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Mxdad777 · 07-24-2022, 10:39 PM

I have a 2021 Grand Design 337 RLS Reflection and my refrigerator recently started leaking ammonia. Norcold sent me a new cooling unit at no charge and it was installed today. Everything went smooth and the refrigerator runs on both A/C and LP like normal, (fans come on, burner lights, tubing is getting warm/hot) BUT it’s not getting cold. Any ideas on what might be going on or something I can check or try? Thanks in advance for any help.

Mxdad777 · 07-24-2022, 11:54 PM

I should add too that the cooling pipes are warm/hot to the touch.

K7JV · 07-25-2022, 06:48 AM

If it hasn't started to actually cool down by this morning, I would turn it off for a couple of hours and let it pretty much reach ambient temperature. Then turn it back on and see if it works properly. Then I would expect the fins in the refrigerator compartment to start feeling cool after an hour or two. It takes several hours for these units to really get cold in the refrigerator compartment or to reach freezing temperatures in the freezer compartments.

When we are going to use our coach, we go to the storage unit the day before we are going to load up and leave and we turn on the refrigerator. Then it is ready to rock and roll by the next morning.

K7JV · 07-25-2022, 06:52 AM

I'm sorry you had to go thru that. It's not a fun project. The one in our Dynasty failed after about 12 years. They are generally pretty reliable. They're not "powerful" like residential refrigerators are when it comes to quick and highly controlled cooling, but they work pretty darned well. Hopefully your new unit will last you as long as you own your beautiful fifth-wheel.

Mxdad777 · 07-25-2022, 08:35 AM

I turned it off for 3 hours last night. Before going to bed at 10:00, I turned it back on. This morning nothing was even close to being cold. It ran for 7 hours on A/C and nothing. I’m stumped!

Old-Biscuit · 07-25-2022, 11:34 AM

Fridge is LEVEL....correct?

Why was original cooling unit replaced?
Who did the replacement?

Other than cooling unit being replaced were other components replaced/tested?
(Circuit board, thermistor, heater elements etc)

NXR · 07-25-2022, 06:19 PM

Ugh. This is like the fourth bad cooling unit on a newer Norcold that I've read about recently but the first one where the owner said it leaked as opposed to just not cooling one day. Folks from Forest River said they want to be contacted on all fridge problems because something is going wrong with recent Norcold units but they did not specify what.

Ray

Old-Biscuit · 07-25-2022, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Fridge is LEVEL....correct?

Why was original cooling unit replaced? Missed the part about ammonia leak)
Who did the replacement?

Other than cooling unit being replaced were other components replaced/tested?
(Circuit board, thermistor, heater elements etc)

Edited content: Where was the leak ?

Mxdad777 · 07-25-2022, 09:11 PM

It had an air bubble in the system. Tilted the fridge forward to a 45 degree angle for a few minutes to let the air bubble escape. Stood it back up and installed in the cabinet. Turned the unit back on and it’s cooling now. Woohoo!!

Mxdad777 · 07-25-2022, 09:12 PM

Not sure exactly where the leak was, but I had yellow all over the bottom of the unit on the outside.

Fridge Defend · 07-26-2022, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mxdad777

It had an air bubble in the system. Tilted the fridge forward to a 45 degree angle for a few minutes to let the air bubble escape. Stood it back up and installed in the cabinet. Turned the unit back on and it’s cooling now. Woohoo!!

When replacing the cooling unit, one needs to tilt the fridge the proper way to get the ammonia into the boiler properly.

It is a misnomer to state that there was an "air bubble in the system".

The boiler does not have ammonia to drive the boiler pump, and the result is the boiler overheats when the refrigerant is not being produced.

By "Tilted the fridge forward to a 45 degree angle for a few minutes" you allowed the fluids in the holding tank to get into the boiler, and when the boiler pump started the fridge worked.

FYI: There is no safety device from Norcold to correct this issue.

We hope that through the knowledge of why stuff happens, conditions that can cause problems can be understood.

Happy to hear all is well now

Mxdad777 · 07-26-2022, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fridge Defend

When replacing the cooling unit, one needs to tilt the fridge the proper way to get the ammonia into the boiler properly.

It is a misnomer to state that there was an "air bubble in the system".

The boiler does not have ammonia to drive the boiler pump, and the result is the boiler overheats when the refrigerant is not being produced.

By "Tilted the fridge forward to a 45 degree angle for a few minutes" you allowed the fluids in the holding tank to get into the boiler, and when the boiler pump started the fridge worked.

FYI: There is no safety device from Norcold to correct this issue.

We hope that through the knowledge of why stuff happens, conditions that can cause problems can be understood.

Happy to hear all is well now

I was told by a Norcold tech to tilt it 45 degrees to allow the trapped air bubble to escape to the top. But what ever happened it worked and everyone is happy again. By the way, thanks for the input.