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TRD · 07-13-2013, 09:38 PM

1989 Sun Clipper -- Norcold Frig --

Tonight, when I shut my generator off, I noticed my frig didn't switch over to gas. Correction*** - It switched over, but would not ignite. I went out and over the access cover and the pilot light would come on, but the burner would not ignite. On 120V -- the frig works great --- We are at a race track, so there's little I can do until we get home tomorrow night.

Also, the stove and hot water heater both are working fine, so it's not a propane issue (or the lack of I should say)

Any suggestions?

Terry

Skip426 · 07-13-2013, 10:10 PM

Did you leave it on propane for a while ?
If the temp was down to the set temp on electric it may stay on pilot for 20mins or more before requiring a full burn for added cooling.
Sorry , I may have misread your post , does your fridge have a pilot setting , small flame or did you mean the igniter , sparked and the burner didn't light.

"007" · 07-13-2013, 10:16 PM

Clean the ceramic sensor that's in the pilot flame and see if it will ignite the burner plus you may have a cobweb in the burner tube to clean out.

TRD · 07-14-2013, 08:09 PM

Someone answer this if you can. Per my original post, My Norcold, while on a trip, quit working on the propane side. It would switch to propane (auto) the pilot light would ignite, but the burner would not light. I tried to get it to work 4-5 times (maybe more) and it would not light. Worked fine on the 120V side.

Arrived home this afternoon. The frig was still set to Auto, with the generator running. When I shut down the generator, the frig switched to gas, and ignited

. I fired the generator up, it went to 120V (ac), I shut it off, switched to propane and ignited.

Why is it working now, and would not work on out trip? My wife summed it up when she said --- "Great, just what we need, a refrigerator that only works in our driveway"

historyljc · 07-14-2013, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRD

Someone answer this if you can. Per my original post, My Norcold, while on a trip, quit working on the propane side. It would switch to propane (auto) the pilot light would ignite, but the burner would not light. I tried to get it to work 4-5 times (maybe more) and it would not light. Worked fine on the 120V side.

Arrived home this afternoon. The frig was still set to Auto, with the generator running. When I shut down the generator, the frig switched to gas, and ignited

. I fired the generator up, it went to 120V (ac), I shut it off, switched to propane and ignited.

Why is it working now, and would not work on out trip? My wife summed it up when she said --- "Great, just what we need, a refrigerator that only works in our driveway"

Norcold Gremlins. They do that!

Skip426 · 07-15-2013, 10:28 AM

An erratic electrical problem , never dealt with one of those.

Just kidding, ground connection for the propane control solenoid would be the first place to clean, then the multi wire connector to the fridge control board. Spray contact cleaner for the plugin connector.
Your dealing with a problem that can be effected by humidity, or coach movement, in the case of poor connections , first step is to clean every electrical connection in the circuits.
While you have the fridge shut down , clean the burner too.

Jimooo · 07-15-2013, 10:42 AM

If your frig has a auto setting , shore power is primary if gen set is on that is primary power , if gen set is not on and there is on shore power propane is primary power.

You can switch to manual and control it the way that you want.

Hope this helps,

James

tom 6118 · 07-15-2013, 11:06 AM

I had a similar problem with my norcold. The flame would come on but was not strong enough to light the burner. ie the sensor was not monitoring the low flame. After cleaning the flame chamber and the propane tube out completely the flame was stronger and was able to be read by the sensor and then lit the burner. all is well now on auto as well as manual ac and lp modes. Hope this helps, Tom

Dave78Chief · 07-15-2013, 11:21 AM

Wat model Norcold is this?

tom 6118 · 07-17-2013, 09:50 AM

n822

Dave78Chief · 07-17-2013, 02:19 PM

If the OP's unit is a simular one, then they are both DSI style units. There is no pilot light. Gas is turned on then the control board sends a high voltage pulse to the sense electrode to light the burner. If the gas burner assembly is dirty/plugged up (or the flue assembly is blocked) then, like Tom indicated, gas flow will be restricted resulting in a reduced flame size. Cleaning is in order for that case. If the burner does not ignite at all, then either the valve or orffice is plugged up; the electrode is mis-adjusted/damaged, the control board is bad, wiring is open, or gas valve is bad. Refer to http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/ncoldnnewnseries.pdf for troubleshooting information and/or fault code indications. The OP may have simply dislodged something in the burner and it now works. Burner/Flue cleaning and verifying adjustments per the manual is recommended.

Dave