Norcold ref prob

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Art In Mobile

Art In Mobile

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Joined
Jan 5, 2009
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372
John, I went to turn on the Ref. & the display did not come on. The thermal couple could NOT have sensed to much heat & shut off that box behind the ref. because it (the refrigerator) never came on, but the red led on the box behind the fridge. was on! It was working fine when I last shut it down & did not trigger the over temp box. Have you heard about any false over temp shutdowns? Thanks in advance. Art
 
Many!!! This is part of one of the recalls and has often been reported as troublesome. It has been reported that the 'box' can be reset using a strong magnet or simply replaced by a dealer if need be. (I understand that Norcold will not supply one to a 'non-dealer'.)
 
I think Stu is on-target.  Has the recall mod been done on your box?  As I understand there were two "fixes" to the overheat problems.  If you are going to keep your rig for a while longer, I would replace the Norcold with a residential fridge.  We've had our residential fridge for about a year and a half and we are totally satisfied with it.
 
Yes, there have been many reports of false alarm shut-downs. Some versions of the "recall box" seem to be sensitive to moisture cause people report them shutting down after water sprayed into the fridge vent when washing their RV. Others have claimed the box indicated  failure after power was restored to the RV after being in storage. That could be a humidity/moisture issue too.

Sometimes the box can be reset by placing a strong magnet at the top front edge. This apparently pulls a relay back into contact. Otherwise, it has to be replaced by an authorized technician, who will [supposedly] verify that it is a false alarm and not an overheating cooling unit. You can also bypass the box by simply moving or jumpering the +12v wire right to the circuit board, which is where it went before the box was installed. Problem is, you no longer have any cooling unit fire protection, a rather risky choice given the propensity for fridge fires!
 
Experiencing the same (apparently too common) problem. Got the red light on the box. Saw another thread about switching the yellow wire with blue to bypass. Then it worked but I don't want to run it that way; just verified what the problem was. Called an "authorized" Norcold repair center in SD and was told that Norcold will not allow them to stock any replacement parts. I would need to bring it in so they could check it and order the part then. They couldn't tell me how long it would take to get it. That doesn't work- we're on vacation.
What's the next step? Coachnet?
 
Bypass it temporarily but keep an eye on it... It was most likely NOT overheating that caused the failure, judging by the track record of this particular Norcold fix.
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
Yes, there have been many reports of false alarm shut-downs. Some versions of the "recall box" seem to be sensitive to moisture cause people report them shutting down after water sprayed into the fridge vent when washing their RV. Others have claimed the box indicated  failure after power was restored to the RV after being in storage. That could be a humidity/moisture issue too.

Sometimes the box can be reset by placing a strong magnet at the top front edge. This apparently pulls a relay back into contact. Otherwise, it has to be replaced by an authorized technician, who will [supposedly] verify that it is a false alarm and not an overheating cooling unit. You can also bypass the box by simply moving or jumpering the +12v wire right to the circuit board, which is where it went before the box was installed. Problem is, you no longer have any cooling unit fire protection, a rather risky choice given the propensity for fridge fires!
Click to expand...

Thought I'd resurrect this thread to report my Norcold is alive and well thanks to Gary's above advice.
Norcold's service is hideous to both repair centers and end users. An 8 dollar magnet at the hardware store reset this blasted thing. Vacation saved. Thanks again Gary!

 
We were traveling in Texas a couple weeks ago with a fulll frig and freezer on our Norcold 1210 and had a power cycle issue that apparently tripped the overtemp sensor. This was about 4 in the afternoon. By the time I figured out what the issue was in was after 5 and no immediate help available. I bypassed the black box and watched the frig closely for the evening. Worked fine, the next morning a RV shop across the street from the campground came over and used a magnet to reset. He indicated he has seen power spikes trip these and recommended I purchase a strong magnet for the net time. I need to follow his recommendation just not sure where to buy the magnet.
A residential frig will be in my future if I keep this coach for a few years.
 
If you have an old loudspeaker hanging around, it will have a sufficiently powerful magnet on the back frame.

A magnet intended for retrieving lost iron items from drains, lakes or floors will also do the job nicely. They are available in many hardware stores.

Or contact a Norcold service shop (most any RV dealer) and request an updated module. I think they are up to version F now and have most all the wrinkles out of them. Some earlier versions were sensitive to moisture and power glitches.
 
The service center that reset the module said that I had an earlier version and should get it udated. I called Norcold and they said I have the latest update and did not need a new module. I pressed them and told them an authorized Norcold Servicer said I did but they were insistent that I did not need a newer version. So I gave up.
What else can you do if Norcols takes that position?
Thanks,
 
Art
I had the identical problem last summer. If you turn the fridge off and it is/was running, you also shut off the cooling fans in the exhaust and the heat rises activating the recall box.  Evidently, it is not supposed to react under those circumstances but early versions do. Norcold is no help and won't replace the box. As others have suggested, get a powerful magnet and rest the box.
 
I tried the magnet, no go, The unit runs fine if I jump the safety box. Taking it to RV repair next week. Thanks for all the combacks. Art
 
the heat rises activating the recall box
Click to expand...


I don't see how that could be. The recall box is measuring temperature at the boiler tube via a thermistor clamped right to it. The fans are well above it and drawing air over the fins, which is in the condensation part of the cycle. I don't see how that could make the boiler tube any hotter. The boiler tube is actually insulated to help retain heat.  Besides, the thing doesn't activate until something like 700 degrees F.!

I'm not denying that there are ample false activations, but I'm struggling to believe that the fans going off could be one of the reasons.
 
The service center that reset box held the magnet on the led for 30 seconds or so. I asked and he said it takes that long to reset the box and sometimes even longer.
Did you hold the magnet over the led for 30 seconds?
Good Luck,
 
When I turn off the refer in the summertime (max temp outdoors around 98) my red light comes on and we have to use the 5 pound magnet from Lowe's to reset the recall box.  This has happened twice, once last year and once (so far) this year.  Perhaps the fan not running while turned off allows the internal temp to rise enough to activate the recall box.  The refer is 10 years old and hopefully will not have to be replaced.

Wendell
 
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