Norcold 1201 Acting Up

p00ches · 08-11-2011, 12:09 AM

After 10 hot days into a trip, now I'm getting fault code Sr, or 5r. Can't tell a 5 from an S on that screen. Not blinking or sounding an alarm. I'm not hearing the usual whining or humming sound now. I think that's a fan not running. I don't know. I have always heard that noise until now. The fridge seems to be cooling now (1 am). We'll see what morning brings!

I'm still able to adjust the cooling level, which I left on 9. Am I ok to limp through the last 5 days of the trip, before taking it to my dealer, and is there something I can try now?

Any help / ideas will be appreciated.

Thanks, Doug 03 Journey DL 36GD

movin-on · 08-11-2011, 06:10 AM

Doug...If you don't have it, here's a copy of the service manual with fault codes and fixes...

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p00ches · 08-11-2011, 11:03 AM

Thanks Movin-On.

At 4 am the dreaded NC code alarm woke me up. I hit the Off button, and then the On button after about 30 seconds. No more fault code. Only the green light. Waited about 5 minutes and went back to bed. 8 hours later and still ony the green light. Yay! Hit the Change-Setting buton to move it up to 8 and now all looks good.

What could have happened? I still hear no fans running, but this morning there is a cool breeze blowing at the fridge vent. Norcold told me this morning it may, or may not happen again, and to have it looked at by a Norcold servicer. I'm sill uneasy.

Any more thoughts would be appreciated. .....Doug

danes-on-tour · 08-11-2011, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by movin-on

Doug...If you don't have it, here's a copy of the service manual with fault codes and fixes...

Powered by Google Docs

That document could come in handy some time. Is there a way to save this as an ordinary PDF file?

danes-on-tour · 08-11-2011, 11:38 AM

Found it!!!

p00ches · 08-14-2011, 02:54 PM

My Norcold seems to be working better (colder) now, since doing the reset 4 days ago. The fans only run periodically instead of all the time.

I sure would just like to know why it quit cooling in the first place, and then turning it off, and on, fixed it. And, is it likely to happen again when we least expect it?

The person I talked with at Norcold, on Thursday, wasn't much help.

Any more thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, .....Doug

Sammie · 08-15-2011, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by p00ches

My Norcold seems to be working better (colder) now, since doing the reset 4 days ago. The fans only run periodically instead of all the time.

I sure would just like to know why it quit cooling in the first place, and then turning it off, and on, fixed it. And, is it likely to happen again when we least expect it?

The person I talked with at Norcold, on Thursday, wasn't much help.

Any more thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, .....Doug

Doug, If your coach is an 03 model, maybe the fans or the thermal fan switch that controls the fans is starting to go bad. Unfortunatly this stuff doesn't last forever. If the fans quit running in hot weather, this could possibly result in a poor cooling condition. I've attached a video I made while changing out my Norcold cooling unit. In it you should be able to see what the old fans look like and also where the thermal fan switch is mounted.

Sammie

Norcold 1200 to Amish Cooling Unit Conversion.mpg - YouTube

wagonmaster2 · 08-18-2011, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by p00ches

My Norcold seems to be working better (colder) now, since doing the reset 4 days ago. The fans only run periodically instead of all the time.

I sure would just like to know why it quit cooling in the first place, and then turning it off, and on, fixed it. And, is it likely to happen again when we least expect it?

The person I talked with at Norcold, on Thursday, wasn't much help.

Any more thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, .....Doug

Don't ever call Norcold with the expectation of getting any help. They have the most unresponsive customer service of any company I have ever dealt with. Their usual comment will be "see your local Norcold dealer" whether there's one within 100 miles, you're on an outing, or what, they don't care. I had to drive 90 miles to get their recall box installed and when the box started making a clicking noise and my cooling fans weren't working after the installation their response was "drive the 90 miles back and let the shop look at it". I was able to fix the problem in 5 minutes after getting a hold of the installation instructions from another Poster.

Wagonmaster2