Norcold recall & Dolphin 5243

[JJH3rd]

Folks: We are on our 2nd trip in our 2005 Dolphin (5243) and from the beginning we had problems with our Norcold refrigerator (12.5 cuft) – the led panel was flashing “no co” and not cooling. Of course MW loaded the ref with our food the night before and we ended up making the ref into an ice box (with all of the dripping and fussing you can imagine). I read the posts on the forums here and the directions didn’t seem to fit my model. The first half of the 2nd day of the trip was spent at R V & Camper Refrigeration - Monroe, NC (good folks ) having recall parts installed on our system.



We were told that the dealer who sold us the MH was legally responsible for installing the recall parts and that he shouldn’t have sold it without the update. In fact we were told that there were several recalls and that the problem became so critical (HMs going up in flames) that the last recall was a federal mandate.



So… I found that I SHOULD NEVER OPERATE THE REFRIGERATOR IF THE MH IS MORE THAT A ¼ BUBLE OFF LEVEL, and THE NORCOLD REFIT MUST BE IN PLACE. The end of the story is that it cost us less than $100 for the evaluation and installation and we went on our way.

[two2go]

First of all, enjoy your Dolphin. We love ours. Second, be prepared for the occasional "issue" that will pop up. Our motto is "What now?"
I received the Norcold recall just before we departed for an emergency and had to leave our coach hooked up with fridge running unattended for 10 days. We kept our fingers crossed thinking that the Norcold fridge hadn't caught fire for five years, so it should hold on for another few days. Then we had the recall "band-aid" put on, which merely added a sensor and relay to shut off the unit if it overheated. Which it did. Shut off, that is. The first time I ran it on propane, the relay tripped and the fridge wouldn't run. So I had to bypass the relay back to the original setup and waited to get back to the shop. Turns out, the first installer was incompetent and put the sensor in the wrong place. It works the same as ever now, with a questionable sensor watching over all.
As far as level, absorption refrigerators need to be fairly level, but I have found ours to be tolerant of a bit more than "1/4 bubble" off.