Before working with electricity, visit the electrical safety page.

AC (120 volt) is the first choice of the circuit board for heating the cooling unit, if the eyebrow is set to Auto or AES. The 120 volt input goes directly to the circuit board (passing through a junction block) and connects at J5 and J6. If the circuit board senses 120 volt and the thermistor is calling for cooling, the circuit board sends 120 volt to the electric heat element via connectors J7 and J8. The circuit board also requires 12 volt to it to control it's circuitry. It there is no 12 volt to the refrigerator, the refrigeator will not work on 120 volt or anything else.

If you suspect a problem with the AC operation, it's probably best to verify that the refrigerator works on gas. This would let you know that the thermistor and cooling unit are good. The AC system is relatively simple in terms of troubleshooting. First test terminals J5 and J6 for 120 volt. Then, with the refrigerator on, the temperature control all the way up, and Auto or AES selected, test terminals J7 and J8 for the presence of 120 volt. If 120 volt is not present at J7 and J8, the 5 amp fuse (the one to the right) on the circuit board could be bad. You can test for voltage through the fuse, or you can unplug the refrigerator, pull the fuse, and test it for continuity with an ohm meter. If voltage is coming in through J5 and J6, the 5 amp fuse is good, and there is no voltage output at J7 and J8, the main circuit board is bad. This, of course, assumes that everything else is working, as verified by operating the refrigerator on gas.

If 120 volt is measured at J7 and J8, the heat element should get hot. Give it 15 minutes or so and feel the insulation pack (right above the burner) for heat. At this point, if the heat element does not get hot, it is bad and needs to be replaced.