Electrical gurus, why did this fix work?

[SCS]

Like many others, I have experienced frustration with the Dometic digital thermostat. It did all manners of crazy things including, but not limited to, rapidly running up and down the scale when trying to set temperature. For what it's worth and I am certainly no electrical expert, I popped off the cover and drilled holes in it big enough to fit a finger at the up and down arrows and the mode button. I then replaced the cover. Now when setting I am directly touching the prongs instead of touching the plastic cover. I have had no issues since doing that. I will probably have to blow the dust out of it periodically since it now has holes and it ain't pretty but it seems to work. Perhaps one of our resident electricians can explain it.

[HABBERDABBER]

I've had 2 small radios, same model ,with silicone rubber switch and control button covers. All are wonky. On 1 the On-OFF button was kaput. I removed the cover, and after numerous hacks I finally JB Weld Plastic epoxy attached a small bolt directly to the switch post. Works fine now. Hack #4 on that one.



Plastic changes over time in dimension, strength, all manner of attributes. I'm speculating that the switch covers on your thermostat, or membrane covering the switches, has changed in some way. Sure seems so.

[C&G in FL]

A poster on the Forest River forums posted the following:

“Here is your problem with a proven fix result. I had the exact same problem as everyone stated. The problem lies in the buttons there are 3, take the face plate off you will see 3 squares that push on the keys. When you push them to hard they recess. Its only foam. The harder you press the worst it gets. This is a known defect in the face plate. You need either to add some foam or replace the face. Coachmen gave me extra faces. I have changed mine 3 mos ago and it is working perfectly now, and believe it or not it's a very accurate stat now. But I also use very little pressure to change temps and modes now, it is very sensitive. Hope that helps everyone.”

I cannot say if this is the solution because I have not had a single problem with my digital thermostat since I took delivery of my trailer in May of 2015, but it would seem to suggest why the OP’s (SCS) modification worked.

[tdf-texas]

The Dometic Capacitive Touch Thermostat does not use pushbuttons to operate - they are capacitive touch areas. A tap of the thermostat surface is suppose to be all that is needed to operate it - pushing on the surface as if it is a pushbutton will compress the foam under the faceplate, adding an air gap between the capacitive button and the faceplate, and render the thermostat inoperative.

So to answer the OP's question, drilling holes in the faceplate removes the air gap made between the foam and the faceplate and allows the capacitive touch areas to work again. Filling the air gap with a thin layer of foam would do the same thing. It's that air gap that is making the "touch" part of the thermostat not work anymore.

Of course, it's really hard to resist pushing on the thermostat "buttons" to make it work - but that is really what is slowly killing the operation of the thermostat.

I guess the good part of all this - the thermostat is easy to replace and not that expensive. $40 gets you a new one and you are back in business.

https://www.rvpartscountry.com/Upgra...k_p_29880.html

Or if you want to get fancy with it, install a bluetooth version for $70 and use your cellphone to operate it. The "remote control" is handy when you want to change a setting but don't want to get up to do it.

https://www.rvpartscountry.com/New-B...e_p_30147.html

[h2owmn]

hm. I wonder if a piece of that rubberish shelf liner (kinda mesh) would work behind the faceplate to fill the gap? I might give that a try, for an easy and fast solution.

[SCS]

I agree that overly aggressive pushing will screw up the foam in the thermostat. In my defense, the thermostat did not operate properly from day 1. The drilling solution fixed it and cost me nothing but a little time.

[Hawkeye Ed]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

I guess the good part of all this - the thermostat is easy to replace and not that expensive. $40 gets you a new one and you are back in business.

https://www.rvpartscountry.com/Upgra...k_p_29880.html

Or if you want to get fancy with it, install a bluetooth version for $70 and use your cellphone to operate it. The "remote control" is handy when you want to change a setting but don't want to get up to do it.

https://www.rvpartscountry.com/New-B...e_p_30147.html

OK, I'm ready for a new Dometic thermostat. Looks like they're in stock. But I note from the site:

-
These units do not come with installation instructions, we highly recommend the installation be performed by qualified personnel. Installed thermostats are non-returnable, and if found defective, must be warrantied with the manufacturer. A qualified technician will be capable of handling a warranty if necessary.
-

So how difficult is it to remove the old thermostat and install the new one? I don't see how it comes off the wall.

Thanks to anyone who's done this. Did you get the Bluetooth version? What do you think?

Thanks

[tdf-texas]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlL9c_pwyMo

[Gasguy]

When my T-stat started acting up Dometic sent me a new face plate no questions asked. It was out of warranty as well & they did not charge me for the part.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by Gasguy

When my T-stat started acting up Dometic sent me a new face plate no questions asked. It was out of warranty as well & they did not charge me for the part.

That's great that Dometic did that - it would be also great if they sold just the faceplate as that is the only part that needed to fix the unresponsive button issue.

Dometic is aware of this issue with the faceplate foam and has been sending replacement faceplates out to owners on request. Here is a thread from another forum that has more on this.

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...nt-214608.html

[Ross & Lynn]

When I was having some thermostat trouble a couple of years ago, Dave at ETI removed the faceplate and turned the foam pads over using tweezers. He also turned the main 12V switch off and on to allow the thermostat to recalibrate. Using a light touch since, with no problems.