I just traded for a '05 Fleetwood Discovery. The fridge in this one is similar to the norcold I had in my '04 discovery. However, this one has a periodic fan that I am not used to. The venting is a little different. The '04 vented on the roof. This one vents on the side wall- 2 vent panels: one low and one high. The fan kicks on about every 10 minutes. The coach is parked in my rv garage and plugged into shore power. Is this fan normal? It just seems a bit loud for camping. Any help is appreciated!
Norcold Fridge Fan noise
- Thread starter 1ash2kyle
- Start date
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Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Yes it is normal, especially in one that is vented to the side rather than the roof. These don't circulate air as well as the roof vent installations. [Side vents are used in slide outs, where a roof vent is not feasible] Norcold uses fans in most of their fridge models now. It is on a thermostat, so it only runs when it gets more than a bit warm around the cooling unit. I have a 4-door Norcold and I can hear the fan start if it is dead silent and I am right near by (inside or out) but not otherwise.
The fact that the fan is cycling every 10 minutes suggests that it is needed to keep the fridge cooling adequately.
The fact that the fan is cycling every 10 minutes suggests that it is needed to keep the fridge cooling adequately.
That makes sense. It is in a slide out. Guess I could have thought that through. Maybe it won't be so bad outside of the garage. Another question, my inverter makes a loud humming noise, especially when it just gets back to the garage. It also had a very slow response on determining what connection I had, 20, 30 or 50 amp. It was plugged into 50 amps and finally figured itself out. Any thoughts?
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
The hum is probably the load on the battery charger portion of the inverter. If it is loud initially, it is likely because the batteries are low and it is pumping a lot of juice into them. There is also a thermostatically controlled fan on the inverter to cool it if needed. Some inverters are noisier than others, though. I sometimes notice mine when it is real quite too, and yours being in the garage probably amplifies it.
I had one inverter get noisy and it failed 3-4 months later. It was rebuilt - all new electronics inside - but after the rebuild it was always noisier than the original. It's been running 1.5 years now, though.
The inverter doesn't know anything about 30A vs 50A. I suspect you are referring to a display from the Intellitec EMS system, which shows what type of shore power (or generator) is available and what loads may have been shed if power is limited. It should respond immediately to what it sees, but your shore connection may have a built-in power monitor that checks for things like low voltage and improper grounds or neutrals. Some of those take 30-90 seconds to sample everything before they allow power through to the coach, which would include the EMS system. It may also include a start-up delay to protect the a/c units from a flutter in the power input. The one I have now is very slow, more than a minute, while its predecessor was only about 15 seconds. Maybe it is doing a better job???
I had one inverter get noisy and it failed 3-4 months later. It was rebuilt - all new electronics inside - but after the rebuild it was always noisier than the original. It's been running 1.5 years now, though.
The inverter doesn't know anything about 30A vs 50A. I suspect you are referring to a display from the Intellitec EMS system, which shows what type of shore power (or generator) is available and what loads may have been shed if power is limited. It should respond immediately to what it sees, but your shore connection may have a built-in power monitor that checks for things like low voltage and improper grounds or neutrals. Some of those take 30-90 seconds to sample everything before they allow power through to the coach, which would include the EMS system. It may also include a start-up delay to protect the a/c units from a flutter in the power input. The one I have now is very slow, more than a minute, while its predecessor was only about 15 seconds. Maybe it is doing a better job???
