NorCalSteve
Senior Member
When I got my Hawk in December of 2011, I noticed that it got pretty warm above the freezer on the counter top. I removed the front panel on the refrigerator and stuffed the empty space with insulation, which, I think, might even help my refrigerator operate more efficiently. I know that others have already done this from my visits with other FWC owners while camping. Kind of glad I did because.
My camping buddy and who got me sucked into Four Wheel Campers (glad he did) has a Hawk as well. Maybe 2009. His power switch on his Dometic 3 way fridge was giving him fits. If he could get the switch to turn on, it often turned off sometime later, which was not good. I ordered a new switch and a couple of days back we went in to take a look.
It was pretty obvious what the problem was. The dirt got into the switch from the outside through the space behind the control panel. My guess is, Dometic does not expect the back of the control panel to be exposed to the outside.
Replacing the switch requires the use of a soldering iron and solder sucker device. The scary part is that the printed circuit board is very low quality and the traces on the printed circuit board will lift off pretty easily. This board does not have plated through holes. So, we were able to replace the switch but it was a little scary. Better not not have to replace the switch or the control panel.
FWC may have fixed this issue between now and my camper. But it is worth looking at. Removing the front top control panel is two screws and, in my case, I had to deal with a little silicon seal. The local hardware store had a small package of fiberglass. If there is extra and you have the hot water heater, you may have a place for the leftover. In my case, I was able to stuff it all in, but make sure it does not press against the cooling fins in back.
Steve
My camping buddy and who got me sucked into Four Wheel Campers (glad he did) has a Hawk as well. Maybe 2009. His power switch on his Dometic 3 way fridge was giving him fits. If he could get the switch to turn on, it often turned off sometime later, which was not good. I ordered a new switch and a couple of days back we went in to take a look.
It was pretty obvious what the problem was. The dirt got into the switch from the outside through the space behind the control panel. My guess is, Dometic does not expect the back of the control panel to be exposed to the outside.
Replacing the switch requires the use of a soldering iron and solder sucker device. The scary part is that the printed circuit board is very low quality and the traces on the printed circuit board will lift off pretty easily. This board does not have plated through holes. So, we were able to replace the switch but it was a little scary. Better not not have to replace the switch or the control panel.
FWC may have fixed this issue between now and my camper. But it is worth looking at. Removing the front top control panel is two screws and, in my case, I had to deal with a little silicon seal. The local hardware store had a small package of fiberglass. If there is extra and you have the hot water heater, you may have a place for the leftover. In my case, I was able to stuff it all in, but make sure it does not press against the cooling fins in back.
Steve
