Our rv refridgerator/freezer was turned on for the first time since we bought our rv and when the freezer was opened it had a terrible smell of amonia that about knocked me over. Is that smell free on or what do you think it was? And how do I fix the problem? If the previous owner cleaned with amonia would the smell stay in the freezer when I turned it on. One more question does the rv have to completely level for the fridge to work properly. It say so on the lable but how you keep it level when your driving.

Hello Heather.
Have you had anything wrong with fridge that caused the smell.
Try charcoal in both fridge and freezer.
Hope it will help.
Fish smell is hard to get read off

You may check to see if you have a Freon leak.

Shut it off and get it checked. Ammonia is dangerous as I am sure you are aware. Ammonia smell is an indication of a leaking cooling unit. Time for a new fridge. Sorry.

the drains/vents need to be cleaned out with clorine bleach solution.(leave the doors open to dissipate the gas after)it is very common for the drain hose to get a black moss residue blocking it,and people pay a fortune for a callout to fix.lovely........

Sometimes icemakers get all frozen up, such that the motor cannot turn to eject the ice. Also, in some cases the water supply line freezes up, although that does not sound like your problem.

Try leaving the freezer open to defrost it manually and see if it starts working by itself. Also, the icemaker motors can and do fail. In some cases you smell an acrid burning smell when the motor fails.

Sir, To solve this problem, you must open the compressor area at the back bottom of the refrigerator and chek the temperature of the pressure line. If the temperature is between 55celcius to 60 than its ok. Or else you need to change the refrigerant. I suggest you to contact the service authority.

Thanks for contacting Fixya.

Brandi4723,

Unfortunately, you have a bad cooling unit in your refrigerator. Then ammonia smell means that you have a leak in the unit. TURN THE FRIDGE OFF!!! Do not use the fridge on AC or Gas until you have the cooling unit replaced or buy a new fridge. Depending on the model number and serial number of the fridge, it may be under recall by dometic and you might be able to have it repaired for free. If you will provide me with the model number, serial number and the serial number of the cooling unit (found on the outside of the unit in the fridge compartment, lower tank of cooling unit), I can then tell you the pricing of the repairs or whether it is under recall.

Again, TURN THE FRIDGE OFF and do not use it...RISK OF FIRE!!!!

Hope this helps,

Jeff

Is this a refrigerator in a household or an RV?
The reason I ask is that RV refrigerators use ammonia, which you can smell. If you read the article you probably read that Freon does not have an odor, in extreme cases you can smell burnt refrigeration oil when a system with a large leak has been left running, but by then the unit wouldn't be working.
If your refrigerator did in fact have a leak it wouldn’t be working, due to such a small amount of refrigerant present. ( typically about 5 ounces )
So, your gassy smell is likely from something else. I find this happens most often when potatoes or carrots are stored for long periods of time in the refrigerator, usually in the crispers. When starchy vegetables wilt ( get smaller with age ) they give off a gas. The smell eventually comes not from the starch, but from the bacteria that starts growing on it. All this happens on a microscopic level so you won't see anything. good luck

Good posibility that some thing is wrong with the defrost system. This is not as expensive to repair as a compressor. Is it worth it? The compressor and having it replaced and recharged will run much more than 250 a lot of the time or very close to it. Unplug it for a few hours with the freezer door open. Then plug it back in and see if it starts freezing again. This would tell you if it is something with the defrost cycle. The low motor noise may be the fan in the bottom of the unit. It would be good to know if the compressor is running or not.