VW Vanagon Westfalia / Dometic Fridge Maintenance       The Dometic fridge that's installed in your VW Vanagon Westfalia camper needs some maintenance now and then to keep it working well.  This article will address this issue.        Some symptoms that indicate the need for this maintenance are no or hard starting on the propane setting, improper cooling, ventilating fan noisy or inoperative, and the LED run indicator not working.  To execute the needed maintenance requires that the fridge be removed from its location in the camper cabinet. Step 1.     Begin by making sure the propane valve is shut on the propane tank.  You can test to make sure it is by trying to light the stove after you have shut the valve off.  If the stove does not light then the valve is shut properly.   Step 2.    Remove the fridge flue vent on the side of the van by removing the three screws holding the outer most vent ring.  Then remove the five other screws you will find underneath this ring.  Remove the all the pieces including the gasket.  If there is any rusting around the opening in the wall of the van now is a good time to look after this situation.   Step 3.   Go to the front of the fridge and remove the front panel  of the cabinet by removing the plastic screw caps by prying them off with a sharp object like a pen-knife blade and remove the screws. Now there are four more screws on the sides.  Two can be located by opening the door of the storage compartment below the sink and looking on the wall next to the fridge  you will find two small holes in the wood paneling and recessed in these holes you will find the two screws.  Then on the other side in the storage compartment next to the fridge beneath the swing out table you will find one more and then in the lower compartment next to the fridge you will find the last one.   Step 4.     Disconnect the propane line. This can be accomplished by removing the vent plate on the left side of the cabinet then reaching in there with a wrench to undo this fitting. Step 5.     Disconnect the 110 volt plug from the fridge from its receptical in the cabinet underneath the sink.   Step 6.     Remove the fridge by sliding it out toward toward the middle of the van, slowly, as there are still two electrical connectors to disconnect.  The wires should be held to the back of the cabinet by a strap that has a snap connector.  To undo the snap, you man need to pry it open with a small screwdriver, the wires will be loose enough then to slide the fridge out further so that you will be able to undo the two electrical connectors.  You should now be able to slide the fridge all the way out.  The exhaust pipe will most likely get hung up as it tries to clear the opening in the wall of the van so watch that it clears this point.  You will have to tip the fridge at an angle to allow the exhaust pipe to duck under the cabinet work and let the fridge come all the way out.   Step 7.     Once the fridge is free standing in the middle of your van take it to a work bench to complete the following maintenance.   Step 8.     Around the back side of the fridge you will see the ventilating fan, cooling fins and propane burner and more than likely you will find this area full of dirt, cobwebs, and all kinds of goodies that have accumulated there over the years.  Clean this area and the top of the fridge using a vacuum and or compressed air.   Step 9.     Open up the combustion chamber of the burner by turning the fridge on the side that gives you the best access to the six screws that hold the bottom of the burner in place.  Before removing these screws undo the fitting to the propane line and remove the screw holding the sparking starter and remove the starter. Now remove the six screws and remove the bottom cover and see how much crap has accumulated in there. Clean this out and also check to see if the air intake going to the front of the fridge, with the small screw cap, is not blocked.  If it is blocked which is highly likely, take a length of coathanger and slide it down the tube until air can pass then blow it out with compressed air.    Step 10.     Check the exhaust and air intake stack tubes. They need to be free and clear of any and all obstructions. Use compressed air here again.  Check the exhaust pipe for cracks especially in the corrugated flex section. If it is cracked you will need to repair or replace it.  Small cracks can be repaired successfully with muffler cement and or muffler tape.   Step 11.     Check the gasket between the bottom cover and burner pot and if it is bad you can make a new one from a piece of inner tube or similar material.  Step 12.     After your confident that everything is nice and clean, check that the spark starter is working by pressing on the starting button on the front of the fridge. You should see a nice healthy blue spark. If the spark starter is not working then you will need to find out why.  The wire may be broken or the spark is no longer any good in either case it will need to be replaced. Step 13.     Once your confident the combustion chamber, exhaust pipe and air intake pipes are clean and the starter is functioning you can replace the cover of the combustion chamber, the spark starter and the propane line.   Step 14.     Now you want to test the burner.  This can be done by taking the propane tank and the feed line to the burner from your backyard barbecue and connecting to the propane connector on the back of your fridge. Open the tank valve and start the fridge as per the instructions on the fridge door.   If all goes well the fridge should start up relatively easily.  Let it run for awhile so that your sure its working well.   If at this point you cannot get the fridge to work on propane you will need to consult a licensed propane service center.   Step 15.     While the fridge is running you need to verify that the black wire leading away from the small start valve which is located at the end of the push-in starter valve on the front of the fridge is providing a ground.  This is what turns on the LED on the control panel telling you that the fridge is running.  You can check that it is providing ground by using a multimeter on the ohm setting and connecting one wire from the tester to the end of the black wire and the other wire from the tester to the body of the valve.  When the fridge is running you should have continuity and when the fridge is off there should be no continuity.   Step 16.     Turn the fridge off, wait awhile then re-start the fridge again.  It should start right up. Step 17.     Now that your fridge is working perfectly on propane.  You should also check the electric ventilating fan.  Connect a source of 12 volt power to the  two wires leading to the fan and it should run.  If it does not you will need to replace it. To check the thermostat, the small disc device attached to the cooling fins and wired in series to the fan,  that turns the fan on will be a bit more complicated as it operates when the temperature of the cooling fins of the condenser get to a too hot situation and to duplicate that situation on the bench is difficult as there is a lot of free air circulation around the cooling fins.  You may be able to use a source of heat like a heat gun or hair dryer to heat the thermostat disc and connecting your source of 12 volts before the thermostat switch.   If you can can determine that the switch is inoperative you will need to replace it.   Step 18.     Check the 110 volt operation plug in the 110 volt plug into a working 110 volt household outlet and turn the appropriate switches on the front of the fridge. It will take awhile for it to get cool, the only way you can tell its working, so be patient.  You can do the same thing for the 12volt operation by supplying 12 volt power to the 12 volt electrical connector and turning the appropriate switches on the fridge.  Now once your satisfied the fridge is working well your ready to re-install it.   Step 19.     Before you re-install the fridge you should take the opportunity to clean up the space in the van behind the fridge.  Upon close examination you may find rust and debris there that needs to be cleaned up.  The insulating material that was used to insulate the walls of the Westfalia tends to soak up and hold any humidity that collects in there and I found that removing this insulation and replacing it with a type that will not absorb moisture will be to your vans benefit.  Also flooding the floor area between the cabinet and van wall with a good rust preventive like KROWN or RUST CHECK will help stop any rusting already in progress and prevent further rusting.  Now put the fridge back in place by reversing all the steps you did in removing it making sure the electrical connectors are plugged together properly and the propane fitting is secure and then your ready to test it out.   Step 20.     One more thing to check is the LED on the control panel.  It should be lit when the fridge is running.  If your sure the fridge is running, a simple method is to touch the exhaust pipe, it should be hot so be careful, and the LED is not working you need to check the single black wire, the same one we checked before, to the control panel and if your sure that is correct then you need to check the board.  Could be the board, LED, resistor or most likely the LM324, Radio Shack part #276-1711, chip which controls the LED on the control panel board is dead. The LED, resistor and chip can be replaced by obtaining them from Radio Shack then unsoldering and removing  the defective piece and soldering in the new one.