Refrigerator AC not working

[John in Santa Cruz]

E2 means no ground. that being intermittent suggests a flakey ground.

E0 means AOK, 120VAC input is nominal and good.

[tdf-texas]

The EMS only checks for ground problems from the EMS itself back to the 120v power grid. An intermittent E2 usually means there is a loose ground connection. Since you get the same behavior in multiple locations, it points to the EMS as the problem.

Have you opened the EMS enclosure and looked for a loose ground connection on the power cord? Below is a pdf that shows the ground connections that attach to the side of the EMS case. If either ground stud has a loose connection, it could be your problem. (Escape does this wiring so that it's loose is possible)

[Shiny]

Originally Posted by ColoradoSwany

Just discovered this thread and the statement about using the fridge on propane at altitudes above 6k’. We too, have a 2017 E19. We have the standard fridge (I think 5 cubic feet?). We live in Colorado and have spent MANY days above 6k’ using propane for the fridge. For example, we camp for at least five nights every year above Leadville, CO, which is above 10,000 feet elevation, and usually at least five nights above Ouray, CO at about 8,000’. Just went to a fiberglass rv rally last month in Mogote CO which, I think was about 8,000 feet elevation. None of these campsites had hookups. Never had a problem. Maybe I should read my manual?

I apologize to OP for the diversion, but is there an issue or high risk running a fridge on propane above 6000 ft.?

We also have had no issue running the fridge on propane between 8000 and 10,300 ft.

We really don't have an option at many USFS campgrounds in CO as electricity hookups are scarce or nonexistent.

Guess I need to read the manual...

[fudge_brownie]

There have been mixed results. Some Dometic manuals say it’s will not work above 5,000. Many owners will tell you they do not have a problem, there are others who cannot keep a gas refrigerator going. All you can do is try.

If you have the inclination you can mess with your propane regulator. A manometer is needed.

Changing the orafice is another option.

The air is thinner at altitude, Dometic is covering potential problems.

Good luck

[yeungfeng]

TDF I believe we have come full circle now. I will check the ground wire as soon as this HS reunion is over. Diagnosis is alway the most difficult part, usually. Many thanks for the diagram! That is most useful.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by yeungfeng

TDF I believe we have come full circle now. I will check the ground wire as soon as this HS reunion is over. Diagnosis is alway the most difficult part, usually. Many thanks for the diagram! That is most useful.

It's a catch22 situation. The more detailed description of the problem you could give us - the better we could help you. The other side of that is if you knew enough to give a better description, you would probably have had the knowledge to fix it yourself without our help.

But it does seem to getting down to where the problem solution is close. Just a note - be sure 120v power if removed before you open that EMS case. Getting shocked is no fun and could be life threatening.

[JumpinJoe]

Originally Posted by yeungfeng

In the refrigerator manual they say that above 5,500 feet not to use propane. I've read that it will cause the unit to burn out and require a new unit. I'll be 6,00 to 8500 feet, or at least that has been the plan.

I did plug the refrigerator into the power cord and it did not light up in the controls. So that would point too......?

Howdy, I don't have anything to add to the electrical wizards here. They have sound advice. I can say that I lived in my 5.0 for more than 6 weeks above 6500 feet in 2019 with my refrigerator on propane only. It was a great trip. Nevertheless to this date I have had no problems with my propane operation of my refrigerator or water heater at any elevation.

Simply relaying my experience on my refrigerator running on propane at high altitudes. It seemed a little more inefficient at cooling but no other problems to date.

Good luck, this forum is a wealth of information! Cheers

[yeungfeng]

After returning from our trip last year I was thinking I knew what the issue was and purchased a 10ga extension cord. But then on this years first trip I kept getting the dreaded E 2. The refrigerator would work on AC for a couple of hours and then back to propane for half an hour or so, then the AC would work again. It repeated this pattern for the whole time in one camp spot.

So I started searching in the forum for some answer. Someone mentioned a bad cord from the refrigerator caused them problems. So I opened up the cover outside to take a look at the cord. You know, there's a lot of details that can get left out of an introduction to an Escape when you buy used. One of those details I missed was the switch for the refrigerator's venting. So I saw it was turned off and thought that might be the issue. I've had it plugged into the garage for a week and I haven't seen one error code. Sometimes we can make things more complicated than they actually are. I'll continue to test on the next week long trip up North.

[Chamberman]

Originally Posted by yeungfeng

After returning from our trip last year I was thinking I knew what the issue was and purchased a 10ga extension cord. But then on this years first trip I kept getting the dreaded E 2. The refrigerator would work on AC for a couple of hours and then back to propane for half an hour or so, then the AC would work again. It repeated this pattern for the whole time in one camp spot.

So I started searching in the forum for some answer. Someone mentioned a bad cord from the refrigerator caused them problems. So I opened up the cover outside to take a look at the cord. You know, there's a lot of details that can get left out of an introduction to an Escape when you buy used. One of those details I missed was the switch for the refrigerator's venting. So I saw it was turned off and thought that might be the issue. I've had it plugged into the garage for a week and I haven't seen one error code. Sometimes we can make things more complicated than they actually are. I'll continue to test on the next week long trip up North.

If by "switch for the venting" you're referring to the switch in the drivers side exterior compartment that turns on the auxiliary cooling fan for the refrigerator evaporative coils, then this shouldn't have caused your problem if the fridge was still cooling on AC. The E2 code should shut all cooling power down to the fridge, both AC and propane from what I can tell. The fact that you turned this fan switch ON and the fridge is now running okay may be IMO more a coincidence than a cure. You're also now on a different AC power source at your house than at the campsite, so that's a factor too.

Its likely that you had low AC voltage at your campsite that was causing the fridge to error and switch to the propane. Remember that when in Auto mode it should switch to AC power when its available.
Does your trailer have the progressive EMS (surge protector) in it? If it does then at 107VAC it should error and shut incoming AC power off. If it does not have the EMS then you could have low incoming AC voltage and not know it.

When the problem is occurring, If you take the fridge out of "Auto" mode and lock it to operate on propane only will it run without any issue?

If its not an incoming power problem then its possibly a flaky fridge control board.

[yeungfeng]

Yes we have the EMS. I spoke with Progressive last year and they suggested the refrigerator control board could be the issue. I was ready to replace it when, after turning on the venting fan seemed to resolve the issue. Could it be that the refrigerator control board would shut down the AC if there was inadequate venting? Having the refrigerator go back and forth between AC and gas with regularity could point to the control board, but the EMS is supposed to only be showing AC power from the source point. Maybe the breaker is the problem and needs to be replaced. It has been fine for over a week now and maybe there are multi factors that have contributed to this issue. I'll keep watching and will post with any other details.

[Chamberman]

Originally Posted by yeungfeng

Yes we have the EMS. I spoke with Progressive last year and they suggested the refrigerator control board could be the issue. I was ready to replace it when, after turning on the venting fan seemed to resolve the issue. Could it be that the refrigerator control board would shut down the AC if there was inadequate venting? Having the refrigerator go back and forth between AC and gas with regularity could point to the control board, but the EMS is supposed to only be showing AC power from the source point. Maybe the breaker is the problem and needs to be replaced. It has been fine for over a week now and maybe there are multi factors that have contributed to this issue. I'll keep watching and will post with any other details.

You never followed up on Post 46.

Did you ever unplug from 120VAC shore power and open the EMS to verify that the ground connections are tight as TDF-Texas suggested in post 46? If not then this is the 1st thing you should do, even though its working now you need to check these connections. As others have noted, EMS code E2 is a bad ground and the fact you have this error intermittently says you may have a loose connection in the EMS or elsewhere. A loose ground is a safety hazard so this needs to be verified ASAP. I would also check the AC ground connections at the WFCO. Its always possible that the AC ground between the fridge and the WFCO is loose. If all ground connections are tight then its also possible that the EMS itself is failing and falsely triggering the E2 fault.

Going forward as a diagnostic tool I would plug a 120VAC night light into the 120VAC socket located under the sink. This location is centrally located and quite visible. if you see the night light go off then you immediately know you've lost 120VAC power and can look at the EMS. If this occurs then the fridge is of course going to auto switch from AC power to propane.

I do not see any way that the fridge's auxiliary 12VDC powered cooling fan could directly or even indirectly affect the EMS or cause the triggering of CODE E2 on the EMS. In addition to the fact that the fan runs off of DC power, the fan is not in the same compartment as the EMS so even a slight cooling effect from the fan on the EMS is impossible. I think that this is a coincidence that both issues are now gone.

I have noticed that the DM2663 fridge in our 2019 is quite reluctant to switch from propane to AC power automatically. Even with the fridge in "Auto" mode I've had to fiddle with it to get it to switch to AC power. Maybe as I get more time operating it I'll figure out what its looking for, but for now it doesn't seem to just want to automatically switch over as soon as AC power is sensed as the owners manual states. So the fact that your fridge seems slow to auto switch may be normal based on my own observations.

[yeungfeng]

Yes unplugged the 120VAC shore power, checked the ground and that's good. Checked the WFCO and ground is good. No loose connections. Have had a Receptacle Tester tester for Open Ground, Reverse Polarity, Open Hot, Open Neutral and Hot/Ground Reverse at kitchen sink and all is well there too. I also checked between the EMS and WFCO.

Maybe another call to Progressive Industries is in order.

[Chamberman]

Originally Posted by yeungfeng

Yes unplugged the 120VAC shore power, checked the ground and that's good. Checked the WFCO and ground is good. No loose connections. Have had a Receptacle Tester tester for Open Ground, Reverse Polarity, Open Hot, Open Neutral and Hot/Ground Reverse at kitchen sink and all is well there too. I also checked between the EMS and WFCO.

Maybe another call to Progressive Industries is in order.

Well it sounds like you've covered all of the bases. The only thing left that you haven't checked then is the continuity of the ground in the shore power cable itself. You'd need a multimeter and probably a 2nd set of hands to accomplish that. The problem with this check is that it appears your issue is intermittent and finding intermittently open or high resistance conductors can be fun. I run into them quite often at work. You may check it and it might seem to measure just fine when laying on the table, then bend the end of the cable 30 degrees to the right and the conductor measures 100ohms, bend it to the left and it measures fine again, etc. If there was a problem in the shore power cable that issue would almost certainly be at the molded plug end which is where most of the stress from bending and plugging/unplugging is at. It might be easier to just buy a new 30A plug and cut the molded plug off the end of the shore power cable and replace it. If after that you've still got intermittent faults on the EMS then its time to consider buying a new EMS.

[oldwave]

The last campground we were in had a high voltage event at our pedestal. My ems shut it down until it dropped and I reset it. The cooling fan does increase the efficiency of your fridge. I’m not sure it was related but it’s good that you found it.