown in this advertisement:

 

http://caravan-parts.store.buegle.com/product.php/electrolux_dometic_bulb/?k=:::4392593

 

The bulb itself is small (a good deal smaller than a halogen G4 capsule bulb) and appears to be 'hard-wired' into the plastic base (a blue base in the caravan-parts advert, whereas the base of my light-fitting is white). I didn’t attempt to remove the bulb from the base, but there were no obvious identification markings.

 

The bulb seems to be integrated into the base and, if the bulb fails, Dometic’s expectation appears to be that you should obtain a replacement base with the bulb pre-wired into it.

 

The bulb is a traditional filament type and (apparently) has a couple of thin flexible power-feed wires that are held by metal 'gripper jaws' in the plastic base. It ought to be practicable to DIY replace a failed bulb with a new one if a suitable bulb can be sourced, or to replace the filament bulb with a suitable size/output LED. For instance, this type of thing:

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/components/optoelectronics/5mm-leds

 

I believe Phil (“ham”) owns a Trigano Tribute 650, but I don’t know its year of manufacture or (more importantly) which model of Dometic fridge it has. I think the 650 wasn’t marketed in the UK before 2007 and a November 2009 MMM report said that the Tribute 650 Classique then had a 167-litre AES fridge/freezer (RM-7805L?).

 

I would have thought Phil’s Dometic appliance would have an identical interior light to mine (Dometic’s manual for a RM-7805 appears to be the same as my manual), but perhaps not.

 

Even if Phil cannot identify which bulb he obtained from RS Components, it would be useful to know what fitting it involved – whether it could just be pushed into the base or some DIY re-wiring fiddling was required.