teignmouth Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Hi, my 2001 hymer s510 is fitted with an electrolux fridge rm5405lm which has the control panel layout as shown in the electrolux manual except it has an extra on/off switch fitted to the right of the panel, this is not mentioned in the manual and is not shown in the circuit diag.. I cannot find out what it does. I have contacted dometic and they say they are aware of the switch but it is a hymer special and I should contact hymer. I have both been to Madisons ,preston and e-mailed them some 6 weeks ago and no replies. I guess someone else has a fridge like this and knows what it does, please help! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Your mysterious On/Off switch may well control a small fan (or pair of fans) located at the rear of the fridge. I know that the French motorhome manufacturer Rapido fitted a supplementary fan-unit as standard to fridges on some of their models a few years back and this was operated by a simple chromed switch on the control-panel fascia. The fan-unit was intended for use in very hot weather to draw in additional air from outside to assist the normal convection flow across the fridge's rear cooling tubing. Such fan-units are readily available from accessory brochures so, even if the Hymer factory didn't fit one originally, it's quite possible that a previous owner of your motorhome could have. (I'm assuming you've acquired this vehicle recently and not suddenly noticed the switch after 6 years of ownership!) If a fan-unit is fitted to your fridge, you should be able to spot it by removing the external ventilation grilles and looking in. (You may need a mirror and torch to find it if it's well hidden.) This type of fan-unit is pretty quiet when running, but (provided it's actually there of course, and still in working order) I would expect you to able to hear it from outside the vehicle if you listen carefully. If you do find a fan-unit and it doesn't seem to respond to the On/Off switch, that may not mean it's broke as there may be a extra thermostat that automatically switches the thing on or off according to the temperature behind the fridge. All conjecture I'm afraid, but it sounds right to me and I can't think what else the switch could be for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 teignmouth - 2007-07-27 10:15 PM Hi, my 2001 hymer s510 is fitted with an electrolux fridge rm5405lm which has the control panel layout as shown in the electrolux manual except it has an extra on/off switch fitted to the right of the panel, this is not mentioned in the manual and is not shown in the circuit diag.. I cannot find out what it does. I have contacted dometic and they say they are aware of the switch but it is a hymer special and I should contact hymer. I have both been to Madisons ,preston and e-mailed them some 6 weeks ago and no replies. I guess someone else has a fridge like this and knows what it does, please help! Thanks. Hi Tony What Derek has said is correct. We used to have a B584, with a similar set up on the fridge.The button is for extra cooling of the fridge on very hot days. It is supposed to help pre-cool the warm air before it hits your fridge cooling unit. We only ever used it twice - in Germany during a heat wave some 4 years ago. Didn't notice much difference, except the internal fins on the top shelf felt colder.Can't help with any diagrams as the two hand books we had have gone with the van when we got our new one in April, so can't send you any pics or diagrams - sorryThai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teignmouth Posted July 28, 2007 Author Share Posted July 28, 2007 Thanks guys, I am sure you have solved the mystery for me, you are right I have only had the van for a few months and I came across the switch when investigating the workings of the fridge switching between 12v/240/and gas. Again many thanks for your help. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I subsequently found a drawing of how a fan-unit would normally be positioned. This suggests that it is likely to be located close to (or directly behind) the upper exterior ventilation grille where it can 'suck' air out from behind the fridge causing more air to flow in through the lower grille. It seems that some units have 3-way switches - Off, continuous operation, or thermostatic operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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