Dometic RM 8551 door repair

[Great Eggstrications]

Originally Posted by Tonny LR

Upon inspection, I noticed that the rubber door gasket/seal is completely flat and I can see through to the inside of the fridge. I am enlisting forum members for help to locate a source and part number for the gasket before calling Dometic part dept. Any helpful instructions to replace the gasket will be greatly appreciated.

Tonny LR

I had the same problem - here's another option for you to consider.

I ordered a roll of magnetic single-sided-stickium-adhesive tape - 10' long x 1" wide x 2mm thick - from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Worked perfectly with my "Damnetic" RM8551 door to seal it up. Seems to have a nice strong magnetic field, and has solved the problem since I applied it 3+ years ago. Just cut 4 pieces with 45 degree angles for the corners and stick the pieces to the perimeter of the door opening, smooching 'em together in the corners, maybe adding a bit of caulking if desired. The 10' length is just about perfect - very little scrap.

It's listed as "Currently Unavailable" on Amazon, but it looks like there are other similar, if not identical, options available.

[Tonny LR]

Originally Posted by Great Eggstrications

I had the same problem - here's another option for you to consider.

I ordered a roll of magnetic single-sided-stickium-adhesive tape - 10' long x 1" wide x 2mm thick - from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Worked perfectly with my "Damnetic" RM8551 door to seal it up. Seems to have a nice strong magnetic field, and has solved the problem since I applied it 3+ years ago. Just cut 4 pieces with 45 degree angles for the corners and stick the pieces to the perimeter of the door opening, smooching 'em together in the corners, maybe adding a bit of caulking if desired. The 10' length is just about perfect - very little scrap.

It's listed as "Currently Unavailable" on Amazon, but it looks like there are other similar, if not identical, options available.

Thank you for your suggestions. I had brought some weather stripping to be placed behind the seal. If that did not work. I will try your method.

Tonny LR

[Tonny LR]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Tonny: Not sure what the shipping would be but you might want to check if this new door is still available in Ohio
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...oor-19049.html

I contacted the door owner but did not receive a response.

Tonny LR

[Great Eggstrications]

Originally Posted by Tonny LR

Thank you for your suggestions. I had brought some weather stripping to be placed behind the seal. If that did not work. I will try your method.

Tonny LR

You're very welcome - but geez, it's always something. I fired up the fridge yesterday for the first time in many months, and all of a sudden the "door ajar" alarm (3 beeps every 2 minutes) is active.

The door is still sealing nicely with the magnetic strip, but it thinks the door isn't closed properly. Tried adding thickness (layers of duct tape) to the inside of the "latch hook" claw that goes up-and-down hoping that that would draw the door closer to the fridge body - no fix. Tried adding thickness (layers of duct tape) to the point of the "latch hook" claw that goes up-and-down hoping that that would hit the presumed microswitch behind the shiny silver metal strike plate flippy thing in the latch/light mechanism sooner - no fix.

So made a video inside the fridge and the light is turning off and on as it should when the door is closed and opened, but I'm still getting the alarm - suggesting that the presumed microswitch does not activate BOTH the light AND door ajar alarm. Saw on another forum that there is a 4-conductor connector that connects the latch/light assembly to the "body" of the fridge, and that one can simply disconnect this connector and disable both the light and alarm. Can anyone confirm this? Always hate to just start pulling wires and hoping to not putz up something. We're willing to lose the light if it means not having the alarm going off all the time. Any suggestions about how the tinted clear-ish plastic latch/light cover comes off?

I vaguely maybe remember something about a reed switch being involved in all this - maybe inside the panel that goes across the top of the fridge. Anyone know?

[Great Eggstrications]

Originally Posted by Tonny LR

Thank you for your suggestions. I had brought some weather stripping to be placed behind the seal. If that did not work. I will try your method.

Tonny LR

The nice thing about the magnetic strip is that it magnetically "grabs" the original seal attached to the door and the 2 surfaces are pulled together. Regular foam weather stripping wouldn't do that - when it compresses it would try to force the 2 surfaces apart.

[Tonny LR]

Originally Posted by Great Eggstrications

I had the same problem - here's another option for you to consider.

I ordered a roll of magnetic single-sided-stickium-adhesive tape - 10' long x 1" wide x 2mm thick - from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Worked perfectly with my "Damnetic" RM8551 door to seal it up. Seems to have a nice strong magnetic field, and has solved the problem since I applied it 3+ years ago. Just cut 4 pieces with 45 degree angles for the corners and stick the pieces to the perimeter of the door opening, smooching 'em together in the corners, maybe adding a bit of caulking if desired. The 10' length is just about perfect - very little scrap.

It's listed as "Currently Unavailable" on Amazon, but it looks like there are other similar, if not identical, options available.

I followed your advice and installed the magnetic strip to the fridge door. The strip seals the door perfectly well. I could not see the light when I placed a flash light inside the fridge. Thank you for sharing your brilliant idea.

Tonny LR

[Great Eggstrications]

Originally Posted by Tonny LR

I followed your advice and installed the magnetic strip to the fridge door. The strip seals the door perfectly well. I could not see the light when I placed a flash light inside the fridge. Thank you for sharing your brilliant idea.

Tonny LR

You're most welcome, but the jury's still out. Maybe not so brilliant after all...

My fridge is still beeping 3 times every 2 minutes as mentioned in a previous post - the "door ajar" alarm. According to a Damnetic schematic I found on the web (see attached PDF) , there is a reed switch that maybe detects the "door ajar" condition. The schematic makes it look like the switch is connected at X111 to a 2-pin header, but everything is connected via a 10-12 wire ribbon cable so I can't just disconnect or jump X111. Took off the control panel and looked all around but can't find anything that I recognize as a reed switch. Everything on the PCB is SMD, but OMG I don't see a reed switch anywhere - maybe it's in an unexpected-looking package? Anyhow, it looks like the latch/light assembly is completely separate from this "door ajar" foolishness, so there likely is a reed switch in the "door ajar" mix somewhere. Still have no idea why everything was fine for 3+ years and now suddenly I have the "door ajar" alarm issue. Earth's magnetic poles shifting? Solar wind perhaps? The E.E. guru that lives nextdoor was no help at all - he just kept saying that the door doesn't look anything like a jar...

The current thought is that maybe the magnetic strip applied around the door opening (in particular around the top?) is messing around with the assumed reed switch. Or maybe the switch coincidentally is "welded" closed or stuck open? Will investigate further and report back.

[Great Eggstrications]

I took the control panel apart as far as it could be taken apart - stopping, I believe, just short of breaking it and needing to get a new one. The full-width panel across the top of the fridge detaches from the fridge, and then there is a secondary panel that slides out from that larger panel once you push and pull and otherwise contort various tabs and latches and whatnot. This sub-panel contains the circuit board and the buttons and display panel. The PCB can be moved around somewhat after 4 screws are removed, but can't be fully disengaged without breaking apart some melted plastic welding joints at the corners. Even if one of the joints is busted apart to allow more free movement of the PCB, it feels like there is a connection of some sort between the PCB and (maybe) the push buttons. The suspicion is that the elusive reed switch is sandwiched between the rear surface of the PCB and the push buttons, and that if all 4 of the melted joints were to be busted apart, you would end up with a pile of pieces on the floor, and not be able to put everything back together again.

Anyhow, I administered a series of sharp wacks with a screwdriver handle in various directions and of various intensity to the sub-panel / PCB assemblage, reassembled the whole mess, and, and, and... no more incessant and beyond-irritating "door ajar" beeps. Still don't know what was causing the beeping problem - stuck reed switch, the added magnetic door seal, whatever - just hope it stays gone.