Norcold widens the recall, yet again

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Maybe this thing I heard about electric giving off more heat than the propane gas burner will change our ways.  After the rewire of our recall we started the Norcold 1210 using electric.  Always, in the past, we used gas when we first started it up.

Using electric, with the temp setting on 6 out of a 9 for maximum-cool, the temperatures were refer 37, freezer 15, and right fin in refer 21 within 6 hours.  That is faster than ever before.

Just thought I'd pass this on.

JerryF
 
Jerry

Glad I could help. I'll keep checking in on the forum and try to help with anyones questions/concerns about the recall.

JD
 
One more point I would like to make.

I know the RV community is a close knit group and everyone always trys to help each other out. I have been camping and RVing all my life and I know when something brakes or even if you just need a few more marsh mellows for the kids smores the family next door is usually more than willing to help out.

So here is Norcold asking for your help in reaching EVERYONE with a 1200/1210 refer. From now on when you are out there on the road and stop in and make new friends with your fellow RV'ers ask them if they have a 1200 or 1210 and if they do ask them if they had the 10/2010 recall done. You may be asking why I would ask this because the factory should know where all the refers are, correct? No because unlike the auto industry where VIN numbers a registered with a DMV in each state and finding owners is fairly easy, the refer is only one part in the RV. Compond that with if a dealer installs a refer in an RV that origanally had a smaller of differant unit you can see why it is hard to track down all of them. So please try to help spread the word, you could be saving a fire.

Thanks

JD
 
JD,

Thanks for your help!  We feel much better with the new fix.

Also, I think that's a great idea.  This forum certainly is one way to spread the word, and our members are pretty good about safety issues.  We'll do what we can to help you in return.

ArdraF
 
I have an '06 Vectra 40FD that is affected by the recall.  Has anyone with a similar model Winnie had the repair done?  One of our club members had to have their refrigerator removed ('09 Adventure 38') in order to install the retrofit.  I called our dealer and got an answer "it depends on the hole behind the stack".  Looking at the posted pic of the retrofit, mine looks almost identical to that unit.  We would have to make a 200 mile round trip to the dealer for the fix, but I'm trying to get a mobile repair guy (who is an authorized Norcold tech) to come out to do the work.  He is attempting to contact Norcold to see if they will cover his travel (my neighbor next door also needs his done), but the last I talked to him, he had been on hold for an hour, waiting for an answer.  I'm betting he won't be thrilled to find he has to pull the fridge out......  So I'm checking tosee if other similar MH models need to go to this extreme. 
 
Pushrod,

The attached picture shows you the rear view of the refer on our coach and the tech had no trouble doing the recall from the outside,i.e., NO refer removal.

JerryF
 

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I'll bet that our external openings are exactly the same size. As mentioned above, western region Norcold rep did mine and had no issues, although he did mention that the Winne's can be a tight squeeze.  In this case we removed the LP line for better access.
 
I have a 1200 and have just heard about this recall. I am in the UK and I have emailed Thetford in the USA and UK but have not had a reply from either. Does anyone know if the recall will cover the UK?

ta

Alan
 
Alan,

You may have better luck calling their recall line directly. However, I see on their recall page that it's an 800 (toll free) number here in the US, and that might not work for you. If not, take a peek at the required information and send me a PM, and I'll call them with your info.

Another option would be to talk to a UK dealer or service/repair facility; Here, that's all we need to do, and the repair shop orders the repair kit and bills Norcold for the work.

Edit: Just found this UK phone number for them in the UK, although it doesn't specifically say it's for the recall: 01144 2738157. Here's their web site, which I suspect you're already aware of.
 
Norcold is out of stock on the Recall parts, and our "order" is supposed to be shipped on Dec 20th according to the Mobile Tech who will drive up here and do the installation for $80 service fee.

It's amazing that Norcold tells us owners to shut off the power to the fridge and then they are out of stock on the parts.  We're running our fridge and not worrying about it!!!!  ::)
 
FrontrangeRVer said:
Norcold is out of stock on the Recall parts, and our "order" is supposed to be shipped on Dec 20th according to the Mobile Tech who will drive up here and do the installation for $80 service fee.

It's amazing that Norcold tells us owners to shut off the power to the fridge and then they are out of stock on the parts.  We're running our fridge and not worrying about it!!!!  ::)
Click to expand...

Have you called dealers to see if they have the parts? I saw an RV that had a Norcold failure and it was a mess, I certainly wouldn't run my fridge......If it fails in the middle of the night would be a worse case scenario.
 
Norcold will send the parts to the dealer/installer/Norcold Service Tech upon issuing an order with Norcold and they require your VIN, Cooling Unit Serial Number, and the Serial Number of the Norcold Fridge.  Norcold said they won't send dealers an inventory of replacement heat switches, so we wait.  ::)

I think we would have a better chance at hitting the lotto than our Fridge blowing up.  ;)
 
FrontrangeRVer said:
Norcold will send the parts to the dealer/installer/Norcold Service Tech upon issuing an order with Norcold and they require your VIN, Cooling Unit Serial Number, and the Serial Number of the Norcold Fridge.  Norcold said they won't send dealers an inventory of replacement heat switches, so we wait.  ::)

I think we would have a better chance at hitting the lotto than our Fridge blowing up.  ;)
Click to expand...

I went to my RV dealer unannounced and had the recall completed, the same day. 20 minute job. They had the parts in stock and had an automatic reorder when their number got be low 25. They didn't need serial numbers to order parts...They require the serial numbers to insure the unit is under recall. I hope you win your crap shoot. For any recall to be ordered there must have been a significant number of failures. Norcold isn't doing this because it was their idea.
 
Norcold is now reporting out of stock on the recall parts and expected delivery is now Dec. 27 for new orders.....and yes, the only way to get these are with Serial numbers.
 
Thats odd, Norcold sent the Mobile Service Rep i my area 8 units.  When I called he came the next day, I did have to pay the Service Call charge.
 
Yes, they have been providing certain dealers/shops with a stock of recall kits. I'm not privy to all the criteria for pre-stocking, but it seems you have to be well known (to Norcold) authorized Norcold service center with a demonstrated need for advance stocking of parts, e.g. a dealer or service center with a high volume of fridge repairs. They won't send parts to just any RV tech who says he will install them if somebody drops in.  Unit serial numbers are required to order parts in that case.

As I understand it, Norcold also requires the dealers who get pre-stocked kits to send back the unit serials of those installed in order to get more kits. Basically trading serial numbers to get more parts.  Don't ask me how strict this procedure is or exactly how it works - I don't know the details.
 
tallyo said:
Have you called dealers to see if they have the parts? I saw an RV that had a Norcold failure and it was a mess, I certainly wouldn't run my fridge......If it fails in the middle of the night would be a worse case scenario.
Click to expand...
I bought a temperature-activated halon gas fire extinguisher and put it in my outside reefer compartment.  It is made just for that purpose.  It's about 13 inches tall and 2 3/4 inches in diameter.
 
I've learned of potential problem with the new thermocouple kits. If you should happen to unplug the wires from the thermocouple, the little circuit board will interpret the open circuit as a thermocouple overtemp reading and shut the fridge down. And since the circuit board is not resettable, you need a replacement to get the fridge working again. You can remove the recall fix until you can get a replacement.

So, don't mess around with the thermocouple wires!

ADDENDUM:
Norcold now says this should not cause a problem and believes the case where this happened involved a faulty sensor kit. According to them, if the temp sensor gets unplugged and the red light comes on and the fridge does not come back on,  take power away from the sensor switch (or the whole fridge), then plug it back in and it should be fine. If it is not then the temp sensor is bad and needs replaced. I got this inofrmation from Denise Gerod of Dale & Denise RV Repair after they discussed the problem with Norcold Tech Support.  By the way, if you need RV service in the  Decatur, IN, area, Dale & Denise are an excellent choice.  Nice people to do business with and above average competence.  Call them on 260-592-7004
 
Dometic has a recall out for the same problem - overheating cooling units can cause a fire. The problem is pretty much inherent in the absorption fridge technology - a corroded cooling unit will eventually leak, and if it does a flamable gas is released at the same time that temperatures go sky high due to the loss of coolant.  Putting in a detection mechanism is a safeguard whose need has become apparent in the last few years.
 
Hey, thanks, Gary.  I was not aware of Dometic's recall and sure 'nuff, my fridge is on the list.  I'll have to get it checked before next season.
 
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