Norcold 1200 Basics 101

[MSHappyCampers]

Ever since I replaced the defective Amish cooling unit on my Norcold 1200LRIM it has been working great! On a temp setting of 4 it maintains about 34 to 37 degrees in the fridge, exactly where we want it.

Normally we leave the fridge on all the time when we're not traveling, just so we can jump in and go any time we want. After our last trip a couple of months ago we knew it would be quite a while before we would need it again, so I decided to turn off the fridge to maybe save a few bucks on electricity. I cleaned the inside and left the doors open to let it air out good before using it again.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to turn it back on. We leave the A/C set on 80 degrees in the MH during the spring and summer when we're not using it. I closed the doors and turned it on. I went out next day and it had shut down with the dreaded "NO CO" code! The temp inside the fridge was still around 80 degrees!

I had replaced the main control board with a Dinosaur board about 3 1/2 years ago. I called their tech support to get the correct reset procedure for my board. I did the reset and started the fridge again. Four hours later it again shut down!

My next step was to replace both AC heating elements. They tested the right resistance, but I wanted to be sure one was not opening up or shorting out with voltage or heat. I reset the board again, fired it up, and 4 hours later is was again shut down!

I wanted to be sure the new Amish cooling unit was good, so I disconnected the AC heating elements from the control board and wired them straight to an AC extension cord, which I plugged directly into the 120VAC outlet. Went out next day and the fridge temp was down to about 33 degrees, so now I know the cooling unit and the heating elements are OK.

I could not try the fridge on LPG because my burner/orifice was bad and I had not replaced it.

I called the Dinosaur tech support guy back and reported all the testing I had done. We both came to the conclusion that the only thing left was the control board itself. I called Dave Force with RV Cooling Unit Warehouse and he shipped me a new Dinosaur control board.

I installed the new board and fired it up, confident that we had solved the problem. The next day I went out there, fully expecting to have a nice, cold fridge. WRONG! The "NO CO" code was there and the inside temp was still around 80 degrees! Frustrated does not begin to describe how I felt at that point!

Again I get back on the phone to Dinosaur tech support. This time the guy I had been working with was off for the day and I talked with a different tech. I went over with him all that we had done, after which he immediately told me what the problem was!

He said that the problem was the fact that the temp inside the fridge when I turned it on was around 80 degrees, because I had left the doors open. The control board is looking for a certain drop in temp inside the fridge during the 4-hour period after it is turned on. Because the temp was so high to start with, the cooling unit was not able to drop it enough that the control board would see that the cooling unit was working!

He had me unplug the thermistor and set the panel temp to "9". This tells the control board to keep the heating elements on continuously, regardless of the inside temps. I shut up the MH for the day and did a lot of praying!

When I went out there the next day the temp in the fridge was 27 degrees! Thank you Lord! I turned it off and opened the doors to let the temp go back up for another test. Several hours later when the inside temp was again about 80 degrees, I closed the doors and turned it on again.

The next day when I went back out the inside temp was 24 degrees! Again I turned it off and opened the doors.

We had a cold front move through and the temp inside the MH (and fridge) is 60 degrees. I just closed the doors, turned it back on, and set the temp to "4" where we normally keep it. I feel sure that when I go out there tomorrow the fridge will be at it's normal 35-37 degrees.

When I ordered the control board from Dave Force he told me that if that wasn't the problem I could return the board. I was so convinced that the board was the problem that when it came in I filled out the warranty card because I didn't want it to get misplaced, since it had the serial number printed on it! I didn't mail it, but filled it out. Now the problem is that Dave can't take it back without a warranty card! That little screwup cost me $195.

It sure would have been nice if the first tech support guy had thought of this, but I guess he didn't catch the fact that the temp inside the fridge was about 80 degrees!

Anyway, I hope my experiences here may help you in the future.

[Duoglide1]

Joe, I thought I was the only one that did this stuff to myself. :-)

[TonyMac]

Thanks Joe. I'm gonna throw that I my bag o' tricks. What about putting frozen gallon jugs in the fridge to help jump start the cooling?

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by TonyMac

Thanks Joe. I'm gonna throw that I my bag o' tricks. What about putting frozen gallon jugs in the fridge to help jump start the cooling?

You could do that, but the tech told me that if the MH was cooler, maybe around 70 degrees, that it should not be a problem. Next time we get ready to leave I will turn on the A/C to 70 a couple of days before, then turn the fridge on the day before.

[DWJoyce]

Clearly another example of poor software. They probably got some 14 year old to write the program. At least that's what we used to call software novices, 14 year olds.

[MTK46]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

You could do that, but the tech told me that if the MH was cooler, maybe around 70 degrees, that it should not be a problem. Next time we get ready to leave I will turn on the A/C to 70 a couple of days before, then turn the fridge on the day before.

Joe that all seems well & good for folks that don't live in the desert. My coach will be over 100 in the summer time when we get ready to leave. I found out that my fridge has also been upgraded to the Amish unit. We went down to Tucson a few weekends ago & freezer worked great. Fridge was so-so. As it was only in the high 80's we decided it wasn't going to cut it once summer arrived.
I have a new Samsung sitting in the garage as my next item on my to do list.

[Mike and Cha]

We have just the regular Norcold 4 door fridge stock from the original build/purchase(we bought it new). Living in Southern California, rarely is the inside of our MH less than 80 degrees, especially in the summer. I leave the doors open when not in use and when we turn it on, I just close the doors, set it at 8 and in about 8 hours it's down to the mid 30's in the fridge and 0 in the freezer. We usually have to turn it down to 6 once we get going. I never thought about turning on the AC to help with cooling the fridge though.

[Old-Biscuit]

Unfortunately proper info is not in Owners Manual about 'Cooling System Monitoring'

It is described in the SERVICE Manual so Tech Service SHOULD have easy access to that info.

From Service Manual
The cooling system monitoring control monitors the cooling performance through the thermistor.
Monitoring is active when fin temperature (second fin from right on fin assembly) is higher than 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) and the controls are call for cooling.
The initial fin temperature monitoring period is 120 minutes (2 hours) with temperature samples taken at 10 minute intervals.
If the cooling system monitoring does not sense a drop in fin temperature (approximately 1 degree Fahrenheit or 0.56 degree Celsius) in two hours, it powers off the active heat source for 10 minutes. After the end of the 10 minute rest period, the system powers on the heat source for another 40 minutes.


Cooling system monitoring is inactive when fin temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) or lower.

It does not activate when:

*Fin temperature is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius)

*The thermistor is disconnected from the circuit, is open (no resistance), or is shorted.

*Either one or both of the fresh food compartment doors is sensed open.
Sampling resumes 10 minutes after the door is closed.

*Both AC heaters failed open.

*AC voltage is lower than 108 volts AC.

*Fin frost management active


SERVICE MANUAL
http://rvrefrigeratorrepair.com/wp-c...d-Service-1210

[MSHappyCampers]

Well, I thought our problems were over. WRONG! I had checked the fridge every day for at least a week after getting it going, and it was consistently holding 34-35 degrees. Convinced that the problem was solved, I didn't check it for the last week or so. Went out there this morning and was greeted by the "NO CO" code!

It still has the new control board, new heating elements, Amish cooling unit just a few months old, and I'm back where I started!

Yeah, go ahead and tell me how I should have replaced it with a residential fridge to start with. At that time, I was told that the only way to do the swap was through the windshield. The Windsor has the one-piece windshield and I was just too afraid that I would end up with leaks. Since then I've found out that the passenger side window can be removed the it will go through there.

I'm so frustrated right now I'm just about ready to cut my losses and make the switch. I'm talking with the techs at Dinosaur Electronics to see if they come up with any more ideas. We'll see what happens.........

My wife doesn't want to lose the storage space below the fridge, but that may become necessary!

[Ront77]

I've been where you are. I ignored the advise of others and kept fooling with the Norcold. I even found a very, very little used unit. Luckily I thoroughly tested it in my shop before installing it. No better than what I had.
Finally, saw the light and went residential. BEST THING IVE DONE TO THE MH. SECOND BEST is the dedicated inverter for the fridge.

Now I don't get up in the morning and run to see if the Norcold is still working.

[MSHappyCampers]

I'm hoping that JR at J.C. Refrigeration, who manufacturers the Amish cooling unit, may have figured out what is wrong with my 1200. I will be testing it more when the weather gets hot again. It's really cool here now!

[MSHappyCampers]

OK, here is an update on the problem. I talked with J.R. at J.C. Refrigeration, the manufacturer of the cooling unit, and he solved the problem!

I had switched my fan control from the thermal element on the cooling unit to the new ARP control. It was not keeping the fans on enough to properly cool the condenser fins on the cooling unit. I switched the fans back over to the thermal switch and it is working great!

Let me clarify something here, lest I give you the wrong impression of the ARP. When I installed it I did not work with Paul to program the temp at which the fans would turn on! When I have time I plan to do that.

[MTK46]

MY Norcold had the Amish cooling unit in it.

This fixed it

[tmw188]

For me I would do a residential unit but I am not going to spend money for a larger inverter, add two more batteries, which would really mean buy 4 new batteries. Eliminate or if I'm lucky relocate the LP furnace under my 1200. Just sayin.