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Old 08-18-2011, 07:01 PM   #1
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Norcold - Freezer works but fridge doesn't - HELP!

I have a Norcold fridge in my motorhome. The freezer will freeze but the bottom refrigerator will not even get cool. The fins at the top of the fridge are not cold. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
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Old 08-18-2011, 07:23 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hddeuce1 View Post
I have a Norcold fridge in my motorhome. The freezer will freeze but the bottom refrigerator will not even get cool. The fins at the top of the fridge are not cold. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
The expansion valve in the ref. bottom is much smaller then the freezer. It always stops up first. You are going to have to replace the cooling coil.
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Old 08-18-2011, 07:32 PM   #3
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Before you go the route of replacing the cooling coil....

What is the outside temp? If it is above 100 or even close then it may not be getting enough air circulated to get it cooled down.

Do you hear the outside fans running (just above the outside grill)? If they are not running then it usually won't get cold.

Have you tested the thermistor on the cooling fins?

I had replaced the cooling unit with a amish unit on my 1200 a few months ago and it worked great... up until the temps in Texas got above 100. The freezer was freezing, but the frig was not getting cold. I put 4 cooling fans on the top outlet and now it cools like a champ.
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Old 08-18-2011, 08:59 PM   #4
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texnet is right on the money. If the outside temperature is 100 degrees plus and you don't have any fans to help in venting the cooling coils and condensor fins you can't expect to see very cold temperatures in the fridge. Also if your refrigerator is in a slideout the top vent is located on the side of your rig as opposed to the top of the motorhome. This side venting can be a problem because the hot air doesn't vent as easy (more fans can help). Here is a video I made that shows the fans I added when I did a conversion to an Amish Built cooling unit.

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Old 08-19-2011, 07:46 AM   #5
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Welcome hddeuce1 to irv2.
This thread will explain it all couple of fans may help.
Enjoy the forums.
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Old 08-24-2011, 06:34 AM   #6
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Angry Frustration with Norcold

Our Notcold 1211M has been exhibiting the same symptoms described by several here in this thread.
Last year when we were out west it almost but not quite stopped cooling. Fins at about 35 degrees. Then after several days it started cooling again. Now we are in Ohio with outside air in high 70 degree range it is doing the same thing. Gas or electric the same performance. Right now the fin temperature is 27 degrees at the right end and about 36 degrees at the left end of the cooling fins. Bottom of the refrigerator is about 46 degrees after being closed up overnight. The refrigerator has some good built in diagnostics built into the electronics. They show the fin tempature and that the power to the heaters is on all the time.
I am thinkng about the Amish cooling unit.
Is this compleetly different cooling unit?
Does it come with new or different gas and electric heating units?
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Old 08-24-2011, 07:29 AM   #7
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hddeuce1,

Recommend you read the 8 part blog titled "Understanding Your RV Refrigerator." The first part is HERE. You will be most interested
in Parts II and III.

Hope this helps.
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Old 08-24-2011, 07:51 AM   #8
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I took your suggestion and read "Understanding Your RV Refrigerator." . It is one of the best explanations of the absorption refrigerator I have read.
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Old 06-09-2016, 04:16 PM   #9
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I just got my MH a couple months ago and I already wasn't a big fan of Norcold before then but I digressed for the rest of it being what we wanted. I am trying to get it cooled for a weekend trip but the freezer only gets to 29* and the bottom won't go below 67*. My old coach had a Dometic that was 20 years old never had an issue like this in the 12 years that I owned it. I need to find the cause to make it work right if I can. It doesn't make any difference on A/C or LP. How can I determine if its the cooling unit even though it has not had an obvious leak? I stated it last night but this morning it had a code "No Co" flashing and alarm sounding. I turned it off and depowered it, then tried again. No code or alarm but after being on since 11am it has not cooled lower than the above temps. I also have tried to examine and reposition the thermistor with no change. How do you test the thermistor? Motorhome Magazine just had an article about diagnosing them but only covered the Dometic versions. If I must replace the cooling unit I'll just replace the whole fridge with a Dometic so I can sleep better at night! The recall issue is enough to not want to keep it especially since mine isn't included!
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Old 06-09-2016, 04:29 PM   #10
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Disconnect the thermistor and run fridge overnight

Fridge will go into continuous cooling mode w/o thermistor

If food section doesn't cool down after that then cooling unit is most likely blocked/obstructed and can't cool

If food section gets cold then thermistor is bad
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Old 06-09-2016, 09:40 PM   #11
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This is a really old thread and you didn't say what model of Norcold you have, but here is a link to a compiled list of service manuals. The NoCo code means the control board is not sensing any cooling in the unit after a certain period. There is also a guide on how to reset the NoCo when it locks out completely after the second reset.

Good luck with your troubleshooting.
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Old 06-09-2016, 10:33 PM   #12
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I guess my forum headline is not exactly true to fact. Both the fridge and freezer are "working" but not to satisfactory performance. I have no previous experience with Norcold but expected it to be comparable to my old Dometic.
To Old Biscuit- Thanks. I did that tonight and I'll see where it goes. I had to unplug it with the light inside the fridge as I couldn't find anywhere else.
To Lt Dan- Thanks for that link. I believe from the ID plate that I have a 1209 series.
Model- 1209151L
There is also a number 30806, and N8431M. The print is too small to read their subjects.
The cooling unit is- CU1634544.
I saw on another site to open the side compartment door and told to remove the circuit cover and disconnect the thermistor there. Two thin white wires but didn't find any except in the main plug. I also opened the burner box but except for insect nest that did not constrict the burner nothing out of the ordinary. I removed the top of the fridge exhaust but it seems completely open all down through it. I tried it again after all that before trying your suggestion. I moved the thermistor up & down and moved it to different fins as suggested but nothing has made any gain in temp drop. We'll see now. After I picked up my MH in Houston it seemed to be okay coming home although I didn't have the remote thermostats on it then to tell. But the last time out in April the temps were borderline in the fridge.
Can anybody tell me more about these Amish Cooling Units? Where to get more information and cost? I have the ability and assistance to change it out.
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Old 06-11-2016, 07:08 AM   #13
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Norcold Is not the best refrigerator I ever had.

My unit was the original Norcold cooling unit and it worked poorly at best. When the outside temperature got above 90° cooling was totally inadequate. After a lot of time spent fooling around with the unit and doing research, I decided to change to the Amish cooling unit. The Amish cooling unit is not cheap. I installed the unit myself and it was not really easy. I have been repairing complicated equipment all of my adult life. The Amish unit does work as advertised, but I did have to add a number of additional fans to get it to work adequately above 95° outside temperature.

If I had it to do again, I would junk the absorption cooling unit and go to an electric unit. There are electric refrigerators available that fit fairly well into the Norcold
hole.

With the Amish cooling unit, we have adequate cooling. Not great cooling just adequate.

PS; there is a class-action suit against Norcold about this refrigerator. I received it postcard in the mail from some legal firm. I don't know anything about it. But I did sign up on the web for any settlement that might be available. Perhaps a settlement would cover the cost of the Amish unit I installed.
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Old 06-11-2016, 07:36 AM   #14
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Down and dirrty test procedure for Norcold.

I made up 120 V test cord with two sets of tabs on the end of it. I then very carefully took the wires for both of the 120 V heating units off of the control board and connected them directly to the 120 V power. With everything bypassed the refrigerator should get to < 30° and a freezer should be <5°. If it doesn't you either got a defective cooling unit or a major door leak. If I heavy a person pulls themselves up off of the floor holding onto the door, the lower hinge pivots in the plastic door do crack. Warning if up try this be careful. I suggest this for the serious repair tech.
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