Community Forums

USA-RVNomads · 06-16-2017, 02:36 PM

Its never convenient when your frig decides to quit working right after you stocked it and outside temp and humidity is high.

Last Aug ours puked and I ended up replacing the motherboard. All was fine, worked wonderfully until this earlier in the week. It just quit for the second time after some torrential rains and wind. Water blew in through the vented access cover but after drying it out the first time this happened all was well. However the second time...it didn't restart.

Now it blows fuses, even after replacing the motherboard again. I have a dead short somewhere but can't figure out what circuit or component would cause a direct to ground connection.

Ideas?

TIA

Skip426 · 06-16-2017, 04:45 PM

Are these fuses that blow , on the board , or is it the main 12 volt supply fuse that goes ?
If your fridge has vent fans at the rear, and the fuse is on the board , the problem may be at the fan control heat sensor near the top of the chimney .
JMHO: That wiring ; from the board ; to the sensor and down to the fans should have heat protection.

USA-RVNomads · 06-16-2017, 04:59 PM

Both the fuse on the board and the fuse that supplies power to the fridge from the house batteries blows. They take turns depending on which one is replaced first.

Skip426 · 06-16-2017, 05:20 PM

Can you by-pass the board and feed power from the coach fuse directly to the fan circuit , should be the red wire that runs up the back of the fridge on the chimney side.

Is the fridge in a slide ?
If so can you remove the top vent and look for the wiring at the sensor ?

USA-RVNomads · 06-17-2017, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip426

Can you by-pass the board and feed power from the coach fuse directly to the fan circuit , should be the red wire that runs up the back of the fridge on the chimney side.

Is the fridge in a slide ?
If so can you remove the top vent and look for the wiring at the sensor ?

I'll test the fans separately to see if they're the cause of the short. Otherwise, I'm going to pull the frig out and inspect the upper area to see if there are any issues.

No, its not in a slide...accessing the fans is impossible without pulling the unit out of its space.

Gary RVRoamer · 06-17-2017, 09:59 AM

It has to be something that is powered through the circuit board, so that leaves out some of the wiring. There is the interior light, a heater circuit for the ice maker water line and also a heater for the door divider. All 12v.

The icemaker water line heater is particularly exposed. It wraps around the water tube and is immediately behind the outer door grill. The very early model 1200's did not have this heater, but most of them do.

USA-RVNomads · 06-18-2017, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

It has to be something that is powered through the circuit board, so that leaves out some of the wiring. There is the interior light, a heater circuit for the ice maker water line and also a heater for the door divider. All 12v.

The icemaker water line heater is particularly exposed. It wraps around the water tube and is immediately behind the outer door grill. The very early model 1200's did not have this heater, but most of them do.

The ice maker I disconnected a long time ago, rather have the space than the convenience. Old fashion ice cube tray takes less space for the occasional need we have for ice.

Looks like I will have to pull the frig to expose the fans so I can see if there is something causing the short in the fan leads or motors.

I hope its something simple and easily repaired.

USA-RVNomads · 06-19-2017, 09:31 AM

The frig is running but only on the 12v/LP side. I was able to get it to run by disconnecting the AC heater elements from the board. Now the question is why are the elements tripping the 12v fuse and not the AC fuse on the board?

Arch Hoagland · 06-19-2017, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImagesByHawk

The frig is running but only on the 12v/LP side. I was able to get it to run by disconnecting the AC heater elements from the board. Now the question is why are the elements tripping the 12v fuse and not the AC fuse on the board?

My Norcold 1200 started kicking the GFI while on a trip, had a mobile RV repair guy work on it and it was OK for a month or so but started kicking again after it rained.

Discovered if I ran it on LP for 24 hours I could then switch to electric and it runs fine. So that's the solution for now.

USA-RVNomads · 06-20-2017, 06:46 AM

UPDATE: I was able to get the fridge to restart on the 12v side which restored cooling. Later in the day I started reconnecting the AC heater leads to the motherboard and they too resumed functioning without blowing any fuses.

The weather here is cool, so I have yet to hear the cooling fans kick in probably because the cooling unit isn't generating the amount of heat it once was. However, the inside of the fridge and freezer is adequately cold. I am monitoring the system closely to see if it resolves itself or I have to look at doing more to demystify this thing.

Arch Hoagland · 06-20-2017, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImagesByHawk

UPDATE: I was able to get the fridge to restart on the 12v side which restored cooling. Later in the day I started reconnecting the AC heater leads to the motherboard and they too resumed functioning without blowing any fuses.

The weather here is cool, so I have yet to hear the cooling fans kick in probably because the cooling unit isn't generating the amount of heat it once was. However, the inside of the fridge and freezer is adequately cold. I am monitoring the system closely to see if it resolves itself or I have to look at doing more to demystify this thing.

That's exactly how mine is doing. On a 2 month trip now so won't mess with it any more till we get home.

Let us know what you find out is causing the problem.

USA-RVNomads · 06-28-2017, 10:43 AM

Since my last post the fridge has been running steadily and keeping the contents cold/frozen as desired. But one before and again today it needed to be cycled on and off after it decided to stop functioning. A hiccup of sorts. I knew the fridge had stopped cooling because I setup a cooking thermometer to monitor the inside temp and use the high temp alarm to warn me when it gets above a certain temp inside.

I'm wondering if this is caused by the controller board inside on the front of the fridge?