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Melted plastic smell coming from Refer

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MapNerd

RVF 1K Club
Joined
Nov 17, 2019
Messages
2,298
Location
Prince William, VA
RV Year
2020
RV Make
Newmar
RV Model
Ventana 4326
RV Length
43
TOW/TOAD
2020 Ford F-150
Fulltimer
Yes
Woke up this morning and quickly got a whiff of a burning or melted plastic smell somewhere in the living room/kitchen area. Took us a few minutes to hunt it down, I initially thought it might be the inverter as it seemed to be coming from behind the refrigerator so went down to the basement but nothin going on down there.

Came back up, DW opened the fridge and a small light puff of smoke came out and the smell was much stronger.

Hit the breaker to the fridge and cut power to it, calling NorthTrail as they are fairly close.

Anyone else experienced this? We have a whirlpool.

It rained last night but the Power Watchdog EPO would have cut power if we had a surge. Site is pretty level.
 
Never heard of that from a frig. My first thought was an electrical short in your OASIS like I had which had the electrical burning smell. Do you know how to inspect that? Worthwhile to check that wiring as it's quite common to be a problem. But it sounds like you verified the source. Just go to your OASIS and sniff there for verification.
 
I ended up calling Newmar. They in turn called Whirlpool and hung out on the line with me. Got transferred to whirlpool’s “Safety Team”. They are sending a mobile tech to diagnose on Wednesday. Wondering if should ask them to replace the entire unit out of an abundance of caution given that motor homes tend to light up pretty quickly.

Also think I’ll be asking them to cut me an allowance to replace food items in the fridge. Whether spoiled or not, they’ve surely been exposed to some chemical breakdown inside the unit. Not sure if I’ll get anywhere with them on it but the thing is 6 weeks old.
 
Let us know how this transpires. Scary for sure. Good thing you have the alternate Dometic in the basement.
 
So unfortunately I was out of town on business when the “service provider” came. No one had told us that we needed to pull the refer out beforehand and when he got there, he looked at it, told my 115lb wife to pull the refer out and call back when that was done.

Thanks for nothing Fields Appliance Service in Orlando! Got back Friday night, too late to call Newmar Or Whirlpool Customer Service. Called Fields Service back, next Appt is Tuesday.

We tried giving it power again to see if maybe it was a fluke, but within the day it was producing the same smell so we’ve cut power and everything is in the dometic freezer.

More to come...
 
Newmar's failure. They should have arranged a RV mobile tech to pull the frig out for the repairman. This is the same procedure as is done for the washer/dryer as I had to do with Whirlpool. Sounds like Newmar needs to arrange for an immediate refer replacement. I'm curious how they get it out and a new one in, i.e. through the entry door?

Sorry to hear of the frustration. Lucky thing is we have probably one of the best support reps (Erica) - but I can't really say that as I haven't had experience with the others. Erica is amazing!!
 
X2 on Erica!
 
John:
This poor guy was camped behind me a few weeks ago and "smelled" burning plastic behind his refer while they were having coffee. 15 minutes later, his coach was gone. Residential Whirlpool. I did not hear back from him what the exact cause was, but he did say he had it at CW twice for refer repairs. Hmm. Fortunately the husband, wife, and pups got out OK. Don't take any chances!
Good luck with your repair,
Mike
 

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Will give Erica a call. Had previously spoke to Craig I think, but will ask for Erica specifically on Monday.

I’m thinking I might not want a whirlpool now though. Power to refer is cut at the breaker, we have wireless interconnected smoke alarms and fire extinguishers in the basement as well as inside at the front, middle and rear and generator area - extinguishers not meant to save anything but give us time.

Started a fire purposely in the backyard before we left to teach the 9yo and wife how to use them.

Anyway, with the power cut at the breaker I think we’re safe but I’m not sure I feel comfortable with the WP refer in my coach at this point. Was reading about some class actions against WP that seemed related but scant in details. Need to find that actual case info, if so WP will be a no go, fixed or not.
 
Great ideas on training the family John.
A pre-trip review/reminder of the locations of all fire extinguishers would probably be in order as well. I have one in the bedroom, one in the front of cab, and one in each of two storage bays. I also had Tom Chelbana install Proteng sticks at the inverter, the power cord bay, and the chassis and coach battery bays at the Golden Bears rally last month. I'm going to have him do the engine and generator bays at the next rally. Watching that coach burn and the speed it burned really hit me. Can't be too safe.
Be safe John.
Mike
 
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