tom1946 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Hi again. I have the Autocruise Starfire from 2002 fitted with the Electrolux RM212 fridge. Itried it for the first time since buying it and it won't work. the gas pilot is on but it won't get cold, likewise the mains won't work either. I have supposedly a 6 month warranty but it's been pretty useless up to now so I'm going to sort it myself with hopefully your help. The thing looks grotty and stained inside so I think a replacement is in order, can anyone suggest a model that will fit please? I can get a local expert to fit it I think. Thanks again for your help. Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Before you consider a replacement fridge, check if you can get the old one out and the new one in. If your van is a PVC then no problem but if a coachbuilt you might have problems. They tend to build the coachbuilts inside-out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKen1 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Check the price of a new fridge before you reject claiming on warrenty ,it will bust a big hole in your wallet they are much much more expensive than domestic ones . Cold be the gas unit at the rear is caput hench it will never get cold. http://www.obrienscamping.co.uk/articles/RM212_replacement.htm Brian K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 I recently had a similar problem but on Gas only. Your mains electric problem could be a blown Element or a fuse. Check the circuit with a test meter to see if you are getting 230 volts to the fridge. You should be able to access it by removing the lower vent on the outside of the van. For your gas problem, check the flame. Is it strong and a healthy blue colour. A yellowish tinge will indicate a dirty or partially blocked gas burner unit. You can easily remove the burner for cleaning. When you loosen the pipe connection be careful. There is a small metal nozzle located inside the burner side of the pipework. It has a small hole through the centre. Blow this out with compressed air or a good blow from your gob. :D It is also important to check the exhaust flue for soot. Plenty of soot indicates a dirty burner and will need rodding through to clean it. If you do all that and the fridge still does not work, try driving the van up Hill and down Dale with the fridge switched on to Gas. Absorption fridges are very different to domestic ones. The Ammonia in the system can settle due to lack of use. A good drive (and a few potholes) can sometimes get it going again. :D If it still does not work, remove it completely and turn it upside down overnight. Then refit and try again. That usually works. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Thanks for the replies, much food for thought. The flame from the gas porthole looks blue and burns steadily, I had the mains electric on for half a day and it didn't warm up. Having said that my drive is quite steep where it was parked and I've heard that they won't work if on a slope? it was nose down. Can anyone confirm that please? I parked it on the flat road outside and lit the gas. The freezer compartment got quite cold but the fridge didn't seem to. I'll try the mains again on the flat and see what happens. I know a new one costs about 400 shimblats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 tom1946 - 2017-06-06 12:59 PM Thanks for the replies, much food for thought. The flame from the gas porthole looks blue and burns steadily, I had the mains electric on for half a day and it didn't warm up. Having said that my drive is quite steep where it was parked and I've heard that they won't work if on a slope? it was nose down. Can anyone confirm that please? I parked it on the flat road outside and lit the gas. The freezer compartment got quite cold but the fridge didn't seem to. I'll try the mains again on the flat and see what happens. I know a new one costs about 400 shimblats. The slope of your Driveway will be the culprit on Gas and Electric. Interesting that you say the freezer cooled down on the level ground. That means your system is OK basically. I had the same problem with my fridge/freezer. I have read that the freezer will cool (maybe not at 100% efficiency) and the fridge will not. Do as I suggested with cleaning the burner and the flue and you should be fine. If you remove the top external vent cover to reveal the pipework, it should get fairly hot to the touch when on gas. Check that it is an even heat throughout the pipework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Cheers Jumbo, I don't know how to clean the burner etc' but is this the access panel for the fridge? http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x73/Peasmold/3B36E18F-E49B-4033-9197-456CBE47BF05_zpsfrhsoh5q.jpg tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 tom1946 - 2017-06-06 2:52 PM Cheers Jumbo, I don't know how to clean the burner etc' but is this the access panel for the fridge? http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x73/Peasmold/3B36E18F-E49B-4033-9197-456CBE47BF05_zpsfrhsoh5q.jpg tom. Oh dear, oh dear. :'( It looks like your lower fridge vent is either hidden by the back bumper or it is ventilated through the floor of your van. If so, this changes things a bit. I have no experience of this type of installation. as my fridges have always been ventilated through the side of the van, not the back. You need someone with more direct knowledge of this setup to guide you. Hopefully, there will be another member who can furnish the information on how to gain access to the burner etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 I had a Hymer 544 which had the lower vent hidden by the rear bumper. Ventilation to the bottom of the fridge was via a horizontal mesh at floor level. I got a mobile fridge guy to service the fridge for about £150. He disconnected the gas pipe and top section of the chimney via the top vent and pulled the fridge out from the cabinet. Suggest the OP gets his fridge serviced professionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Thanks guys, I'm learning a lot :-( I just wish it worked properly. I rang a firm about 20 miles away and the receptionist said: 'He's just popped out, I'll get him to ring you as soon as he gets back' That was 09.30 and of course he hasn't bothered. I'm getting really fed up with trades people that have the attitude that they are doing you a favour instead of offering a service! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 If you posted your location somebody may be able to recommend a fridge technician in your area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 Yes of course, I'm in Guisborough, Cleveland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 tom1946 - 2017-06-06 12:59 PM The flame from the gas porthole looks blue and burns steadily, I had the mains electric on for half a day and it didn't warm up. Having said that my drive is quite steep where it was parked and I've heard that they won't work if on a slope? it was nose down. Can anyone confirm that please? I parked it on the flat road outside and lit the gas. The freezer compartment got quite cold but the fridge didn't seem to. I'll try the mains again on the flat and see what happens. I know a new one costs about 400 shimblats. If the flame is blue the burner is probably OK. Mains element could be faulty. In absence of other test equipment, you could use your domestic supply meter, but this would mean switching off EVERYTHING else in the house and M/H for a while. The mains element will probably draw about 130W, so will take nearly 8 hours to use 1kWh. However depending on the type of meter you should be able to see a disc rotating or an LED flashing. Compare with the effect of turning on a conventional old fashioned 100W light bulb. As regards tilt tolerance, the figures 3 and 6 degrees come to mind. The smaller figure will probably be relevant to you fridge, newer fridges being tolerant up to 6 degrees. I do not wish to be offensive, but as you are getting cooling in the frozen food compartment, is it possible that you are expecting too much cooliing in the main compartment? Perhaps a fridge thermometer could help? All this is cheaper and easier than a new fridge, or a mobile technician, who will have to cover his travelling time. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 Alanb - 2017-06-08 8:39 PM tom1946 - 2017-06-06 12:59 PM The flame from the gas porthole looks blue and burns steadily, I had the mains electric on for half a day and it didn't warm up. Having said that my drive is quite steep where it was parked and I've heard that they won't work if on a slope? it was nose down. Can anyone confirm that please? I parked it on the flat road outside and lit the gas. The freezer compartment got quite cold but the fridge didn't seem to. I'll try the mains again on the flat and see what happens. I know a new one costs about 400 shimblats. If the flame is blue the burner is probably OK. Mains element could be faulty. In absence of other test equipment, you could use your domestic supply meter, but this would mean switching off EVERYTHING else in the house and M/H for a while. The mains element will probably draw about 130W, so will take nearly 8 hours to use 1kWh. However depending on the type of meter you should be able to see a disc rotating or an LED flashing. Compare with the effect of turning on a conventional old fashioned 100W light bulb. As regards tilt tolerance, the figures 3 and 6 degrees come to mind. The smaller figure will probably be relevant to you fridge, newer fridges being tolerant up to 6 degrees. I do not wish to be offensive, but as you are getting cooling in the frozen food compartment, is it possible that you are expecting too much cooliing in the main compartment? Perhaps a fridge thermometer could help? All this is cheaper and easier than a new fridge, or a mobile technician, who will have to cover his travelling time. Alan I too was intrigued by the comment about the frozen food compartment cooling and the fridge not, so I found these instructions for an Electrolux RM212. http://tinyurl.com/y6uuuzol Basically, the RM212 is a smallish, single compartment, fridge that has a frozen food compartment within the main fridge compartment. Therefore, if the frozen food compartment is cooling it will, as it is designed to do, cool the main fridge compartment. If the fridge cools on either gas or electricity, it is working. If it fails to cool on only one energy source, the fault will lie in that energy source alone. It seems the gas is working (there is a flame, and the flame sounds good) so if, with the fridge properly levelled, it cools, the basic cooling circuit is functioning. There are two separate heating elements for electrical operation, one 12V and the other 230V. These are replaceable, but I can't say whether the elements currently available are suitable for the RM212. However, there are very demanding requirements for levelling, with use of a spirit level on the shelf within the frozen food compartment being recommended! I therefore strongly suspect that if the levelling requirement is met the fridge may prove to operate OK. Since there appears to be a steady blue flame, it should run OK. But, if cooling on gas is poor, it may be that the gas jet is misaligned which, depending on the OP's DIY capabilities and the information he is able to gather, may require a technician to correct. However, I think the first task is to get the fridge level, and then leave it running for at least an hour to see how it performs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 Thanks again guys, I've decided to have the fridge serviced by a guy I've found in Darlington. I'll keep you posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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