Norcold 1200 refrigerator won’t cool

[Sarnone]

Norcold 1200 refrigerator.

I have replaced the cooling unit, power board and eyebrow control. Also the update for the recall overheating dc interrupting device. The ac power is at 117volts the dc power is at 13.3volts. The RV has been level or being driven the whole time. There is no ammonia smell or leaks visible anywhere. It was working for 3 months perfectly. Then one day a week ago it stopped cooling. Heating elements work properly and propane option works well also. After a few hours it starts beeping and shows no co error and no cooling of the unit happening. The thermactor was also replaced. There are no error codes showing that would cause or be caused by this problem. I can reset the error code and start the refrigerator both on electric or gas. Only to get the same result.
HELP!

[Old-Biscuit]

'no co' (no cooling detected)
See pg 1 for Cooling Performance Monitoring Control process
http://techsupport.pdxrvwholesale.co...B-120803-B.pdf


For TESTING
*Unplug Thermistor (temp sensor) from Lamp connection
Run fridge for 12 hrs on MAX Temp Setting (9) and check temps
W/O Thermistor fridge goes into BOS (Backup Operating System) where heating cycles (heat ON) is time based vs temp based

If food compartment cools (might get COLD) then replace the Thermistor


IF still not cooling need to FORCE COOL Test
*unplug the 2 heat element leads from circuit board
Wire the leads directly into 120VAC Element energizing the elements continuously
Run fridge for 12 hrs monitoring (force cool bypasses ALL controls)
Check temps
Fridge COLD........replace circuit board
Fridge still not COLD.....cooling unit has failed (obstruction/blockage)

[grldst]

Force cool test…..keep a close eye on it….everyone of these that have caught on fire that I have first hand info on has happened while on the AC mode.

My current Norcold 1200 is 22 yrs old. It has worked very well but I got concerned when two close friends of mine had fires. I converted mine over to the JC refrigeration HVAC UNIT 2yrs ago. It is like having a residential fridge. Works great…no regrets.

[El Chapo]

Old Biscuit saved me a couple hundred $ in food on my trip to Florida in October. He knows these Norcolds very well. His troubleshooting helped me figure out it was a bad bad thermistor (on a 8 month old fridge).

[Fridge Defend]

Originally Posted by Sarnone

Norcold 1200 refrigerator.

I have replaced the cooling unit, power board and eyebrow control. Also the update for the recall overheating dc interrupting device. The ac power is at 117volts the dc power is at 13.3volts. The RV has been level or being driven the whole time. There is no ammonia smell or leaks visible anywhere. It was working for 3 months perfectly. Then one day a week ago it stopped cooling. Heating elements work properly and propane option works well also. After a few hours it starts beeping and shows no co error and no cooling of the unit happening. The thermactor was also replaced. There are no error codes showing that would cause or be caused by this problem. I can reset the error code and start the refrigerator both on electric or gas. Only to get the same result.
HELP!

Be carful, you say "Heating elements work properly and propane option works well also."

This tells me you are getting heat, but the cooling unit is not cooling.

You need to know your boiler temperature, it tells you all. The boiler is what drives your entire system, and you note that the recall not only will not tell you the boiler temperature, it will not protect the boiler from overheating.

Knowing these refrigerators well means knowing the parameters that affect the cooling, such as boiler temperature. No boiler operator would operate a boiler without knowing the boiler temperature.

Take care, happy holidays

[Sarnone]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

'no co' (no cooling detected)
See pg 1 for Cooling Performance Monitoring Control process
http://techsupport.pdxrvwholesale.co...B-120803-B.pdf


For TESTING
*Unplug Thermistor (temp sensor) from Lamp connection
Run fridge for 12 hrs on MAX Temp Setting (9) and check temps
W/O Thermistor fridge goes into BOS (Backup Operating System) where heating cycles (heat ON) is time based vs temp based

If food compartment cools (might get COLD) then replace the Thermistor


IF still not cooling need to FORCE COOL Test
*unplug the 2 heat element leads from circuit board
Wire the leads directly into 120VAC Element energizing the elements continuously
Run fridge for 12 hrs monitoring (force cool bypasses ALL controls)
Check temps
Fridge COLD........replace circuit board
Fridge still not COLD.....cooling unit has failed (obstruction/blockage)

I have tried a test with the Thermistor disconnected on electric and now trying on propane. Then will connect directly to power supply.
So far the interior is 65 degrees.

[Sarnone]

I’ll put a heat gun on it tomorrow.
Thank you

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by Sarnone

I have tried a test with the Thermistor disconnected on electric and now trying on propane. Then will connect directly to power supply.
So far the interior is 65 degrees.

Is freezer getting COLD?

[Sarnone]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Is freezer getting COLD?

No. There is no affect to the temperature whatsoever.

[MrMark52]

FWIW - our 20 year old Norcold RM2852 fridge was working fine, but I wanted to be proactive about fixing the eventual failure before it occurred on this 20 year old until.

Pictures show what we found upon pulling the refrigerator and accessing the boiler area of the cooling unit - moral of the story, it’s not a matter of IF, but WHEN.

Because we will sometimes boon-dock and I’m not adding more batteries and solar panels to our coach, a domestic refrigerator was not the answer.

We replaced the cooling unit with an upgraded design cooling unit that will likely outlast both the coach and ourselves.
I previously had bought and installed a FridgeDefend last year when we got this ‘02 coach, and we reinstalled it with the cooling unit replacement.

[MrMark52]

Originally Posted by Sarnone

No. There is no affect to the temperature whatsoever.

Sarnone - what did you end up with on this? Fix or replace?