Refrigerator won't work

[Lanny Shaw]

I have a 2003 Newmar Mountainaire class A with a Norcold 2 door refrigerator. Last year it worked great. This year it doesn't work at all. I've checked fuses and power supply and they are good. I removed the outside vent cover and there is a red light on. I can't find anything about the light in the manual or paperwork for this. Does anyone know what this means and how to get the frig to run?
Thanks.
LDS

[Old-Biscuit]

Your 2003 Norcold Frige has a 'Recall Box' with High-High Temp Sensor installed on boiler section.

RED Light ON means it has TRIPPED and shut down DC to controls

Could be due to overheated condition ---sensor trips at 700*F +
That would indicate cooling unit failure
Inspect area around/under burner for 'yellowish residue'.......that would be dried sodium chromate (anti-rust inhibitor used in coolant solution)
It spurts out from a LEAK in cooling unit tubing and/or boiler section
IT is TOXIC so use gloves/face mask if cleaning up---no blowing air


BUT could also be a 'glitch' trip.
Faulty Recall Box circuit board
Trip cause Recall Box got wet (blowing rain or from washing RV)

SO...question is
Was the Trip due to overheating/cooling unit failure
OR from 'glitch'
Current Recall Box Revision is 'E' ----'D' revisions had problems
'D' Revisions can be updated to 'E' -----By authorized Norcold Repair (will not send to owners...must be done by RV Tech --Facility or Mobile)
Look thru opening and see which revision is stamped on circuit board



Recall Box can be Reset bu using a strong magnet
Place magnet on face of Recall Box near top and slowly move back/forth
Should hear a CLICK and RED Light go out


Reset will allow fridge to turn on.....but will trip again IF cooling unit leaked

[Bigd9]

Here is a drawing I found on the internet.

[Dutch Star Don]

Lanny......Keep in mind, that recall box is just a SWITCH trigged by a temp sensor. They simply pull the original 12 volt power lead off the refer (I believe a brown wire) plug it into the black box and run a wire from the black box back to the refer power.

If you get the refer running again, keep an eye on it for the first day or so and make sure the black box didn't trip because there was an issue (overheating/leak) with the fridge.

[Lanny Shaw]

I tried all these steps and the problem is not solved. The red light is still blinking slowly. Any other thoughts?
Thanks for the help.
Lanny

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by Lanny Shaw

I tried all these steps and the problem is not solved. The red light is still blinking slowly. Any other thoughts?
Thanks for the help.
Lanny

RED Light 'blinking' is different then being ON as stated in your 1st post


LED FAST Blinking (On/Off 2-3X/sec) means Recall Box not communicating with temp sensor on boiler stack or has an open circuit
Remove the plug found between the +12VIN and +12VOUT wires put a jumper between these wires.
If the light quits flashing you found your problem.



LED SLOW Blinking (On/Off Once per sec) indicates DC SUPPLY Voltage is LOW (10.5DC or lower)
So using a voltmeter verify DC Voltage TO the fridge.



Bad 12VDC POS
Bad 12VDC NEG/Ground
BAD Battery
Bad Inverter Charging System

[PbdBlue]

If you washed your rig right before the fridge quit that could be what tripped the fridge protect. I’m always very careful not to get too frisky with the power washer near the refrigerator vent but just last week I had it washed and waxed by a detailer and yup he tripped the box. I ended up removing the box and disassembling so I could dry and clean it. A couple of years of dust/dirt mixed with water = muck. Anyway cleaned everything up and reassembled except the lid so I could put the magnet right on the reed switch. It reset and then I put the lid back on. They really should have made the box water/dust proof.

[Lanny Shaw]

According to your descriptions, I have a fast blinking light. I followed your directions and the light went off. When I plugged the wires back into the Recall Box the light started blinking again. Does that mean I need a new recall box? If not, what is the problem, and how do I fix it? Thanks,

["007"]

Originally Posted by Lanny Shaw

According to your descriptions, I have a fast blinking light. I followed your directions and the light went off. When I plugged the wires back into the Recall Box the light started blinking again. Does that mean I need a new recall box? If not, what is the problem, and how do I fix it? Thanks,

Lanny, what ever it is some thing has failed, if you see yellow residue around cooling coils the cooling coils can be changed out so you have a better working fridge.
This thread I wrote up back in 2007 and I added many items as the years progressed.
If you look through the thread you will find wiring diagrams to remove the blinking box and get fridge running as it originally did. Just be aware it may not, there maybe a serious problem.
The 12v wire was wired thru box to open power to control for fridge.
The thread will give you info as to why the red light will activate and some of the members have also stated already.
If the cooling coils have ruptured you need the Amish cooling coils and their factory can do it for you or you can do yourself as described by a couple video's some have posted, read through the post and understand what I am saying.
Some have put in residential fridge but it involves some more work and if you boondock a need for more batteries to power a 110 fridge.

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by Lanny Shaw

According to your descriptions, I have a fast blinking light. I followed your directions and the light went off. When I plugged the wires back into the Recall Box the light started blinking again. Does that mean I need a new recall box? If not, what is the problem, and how do I fix it? Thanks,

Temp sensor on stack
Temp sensor wires to/from stack
Recall Box circuit board


Need to contact Norcold and set up replacement as needed......
Parts/service HAS to be done by an 'authorized' repair and/or mobile tech
Norcold will NOT send parts to owners.


For Norcold product recalls call 1-800-767-9101 – Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 8:00 pm EST

[Lanny Shaw]

After trying all these options nothing worked, so I got a new Recall Box. I connected the old wires to it and had the same problem. So I unplugged the old temp sensor wire from the Recall Box and plugged in the new one, without installing the new sensor on the stack. The red light went out and the refer worked. So I shut the refer off, removed the old sensor from the stack and installed the new sensor. The fridge worked fine after that.

Thanks for all you help.
Lanny

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by Lanny Shaw

After trying all these options nothing worked, so I got a new Recall Box. I connected the old wires to it and had the same problem. So I unplugged the old temp sensor wire from the Recall Box and plugged in the new one, without installing the new sensor on the stack. The red light went out and the refer worked. So I shut the refer off, removed the old sensor from the stack and installed the new sensor. The fridge worked fine after that.

Thanks for all you help.
Lanny

Glad your fridge is now working!
Thanks for the update


Like I posted.......Fast Blinking is all about the sensor on stack


Where/how did you get another Recall Box/New sensor and do the installs yourself?

[Spdracr39]

Another option now that you know the fridge is good is to replace that whole recall set up with an ARP Fridge Defend system.

[nehog]

Originally Posted by Lanny Shaw

... So I unplugged the old temp sensor wire from the Recall Box and plugged in the new one, without installing the new sensor on the stack. ...

I had the exact same problem--my sensor had failed. It is a type K sensor and I got a replacement on Amazon. As well I added a second overheat detector to supplement the one from the manufacturer so I now have two safety cutoffs. (My new one even has a temperature display!)