More Norcold Door Problems....

[anken]

Hi, we have the Norcold 1200LRIM 4 door in our 2001 Dynasty.
Last year we had to have the coils in the back replaced (close to $1000.- ouch!)
Since then the door, especially the left one haven't been the same. They make a loud cracking sound when opening. We always have to open the right door first.
The tech. has reinstalled the doors a couple of times but the problem remains. Norcold suggested to purchase a "door shim kit" from them. It didn't help....The noise seems to be getting louder.
After reading some of the posts, we inspected the pins on the bottom very carefully but can't find any problem with them.
Did anybody have a problem like this??? If so, how was it fixed?
We'll appreciate any suggestions very much. Thanks

[Rex]

Is the cracking noise coming from the hinge area or the flap between the two doors? That flap is supposed to rotate 90-degrees when the door is opened. Is this happening as it should? Is the door hitting any part of the trim around the fridge?

[anken]

Thanks for writing, Rex.
The loud cracking noise is coming from the top in the middle latch where both of the doors meet. We have examined the latches mechanism carefully and can't find any problems. The heater flap on the left door seems to be hanging up also.
At this point especially the left door is, aside from the noise, very difficult to open.
If you or anybody has any suggestions, we would sure appreciate it.

["007"]

It sounds as though the left door is not high enough and needs to be raised slightly.
I checked mine and the top of the door is slightly lower than the right hand door.
The left hand door has a shim behind the hinge bracket the right hand door is mounted flush to fridge frame without shim. Maybe they have installed shim on wrong side.
Adding a fiber washer under the hinge pin may adjust it the same but I think the shim at bottom left side is there so flap will glide into the flap closer. The left hand door will have a slight tilt at bottom of it with shim behind hinge bracket.

[anken]

Thank you for your advice, 007.
I made a lot of sense. Unfortunately, it didn't help us much.
We have tried all possibilities with the washers and hinges.
When the doors where taken off to replace the cooling coils in the back, the left door frame came slightly loose on the top. We have glued it all back down as much as possible but apparently not good enough.There is no way to get it to go down any further. It seems that just a couple of millimeters make all the difference.
So, if we want the doors to operate the way they should, we would probably have to invest in a new left door. :( I don't even know yet how much something like that would cost and if it's possible to get a used door from somewhere.
I'm sorry, that I haven't been able to reply sooner but I appreciate your suggestions very much. Thanks!!

[Rex]

Yep you can buy a new door, but it is EXPENSIVE. Check around with Norcold service people and find one that is replacing the entire 1200 for someone and buy a door from that.

["007"]

Go to pg 39 of this pdf and look at the reinstall of trim around the frame of refridge, one of them around perimeter may not be placed correctly.

[Dr4Film]

A person on another current Norcold Door problem thread just paid $200 for a new door from Norcold.

I would try all of the DIY possibilities before replacing the door. It surely sounds to me like the installers didn't get the refer back together correctly and it has been tweaked a little causing the noise.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

[anken]

Thank you to all who have written!
I guess we'll live with the noise for a while because we have tried everything possible to fix it. We'll shell out the $$$ at a later date.
At least now we know what the approx. price is. Thank you all for your input.

[Rex]

Well if you ever are around Foley, Alabama (between Mobile and Pensacola) let me have a look at it. Love this type challenge. Don't know if I can fix it, but sure will give it a good try.