Community Forums

peliaspastia · 08-27-2012, 08:09 PM

I had the Norcold turned off for about two months and when I turned it back on It would work fine on LP but I got a message that there was "no AC". I checked the power source and it reads 123 volts.
This unit had been working fine before I turned it off. It would automatically switch from AC to LP when I would disconnect from a power source.
Does any on know of a reset or fuse inside the unit?
Thanks for any help.

RV Wizard · 08-28-2012, 02:38 AM

There is a fuse inside the control box. Check heating elements for continuity and for shorts to ground. If ok, install new fuse and test. Good luck and keep us posted.

peliaspastia · 08-30-2012, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RV Wizard

There is a fuse inside the control box. Check heating elements for continuity and for shorts to ground. If ok, install new fuse and test. Good luck and keep us posted.

All is well! Thanks to you. The AC fuse was blown (why I don't know) after replacing it I put everything back in place, went in the MH and pushed the on button, and oh! oh! nothing worked!!! After many moments of panic I discovered that I must have accidentally grounded the hot side of the DC power supply and blew the fuse on the MH inside panel. After replacing the fuse I again tried turning the frige back on. The lights came on, I selected Auto, and the fridge automatically switched to AC.
Thanks again.
Pete

RV Wizard · 08-31-2012, 02:08 AM

Glad to hear it. Thanks for the update.

peliaspastia · 09-02-2012, 08:36 AM

All is not well! I put the food from the house fridge back in but the next morning the temp in the lower cooler unit was at 60 degrees but the freezer unit measured a cool -2 degrees. I switched the unit to LP and it helped a little, but not much. After switching back to AC and waiting a day the cooler unit sits at about 54 degrees while the freezer is still in the zero degree range.
Any ideas?

gripper · 09-03-2012, 06:52 AM

Welcome to the NotCold Norcold club. Sounds like you are going down the same road as many of us have. My problems also started with the "No AC" code, resulting in a trip to the dealer. Then it was the doors actually fell off. Then it was answering a "recall". Then a recall, to fix the previous recall. Then it was the dreaded "red light of death". Then it was tossing out sour milk and other foods, damaged by the high temps. Have you installed any extra fans, either in the fridge or outside/through the roof? I (along with many other RV'ers) have finally had it with the NotCold and are switching to residential refers. Are you sure you want to stay with the NotCold? Do a search on "Norcold Problems" and hopefully you will find a fix. Otherwise, be ready for several trips to the dealer.

**CLIFFTALL** · 09-03-2012, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peliaspastia

All is not well! I put the food from the house fridge back in but the next morning the temp in the lower cooler unit was at 60 degrees but the freezer unit measured a cool -2 degrees. I switched the unit to LP and it helped a little, but not much. After switching back to AC and waiting a day the cooler unit sits at about 54 degrees while the freezer is still in the zero degree range.
Any ideas?

When my freezer was -2 like yours and the refer part was 60 like yours , it turned out to be the two fans on the rear of the unit. Replaced them and all is well for the last three years.

"007" · 09-03-2012, 07:50 AM

You can run a 12v fan or 110 fan temporary in your lower vent area pointed up to increase pushing the heated air out from behind the fridge.
Also make sure you have no blockage in the vent area up through the roof vent.
You need more cooling.

peliaspastia · 09-03-2012, 01:41 PM

I switched back to the LP side, left it on overnight, and the lower unit has now dropped to 38 degrees.
My question now is-- is there a separate AC heating element for the freezer compartment and the cooler compartment? Did the fuse blow because of a short in the heater coil for the lower unit? If so, what kind of contortions and expense does one have to go through to get it fixed?

bluepill · 09-03-2012, 01:51 PM

My Norcold 1200 service manual shows 2 heaters. Possibly one has failed?

If you would like a PDF file of the manual, send me a PM here at IRV2 (click on my screen name) with your e-mail address, and I will send it as an attachment.

peliaspastia · 09-07-2012, 02:52 PM

I have progressed to the point where I am considering doing a repair myself. I have located both of the AC heater elements behind the upper right hand corner of the outside panel. The curved end of them sticks out right where there is a separation in the heater insulation. The defective element is right in front and the electric supply wires clearly burned away. It would be quite easy to reach in there with a pliers and remove the defective unit. Before doing this I am hoping there is someone out there who has done this that can give any tips on the proper removal and replacement.
Thanks everyone for all the help so far.

"007" · 09-07-2012, 07:07 PM

The same two elements heat the burner pipe that your burner flame heats.
The same fuse on control board supplies 120v to both elements in fact thats the only function of 120v for you fridge.
You need to be careful when removing the element and not break off the element holder thats welded to the pipe that has been the problem with the Norcold failures and fires because that weld ruptures.
If you can turn the element in holder than you may be able to remove if you have the clearance above the holder.
The surrounding heat stack insulation may have to be removed so the element can travel straight up along the pipe.
The element is about 8" long and has to be lifted straight up.
If its rusted in holder use some PB Blaster to free up.
If you can not slip it up out of holder you may need to move fridge a few inch's into your living space inside.
Look for screws through the floor metal base of fridge and you have to remove surround around fridge inside so you can gain the room.

peliaspastia · 09-12-2012, 08:38 PM

The new heater element arrived today. Installation started with the extraction of the old element. First I turned off the power, unplugged the AC, and removed the insulation covering the heaters. Everything went smooth, that is, until I got to pulling the last 1/2 inch of the heater out of its metal tube. It stuck in the end of the tube and my leverage was lost as the curved end of the heater rose well above the outside opening. With one hand stuck up in the narrow space I could wiggle the curved end back and forth,try pushing it up with my fingers and eventually (after about an hour of wiggling ) it came loose from the tube. Of course it started raining about half way through the process! Putting the new unit in, replacing the insulation, and reconnecting the wiring was a breeze taking about 10 more minutes. The fridge is now running on AC for the last 6 hours and seems to be working well. If you don't hear from me again it was a success.
Thanks everyone for your help in this matter.