Norcold 2118X

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Larry Dial

Active member
Joined
Mar 9, 2019
Posts
26
Location
Cypress Texas
ok two things. We have a new( two weeks) grand design solitude wit a Norcold 2118X refrigerator. the freezer section appears to be working fine. the refer is not cooling like it should. the thermistor sensor is on the 5-7 fin on the right side. it will cool down to about 65 degrees and that is all. I have tried moving the thermistor to the left to the far left and back  to the middle, all with no significant change.  I have ordered a replacement  sensor, but is there something else that I can do?

second thing, the right hand door does not appear to be closing fully. is there an adjustment that I can attempt?
 
I'm pretty sure the fridge is mounted in a slide out in that model of trailer. The refrigerator should have external cooling fans that exhaust the air and if they are not working then cooling will be inefficient. You should hear them running if the outside temperature is fairly warm and the cooling unit is activily operating on propane or electric.  Refrigerator units mounted in slide outs are notorious for having poor ventilation due to improper installation.
Also, the doors must seal well as any air leaking into the refrigerator compartment will reduce cooling efficiency. Take a dollar bill and close the door on it and then try and pull it out. If you can pull the bill out easily, the door is out of adjustment or the seal is defective.
Here's a link to the Norcold documents.

https://norcold.com/service-documents/
 
65 degrees in the fridge is not a minor issue - that is just plain non-functional.  I think I'd take it back for a warranty claim.

It's pretty clear that the 2nd stage cooling in the Norcold isn't working. That's what chills the fridge section. I would guess an improper installation is the fault rather than a defective cooling unit, but either is possible.  You can't just adjust that to work better.
 
just an up date. it has been a very long month and a half, brand new trailer and not a serviceable refer. we replaced the left door, no change, we adjusted the doors up, no change, we pulled the bug screens, no change. finally norcold has replace the cooling unit. that took all day on monday 6/3 and initially, overnight the refer section cooled down to about 38 degrees. now 12 hours later the temp is back to the low 50's.
next step is to re-adjust the doors and see if it is the seal.

 
Not sure if your model is the same as mine (18 cu. ft. 4 doors), but the owners manual in mine says the thermistor should be attached to the 2nd fin from the right side, and the top of the clip 1/2" from the top of the fin.  Check your manual and see if yours mentions this.  I had mine on over the weekend in full sunlight, temperatures in the 92-93 degrees outside and had a frig temperature of 37 and the freezer was showing 10 degrees with the thermometer sitting on a shelf towards the front of the shelf.....close to the doors.
 
https://youtu.be/T021bascFiY
Here is a link to a YouTube video of a problem install of a refrigerator in a slide out. While the 5vr shown is not the same model as yours, the theory of poor installation may apply. If it were me, I would get up on a ladder and remove the upper vent cover and inspect the rear of the refrigerator to insure there is adequate  ducting to direct the air across ALL the cooling unit tubes and out the vent.

Here's another example of of incorrect install on a brand new 5th wheel.
https://youtu.be/N4xuYfjqRXw
 
thanks to everyone who responded. here is what we did
1) I bought a replacement thremister and installed it( no change)
2) I called Grand design and Norcold(Thetford) and informed them of the problem and asked what to do. Norcold had me unplug the thermistor for 24 hours( no change)
3) norcold had me call a service tech, Blackbird RV in Tomball Texas, They came out and adjusted the doors by adding a spacer under the left door, wait 24 hours( no change)
4) norcold replaced the left door, wait 24 hours( no change)
5) norcold  replaced the cooling unit.  This seems to have fixed the problem it has been in place a week now and is maintaining a constant temperature.

Also, every exchange of information between Norcold and me was done via email and copied to Grand Design. Each time I reference the claim number. I also saved every e-mail in a file. although there were five steps to this it took just under two months to get it resolved. There is a process that they have to go through to find the faulty item and it takes a while.  since we are full timers I am glad that I did not have to take it to a dealer and wait for the repair.  For the time, we survived by using an ice chest and freezer packs. 
 
Glad you got it resolved. 2 months to get to a bad cooling unit is unexceptable. Maybe the problem would have been identified quicker if you took the TT in for service. Maybe. Who knows. It is quite simple to check the cooling unit's sealed system but may have taken a visit to the dealer.


 
Mine, the one mentioned above was not cooling as well as it should.  I checked the door flap and it wasn't closing all the way, so I fixed that issue.  We've been camping since Tues. afternoon and the outdoor temps here are in the low to mid 90s.  Today, it was 97.  I kept having to adjust the numbers down as the frig was below freezing.  I've now settled on setting number 4 and it's holding about 37 degrees.  Also, our campsite has ZERO shade, not one tree, and the sun is mostly on the refrigerator side until about 3 in the afternoon.  I'm completely satisfied with the results of how it operates now.
 
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