Where To Turn

[Lygbill]

I’m new to RV’s and forums. I have a nearly new Entegra Ethos with refrigerator problems and I’d like to discuss it and fixing it with someone knowledgeable about such. Thank you, William Burns

[GeorgeRa]

Can you go back to your dealer, if this RV is new you should stil have a valid warranty.

[Lygbill]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

Can you go back to your dealer, if this RV is new you should stil have a valid warranty.

Unfortunately, no. It was a not an Entegra dealer and the Entegra warranty is non-transferrable contrary to what we were told by the dealer and the dealer is 500 miles away.

[Rlum]

Originally Posted by Lygbill

I’m new to RV’s and forums. I have a nearly new Entegra Ethos with refrigerator problems and I’d like to discuss it and fixing it with someone knowledgeable about such. Thank you, William Burns

Appliances like refrigerators are installed by Class B manufacturers. If you can provide a name and model # with a description of the problem, someone may know of the issue. Is it a Novakool, Dometic, etc.? 3 way or compressor? What is the issue?

[Lygbill]

2021 Entegra Ethos I believe to be in service less than a year. It’s a Norcold D 105, 3.7 cu. ft. frig. I attempted to make contact with 5 Norcold ‘authorized repair’ folks in the Charlotte metro area to no avail. One wouldn’t touch it, two are out of business and two didn’t respond. I think this is called going down a rabbit hole. Thank you for you reply. Wm. Burns

[Lygbill]

Originally Posted by Rlum

Appliances like refrigerators are installed by Class B manufacturers. If you can provide a name and model # with a description of the problem, someone may know of the issue. Is it a Novakool, Dometic, etc.? 3 way or compressor? What is the issue?

Sorry. The issue is it goes from adequately cooling to warm and stays warm. It continues to run. I shut it off and back on the next day and it cooled and then it didn’t again. So that’s where I’m at. I read somewhere someone had the identical problem in the identical camper. Wm. Burns. Thank s again

[MsNomer]

Is it adequately ventilated?

[@Michael]

A couple of thoughts:

• The fridge may still be under mfg. warranty. Check with Norcold. My experience with their competitor (Novakool) was positive - they spent several days on the phone with me troubleshooting, before determining that the fridge was low on freon and needed to be replaced.
  
  
• Even though it's not under warranty, the Entegra factory might be interested in helping resolve this.
  
  
• As @MsNomer indicated, Venting. Poor venting would cause the fridge to run more often, for longer periods. If poor enough, the fridge would run continuously.
  
  
• I also had an issue with my thermostat. The fridge (at random intervals) would warm up to 45-60F, then run continuously until it was back down to normal. I replaced the thermostat and probe, and have had better (though not perfect) temperature control since then.
  
• How you load the fridge might cause issues. In my case, if lots of stuff is packed against the rear wall or if the drip tray is tight against the rear wall, cold air doesn't circulate and the fridge temps are very uneven.
  

Mike

[booster]

The vast majority of compressor frig problems like in this case have been traced to poor ventilation. OEM installations are commonly among the worst of them in this way, so I think that is where I would start.


The good of the ventilation being the issue is that if it really is the problem most any decent RV shop should be able to take care of it by improving the ventilation, usually by cutting a ventilation hole or two and adding a small fan to ventilate the frig rear area.


Start by asking around about finding a good RV repair shop in your area, which will probably be an independent. Campgrounds are sometimes a good place to ask the campers about good RV shops in the area. You can also do an internet search for shops in your area, and then check for reviews separately to get an idea of quality of work and costs.

[Lygbill]

Thank you all. I’ll plow ahead on all fronts. Wm. Burns

[Rlum]

Originally Posted by Lygbill

Thank you all. I’ll plow ahead on all fronts. Wm. Burns

I just looked on FB. There is a forum for owners of this Class B. You might want to join. It is a private site. Post your question(s) regarding your van. If it is an issue, others will have probably resolved it. I have found the FB Pleasure Way forum a great help for me.

Best of luck!

[GeorgeRa]

Most of compressor fridges use a Danfoss compressor, a SECOP compressor controller, an electro-mechanical capillary thermostat, and a fan. Failure can occur in each one of these components or bad venting design as suggested multiple times. Any shop supporting compressor fridges based on Danfoss will be able to help.

Venting – take some pictures and share. RV builders are used to absorption fridges and compressor fridges are still new in the RV world. Venting in these two technology fridges is completely different, and some folks are not familiar with compressor fridge venting. Pictures!

Danfoss compressor, very robust, lasting years. If it runs quietly it should work. Don’t confuse its sound with fan’s sound. If compressor fails a new fridge is likely the best option.

SECOP controller, can be AC/DC or DC only powered. If you have AC/DC powered fridge check if compressor runs on both power supplies. They can fail, mine did. They can be tested with 12V LED (limited current) connected to two terminals; failure codes are coded into short/long flashes. DC only costs about $150 and AC/DC about $250. https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f...put-12721.html

Thermostat, reliable but it can fail. It should click with temperature dial. Best test is with a ohmmeter, it is a simple on/off switch controlled by fluid expansion in a bulb located in the freezer connected to thermostat via capillary. New thermostat is about $65, but replacing could be difficult due to capillary connection. If this electromechanical thermostat fails an electronic thermostat could be a good replacement, AKO 13112 from Spain, ICT from Isotherm or inexpensive ones from Amazon (Inkbirds).

FAN, many replacement choices, just look for a quiet one with similar air flow. https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f...tml#post130961

Good luck.

[LostInWoods]

Originally Posted by Rlum

There is a forum for owners of this Class B. You might want to join.

I recommend this. The early Ethos rollout was a disaster, with wiring problems to the fridge causing it to not work properly on DC. After fixing wiring not installed they then had to redo undersized wiring, IIRC. Design and manufacturing working together to frustrate their customers. I kind of stopped paying attention after that but I think they sorted that particular problem out in the 2020 MY. The FB folks would know.

What a crap warranty policy though. "Our family is proud to stand behind every Entegra Coach we build. [...] This warranty is transferable to a second owner for Insignia, Aspire, Anthem and Cornerstone only. It covers RVs sold by an authorized dealer and used in the United States, U.S. Territories and Canada, only."