Norcold Shutdown After Recall

[Petro]

There has been many posts on this forum about the Norcold Recall but I did a search and did not find much about a shut down after the recall. I had my 2nd recall done last fall and put it to bed for the winter shortly after. I have used the coach for 4 weekends this spring & summer. Today while parked in the garage at home after returning from a trip yesterday the refer shut down. The new safety device installed by the recall shut it down and of course it is not resettable. I bypassed the the safety switch to test it and the refer appears to work OK. I am not sure what my options are?

My question is have others had a problem after the recall and if so what course of action did you take? Can the safety shutdown be replaced or do I have to replace the cooling unit? Any replies from others would be appreciated.

Thanks;
Don

[AFChap]

Yes, several others have had the same experience. There were apparently a bad batch or two of the control boxes, and the control box can be replaced by going through the same hassle as before in contacting Norcold and/or a Norcold servicing dealer. They will NOT allow you to replace it yourself.

[Elkhartjim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petro There has been many posts on this forum about the Norcold Recall but I did a search and did not find much about a shut down after the recall. I had my 2nd recall done last fall and put it to bed for the winter shortly after. I have used the coach for 4 weekends this spring & summer. Today while parked in the garage at home after returning from a trip yesterday the refer shut down. The new safety device installed by the recall shut it down and of course it is not resettable. I bypassed the the safety switch to test it and the refer appears to work OK. I am not sure what my options are? My question is have others had a problem after the recall and if so what course of action did you take? Can the safety shutdown be replaced or do I have to replace the cooling unit? Any replies from others would be appreciated. Thanks; Don

I had the same experience, Don. I dread the day this happens when I'm on the road because Norcold will not ship another box until you take the unit into a service center.

[Pusherman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AFChap Yes, several others have had the same experience. There were apparently a bad batch or two of the control boxes, and the control box can be replaced by going through the same hassle as before in contacting Norcold and/or a Norcold servicing dealer. They will NOT allow you to replace it yourself.

Paul is correct. Most likely the control box has failed (thus the red LED). There is no reset on them. It must be replaced by an authorized Norcold dealer. They will replace it for free under the Norcold recall (I undertand the hassle).

[Dr4Film]

What some people don't realize is that IF you have definitely confirmed that the recall #2 control box is defective AND it is the only reason why the Norcold won't fire up, you can temporarily bypass the control box in a pinch to keep the food in the frig from spoiling until you have a new one ordered and replaced by the service tech's.

My frig is still using version A with out difficulty but it may only be a matter of time. There have been numerous reasons for the failure but one in particular seems to stand out and that is an electrical surge of some sort.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

[ga traveler]

Let me see if I have this right. They made a bad ref. called you in and installed a bad part to repair it. WOW.

[NLOVNIT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ga traveler Let me see if I have this right. They made a bad ref. called you in and installed a bad part to repair it. WOW.

Makes one wonder why they're still in business!

L-

[Sammie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NLOVNIT Makes one wonder why they're still in business! L-

They are probably offshore owned. You know how that works, anything made offshore is pretty much use it and then throw it away after a couple of years.

JMHO
Sammie

[num1dgh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr4Film What some people don't realize is that IF you have definitely confirmed that the recall #2 control box is defective AND it is the only reason why the Norcold won't fire up, you can temporarily bypass the control box in a pinch to keep the food in the frig from spoiling until you have a new one ordered and replaced by the service tech's. My frig is still using version A with out difficulty but it may only be a matter of time. There have been numerous reasons for the failure but one in particular seems to stand out and that is an electrical surge of some sort. Dr4Film ----- Richard.

Richard -- you mention version A . . . we are having our recall done right now. How can I check that we have the "fixed" fix going on and not the "broken" fix?!

This is crazy . . . an electrical surge?! I thought that was one of the things that the recall was supposed to protect against! Good to know that one can bypass it until it can be re-recalled!

[edgray]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sammie They are probably offshore owned. You know how that works, anything made offshore is pretty much use it and then throw it away after a couple of years. JMHO Sammie

Sorry, but NOT according to their website. Here is a partial paste of their history:
""Norcold was founded October 21, 1959 in California to manufacture and sell specialty refrigerators to the RV and Marine industries.

As the recreational industry prospered, so did Norcold, rapidly growing from a small, family company to an industry "player" with unlimited potential.

In early 1963, the company was acquired by the Stolle Corporation, an Alcoa Company, and greatly expanded its refrigerator lines. To better supply customers in the Midwest and to handle rapid growth, Norcold moved to its current Sidney, Ohio, location in 1964 and began producing refrigerators there exclusively.

Sound business decisions helped Norcold weather industry downturns of the early 1970's and late 1980's.

Facing a major challenge when a competitor bought its primary supplier of cooling units in 1988, Norcold responded quickly and dynamically. Within a year, the company built a state-of-the-art cooling unit manufacturing plant in nearby Gettysburg, Ohio. In addition to satisfying Norcold's needs, this facility produced higher quality products than its vendor had previously been supplying.""

Today Norcold is owned by THETFORD, a corp. headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich. which makes a wide range of products for RVs.

I would like to believe that "made in America" means quality...but based on the multiple recalls and problems Norcold has (even their recent models)..... I have one..... I'd have to say that some of the claims about quality included in the above from their website are just an example of marketing HYPE, nothing more.
Ed

[edgray]

Quote:

Originally Posted by num1dgh .....an electrical surge ?! , I thought that was one of the things that the recall was supposed to protect against! ....

NOPE. It is my understanding that the recall was to allow them to install a temperature sensor that will detect abnormally high boiler temps (before a fire is started) and a control box that will cut all power, electric OR gas to the boiler...which renders your refer inoperable.

Sorry to read of your failure, DON.
Ed

[Sammie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edgray Sorry, but NOT according to their website. Here is a partial paste of their history: ""Norcold was founded October 21, 1959 in California to manufacture and sell specialty refrigerators to the RV and Marine industries. As the recreational industry prospered, so did Norcold, rapidly growing from a small, family company to an industry "player" with unlimited potential. In early 1963, the company was acquired by the Stolle Corporation, an Alcoa Company, and greatly expanded its refrigerator lines. To better supply customers in the Midwest and to handle rapid growth, Norcold moved to its current Sidney, Ohio, location in 1964 and began producing refrigerators there exclusively. Sound business decisions helped Norcold weather industry downturns of the early 1970's and late 1980's. Facing a major challenge when a competitor bought its primary supplier of cooling units in 1988, Norcold responded quickly and dynamically. Within a year, the company built a state-of-the-art cooling unit manufacturing plant in nearby Gettysburg, Ohio. In addition to satisfying Norcold's needs, this facility produced higher quality products than its vendor had previously been supplying."" Today Norcold is owned by THETFORD, a corp. headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich. which makes a wide range of products for RVs. I would like to believe that "made in America" means quality...but based on the multiple recalls and problems Norcold has (even their recent models)..... I have one..... I'd have to say that some of the claims about quality included in the above from their website are just an example of marketing HYPE, nothing more. Ed

I just think that it's a crying shame that the quality that we all once enjoyed has taken a back seat to Bottom Line.

Sammie

[Dr4Film]

Quote:

Originally Posted by num1dgh Richard -- you mention version A . . . we are having our recall done right now. How can I check that we have the "fixed" fix going on and not the "broken" fix?! This is crazy . . . an electrical surge?! I thought that was one of the things that the recall was supposed to protect against! Good to know that one can bypass it until it can be re-recalled!

I believe they are up to Version D however with so many versions and problems, they could be even higher by now.

The actual operation of the control box is to shut down power to the Norcold Control Board that supplies both 12 Volt DC & 120 Volt AC to the frig. That is determined by the sensor that is placed onto the side of the burner stack just below the 120 Volt AC heaters. If for whatever reason that area reaches around 900F, the sensor tells the control box to cease power to the control board.

Now, if someone does experience a "shutdown", PLEASE don't assume that it is a bad Recall Control Box as there may be another reason like a clogged cooling unit. If that's the case, by-passing the control box could cause major damage and total loss of your coach due to a fire.

Only attempt a bypass if the situation happen to be coincidental with the installation of the recall.

In my case, since the recall has been in and working 24/7 since last November, 2010, if it were to shut down now, and I had done nothing unusual like any welding or other high voltage work on my coach, the first thing I would look for is an ammonia leak or something else that caused it to shut down.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

[Clifftall]

I've heard "E". EEK