Brand New Norcold 12 CF Not Cooling - Please Help

[JavaJelly]

Just purchased a Newmar Dutch Star 43' loaded. Norcold 12 Cubic Foot, 4 door fridge will not cool. Had problems on the shakedown cruise but, had it working by end of trip.

Now will not cool at all in either mode. Have checked if burner is working. Have checked the rear cannister and coils. Cannister is warm, coils are slightly cool. Evaporator riser is between warm and hot but, definitely not hot like it should be.

Have turned unit off an on several times to try and "reset"

I am desparate for help as we are on our trek South and have little time for a long repair at a dealership/repair tech. Dealer is clueless. Am now in Hershey PA heading south on Monday.

Had this identical unit in previous rig and know how it should work.

As always, I am greatly appreciative of any help. I have two small children and this is critical to our plans through the new year.

[JavaJelly]

Just purchased a Newmar Dutch Star 43' loaded. Norcold 12 Cubic Foot, 4 door fridge will not cool. Had problems on the shakedown cruise but, had it working by end of trip.

Now will not cool at all in either mode. Have checked if burner is working. Have checked the rear cannister and coils. Cannister is warm, coils are slightly cool. Evaporator riser is between warm and hot but, definitely not hot like it should be.

Have turned unit off an on several times to try and "reset"

I am desparate for help as we are on our trek South and have little time for a long repair at a dealership/repair tech. Dealer is clueless. Am now in Hershey PA heading south on Monday.

Had this identical unit in previous rig and know how it should work.

As always, I am greatly appreciative of any help. I have two small children and this is critical to our plans through the new year.

[Ray,IN]

Search for RVwizard using the advanced search option here. Then send him a PM(private message) He is a RV technician and will likely be able to help. I would also suggest asking your selling dealer the names/locations of Norcold authorized service centers on your planned route, since the warranty covers everything.

["007"]

Had same problems with my 4 door when new, dealer was going to pull out, gas valve wasn't turned on all the way would work better on electric. Also did not hear fans working when coils got hot, checked wiring loose ground wire to ckt board, plus you need a good 12v for fridge to work on gas and 110v's.

[RV Wizard]

Javajelly, If you feel that the boiler on the cooling unit is not as hot as it should be you are probably right. I would have the lp gas pressure checked for the gas mode operation and inspect the burner for any debris on it. For the electric mode I would verify that both heating elements are coming on and that the amperage of each is about 3 amps. If not you will need to get it corrected. If you find that all the controlls and heat sources are functioning properly then you have a bad cooling unit and it will have to be replaced. I hate to be bearer of bad new but am hoping it is something that can be remidied easily for you. Good luck and keep us posted as to what you find. Thank you.

[JavaJelly]

OK, right before I wrote this request of desparation, I did a "long" reset. i.e. turned off the unit for more than 30 seconds.

It is now working fine, cooling like a champ. This is exactly what it did on the shakedown cruise. As of now the trip is saved and the DW is, well you all know, "in better spirits".

Both times I started out the trip w/a no flow error on LP because the tank was turned off. I turned the tank on, burned the stove burners to get any air out of the line, then reset the fridge w/a short reset, i.e. quick off then on. Both times the error went away, but, it wouldn't cool in either electric or LP.

Is it possible that to do a reset that I need to turn it off for 30 seconds or more? If it wasn't reset then why did the error go away?

Is it possible that there is a loose ground as mentioned earlier in this thread?

Seems the cooling unit is fine or it wouldn't cool at all.

I would appreciate any troubleshooting advice beyond what Ray,IN provided so I can make my trip go fine and have a norcold tech, check it all out, (by that I mean not the dealer)

[JavaJelly]

Sorry, I wrote Ray and I meant RV Wizard.

["007"]

I do not have NorCold book with me but I thought the ignitor would keep setting a spark until the gas would light. Thus clearing out air in line, thats what happened when they were going to replace the refer. I always shut off refer when gassing up, not at tank, and if I have to shut off tank shut off fridge first then close tank. Will leave gas in line that way.
As long as it lights and stays lite your battery and ground connections should be fine.

[RV Wizard]

If you suspect a bad ground just add another, (you can't have too many). I don't know your level of troubleshooting skills but you can download a pdf file service manual on your model at www.bryantrv.com. Glad to hear that the cooling unit is working. Let us know what you find. It was probably just air ing the line and when it reached the burner it could not relight with the given amount of tries and went into lockout.

[rebelsbeach]

As I posted in another thread in Newmar you had started, BE SURE the cooling fans are coming on...
There is a thermal disc on the end of the condenser that controls whether the fans come on.
This $2 part was keeping my Norcold unit from working properly.

[JavaJelly]

Norcold certified tech replacing cooling unit on Monday. I am terrified. Pulling the whold fridge out and replacing in the coach. I will be there for the whole 4 - 6 hour job.

Any help, coaching, soothing advice is much appreciated. I'm most concerned about the seal being put back in correctly.

["007"]

I hope its your cooling unit and not the cheap thermal switch for the fans.
Bob Gregory had his good refer pulled out thru slide window and replaced with another good refer only to find out it was the switch for fans.
If you put a heater at the bottom vent and have it blow up in back of fridge you should hear fans come on "IF THEY DO NOT" save yourself some headaches and replace switch.

[JavaJelly]

Checked that out already using this forum for advice. The coils never got above ambient temperature. I also diagnosed problem in 40 degree temperatures near Buffalo.

Pretty sure its an ammonia clog in the coolng unit. That clog can move when you drive the rig which could explain the intermittent working and not working.

[CWHTRAINS]

Any update on your situation?