Norcold Refrigerator issue

bjyoung29 · 07-31-2008, 05:00 AM

I've been experiencing an issue with my Norcold refrigerator for a while now and I can't quite figure out what I need to do to fix it, so, of course, I come to you.

I have a 2004 32T Journey. My refrigerator is in the slide. I have it set on the coldest setting (9) and during the summer the coldest it will get is 40 degrees, but during the heat of the day, it will get as warm as 55 degrees in there (which is obviously too warm). I've replaced the thermoster and run the diagnostic check and everything checked out. The fans are running, so its not that. I have the same problem whether I'm on electric or gas. The freezer works just fine.

A friend of mine believes that the issue may be a design issue - the fact that the refrigerators on slides are vented out the side of the coach as opposed to out the roof. He also has noted that some folks have added additional fans to help cool their refrigerators.

Before I take it to have it serviced at a dealer (there aren't any in my area that I have very much faith in), I thought I'd see if anyone here had experienced the same problem and what fix you might have made to correct it.

Thanks for all your help.

bjyoung29 · 07-31-2008, 05:00 AM

I've been experiencing an issue with my Norcold refrigerator for a while now and I can't quite figure out what I need to do to fix it, so, of course, I come to you.

I have a 2004 32T Journey. My refrigerator is in the slide. I have it set on the coldest setting (9) and during the summer the coldest it will get is 40 degrees, but during the heat of the day, it will get as warm as 55 degrees in there (which is obviously too warm). I've replaced the thermoster and run the diagnostic check and everything checked out. The fans are running, so its not that. I have the same problem whether I'm on electric or gas. The freezer works just fine.

A friend of mine believes that the issue may be a design issue - the fact that the refrigerators on slides are vented out the side of the coach as opposed to out the roof. He also has noted that some folks have added additional fans to help cool their refrigerators.

Before I take it to have it serviced at a dealer (there aren't any in my area that I have very much faith in), I thought I'd see if anyone here had experienced the same problem and what fix you might have made to correct it.

Thanks for all your help.

Applejack · 07-31-2008, 05:14 AM

I have a slide mounted 4 door Norcold and typically it is set to 5. A higher setting results in freezing of veggies.

Robert Rice · 07-31-2008, 05:25 AM

Reduce the setting to 3 or 4 and see if things improve.

KIX · 07-31-2008, 05:36 AM

All the RV refer "DIY sites" say the same thing about your problem. The refer needs heat, refrigerant and air movement across the coils to work. You have the heat and the refrigerant as evidenced by the 29* freezer temp. What you do not have is ENOUGH air movement across the coils. 2 things cn help: get the refer. side of the coach into the shade and/or add additional fan at the bottom of the coils. A marine bilge blower works ok for this task and is explosion proof.

DamonDemon · 07-31-2008, 07:30 AM

The most probable solution is air flow. You need to make sure that there is proper venting to draw air past the coils especially in the heat of the summer. Here in Texas this is very typical problem we experience. I will include a site that offers assistance for all refrigerators and is excellent. Hope this helps.

http://www.rvmobile.com/Tech/Trouble/vent.htm
http://www.rvmobile.com/Tech/Technical.htm

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by bjyoung29:
I've been experiencing an issue with my Norcold refrigerator for a while now and I can't quite figure out what I need to do to fix it, so, of course, I come to you.

I have a 2004 32T Journey. My refrigerator is in the slide. I have it set on the coldest setting (9) and during the summer the coldest it will get is 40 degrees, but during the heat of the day, it will get as warm as 55 degrees in there (which is obviously too warm). I've replaced the thermoster and run the diagnostic check and everything checked out. The fans are running, so its not that. I have the same problem whether I'm on electric or gas. The freezer works just fine.

A friend of mine believes that the issue may be a design issue - the fact that the refrigerators on slides are vented out the side of the coach as opposed to out the roof. He also has noted that some folks have added additional fans to help cool their refrigerators.

Before I take it to have it serviced at a dealer (there aren't any in my area that I have very much faith in), I thought I'd see if anyone here had experienced the same problem and what fix you might have made to correct it.

Thanks for all your help. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

jdsr · 07-31-2008, 10:26 AM

mine vents from the top. rvmobile says to mount vent there. Has anyone done this and if so, how?

John_Canfield · 07-31-2008, 10:33 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by bjyoung29:
--snip--A friend of mine believes that the issue may be a design issue - the fact that the refrigerators on slides are vented out the side of the coach as opposed to out the roof. --snip-- </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Our 4-door Norcold 1200 is on a slide and it works great

. In fact, it worked great in Gila Bend, Arizona in 110 degree weather about a month ago.

Obviously you have a problem of some sort.

When you said you ran diagnostics, did you download the service manual from Bryant RV and run the technician's diagnostics?

You could have a fan problem but I don't remember if the diagnostics can pick up a wonky fan or fan thermostat. If you remove the lower outside vent panel and stick your ear in the opening, you should hear the unmistakable whine/hum of the fans running.

Check your cooling unit on the fridge back - if you place your hand on the ammonia plumbing, it should feel hotter on the bottom section and gradually get a little cooler as you move your hand up the pipes.

I just checked my cooling plumbing with a non-contact thermometer and my reading are: (starting from the bottom pipe and going up)

- 156 degrees
- 140
- 120
- 114
- 112
- 110

Paul T · 07-31-2008, 04:54 PM

John_Canfied – Am I safe assuming that the fan/fans only run during the AC power mode when thermostatically called for? And thus when on LP the airflow is all accomplished convectively?

John_Canfield · 07-31-2008, 05:43 PM

The fans (two) are operated by 12VDC and are thermostatically controlled. They operate when the condenser fin reaches 130 degrees and turn off at about 115 degrees. I'm pretty certain they operate in AC or propane mode.

As far as I know, the only difference between LP and AC modes are the heat source for the refrigeration absorption cycle. Lp is flame, AC is electrical heating elements.

Billy S · 07-31-2008, 05:59 PM

My Norcold is doing about the same thing, refer running about 35 to 45 and freezer 10 to 30 degrees. When we got home I shut it off and checked the vent pipe on the top of the burner, it has a cover on it and was pushed down so I hope this was my problem. The refer is in a slide. The metal plates are not really attached to the coach or refer and will move around. Soon as I clean the refigerator, I will see if that helped.

RV Wizard · 08-01-2008, 01:10 AM

Bonnie, installation is most likely your problem. THe unit will only perform well when it is installed as per the manufacturer's specifications. Additional fans may be needed for a side discharge vent design for very hot and sunny conditions. If you do not have the installation instructions, they can be downloaded. CHeck to be sure the max and min clearances are present in your coach; if not then that is where to start.

Ray,IN · 08-01-2008, 02:27 AM

Our Norcold N84x is mounted in the Kitchen slide-out. The stack fan runs as John Canfield states. Check everything in the stack to insure it exactly meets the Norcold Installation manual specifications for your model unit.

rv rick · 08-01-2008, 05:03 PM

WE have had the exact same problem in our 2008 Tour with the Norcold 4 door fridge. Winnebago checked it out and found everything to be right, but temps would still climb to the high 40's even in cool weather.

I finally noticed the sensor in the fridge (upper right side of the refer section on the fins) seemed to be iced up. I defrosted it with my hand until all ice was off it and things worked great -- back down to 33 degrees. Any idea why this worked?

John_Canfield · 08-02-2008, 04:54 AM

Edited to correct second fin from the right and not the left!

Norcold told Jane at the GNR the fins are defrosted every 46 hours via a timer in the electronics.

She had a problem with the fins frosting up and was turning off the unit to warm it up to defrost - every time the unit is turned off, the timer is reset.

Also, the temperature sensor should be clipped to the second fin from the right near the fin top. Winnebago replaced our cooling unit a couple of years ago and placed the sensor on the wrong fin. (Even at that, we still had good fridge performance but it was frosting up too quickly.)

Regarding cooling performance - I'll say it again - ours (model 1200) is on a slide and works amazingly well. Our freezer (left freezer in a four-door is always the coldest) is always at 0 to 10 degrees F even in hot climates.

Those with cooling system performance issues should carefully examine their top vent area to be certain there isn't any obstruction. Norcold is very specific about venting requirements because performance can be very poor with inadequate venting (as others have mentioned.)

Winnebago had to pull our fridge to work on something in the wall area and when it was pushed back in, the fridge caught a metal deflector plate and closed off much of the top vent area. Our cooling performance slowly got worse and worse until we could only keep the freezer at 32 degrees (in 70 degree ambient air temp.) The tech at the Anchorage dealership discovered the problem - here is a picture of what yours should look like.

Ding-a-ling · 08-02-2008, 07:41 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by John_Canfield:
.... the temperature sensor should be clipped to the second fin from the left near the fin top.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
John,
Might you mean second fin from the right as ours is?

Right or Left, does it matter?

JC2 · 08-02-2008, 08:25 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by John_Canfield:

.

Also, the temperature sensor should be clipped to the second fin from the left near the fin top. Winnebago replaced our cooling unit a couple of years ago and placed the sensor on the wrong fin. (Even at that, we still had good fridge performance but it was frosting up too quickly.)

John:
Is the position of the temp sensor you described apply to ALL Norcold models or just the 1200's. Ours is Model N842IMR and seems to cool adequately the majority of the time however the temp sensor is on the 10th fin from the right and towards the top.

John_Canfield · 08-02-2008, 08:45 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ding-a-ling:
John,
Might you mean second fin from the right as ours is?

Right or Left, does it matter? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Oops - you are correct Frank. I edited my post

The fin position does make a difference because we now have less frost problems. Second from the right is where Norcold said to put the sensor. The fins are absorbing heat from the refrigerator and the sensor I think determines the burner/electric element run time.

tderonne · 08-03-2008, 04:12 AM

It's kind of been mentioned, but not directly. For those with poor cooling, an easy thing to check is if it works better on AC or propane. If it works OK on AC but not on propane, the cooling unit, and it's venting, is working just fine.

I've seen many fridges with burner issues that keep the fridge from working on propane. The chimney above the burner rusts and drops flakes on the burner, or the burner itself rusts. Either can hamper the flame from getting the right heat up the chimney.

The sheet metal housing around the burner comes off with one screw, it's easy to open it up and clean things up.

The DIY sites, like rvmobile.com (as mentioned above) have lots of info, definitely worth spending some time at them.

Billy S · 08-05-2008, 05:51 AM

Update on other post, I defrosted the fridge and cleaned while the burner cooled off. When I removed the top door, fridge is in a slide, there is a metal plate that had pushed down on the cap for the burner pipe. I raised it up and started the fridge, bufore it was running on 7 and would get up to 50 degrees, at 9 it would cool down below 40, now on 7 fridge is just about 34 and freezer is 10. So like others have posted, check how the unit is installed. Now can someone tell me how the top metal plate is attached, mine has no screws in it, one side is to fridge and top part is mostly insulation.