Refrigerator Norcold 682 not working on electric only working on gas

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
TRYGVE LAURITSEN

TRYGVE LAURITSEN

Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2016
Posts
8
Location
Bergen -Norway
Hi
I live in Norway and have a Winnebago Minni Winnie 1995 mod. I have a Norcold refrigerator mod 682  (Ac /gas) Its  only works and cooling on gas. I have change the Power Board and Electric  (230 v) hot element for  2days ago, but it still not working on Electric. Today it was +20 degrees innside the refrigerator and freeser. Heat element is OK.  Nobody who knows about this problem ??
(The problem come/started when I started the car with Electric line connected to 230 v to my housecontact )
Can the converter from 110v to 230 be the problem ) (the heat element are hot when I put on Electric)
I cannot understand the refrigerator cooling on gas but not on electric,when heat element are OK. Somebody know about my problem ??
 
You can get the Norcold 600-series service manual at http://bryantrv.com/docs.html

The electric heat mode is pretty simple, just the power source, a fuse and an on/off relay on the controller board, plus the heater element itself. Since the fridge works on gas, you know the rest if fine. Can you test for power at the outlet and along the path to the element? Using a voltmeter?

Are you using a step-down transformer to get 120v power to the RV, or has the fridge etc. been modified for Norway's 220v power?
And I guess I should ask, is this a new problem or has it never worked since you owned the motorhome?
 
Hi
It is a new problem. I never had problem in 10 yers with fridge .I started the car when  electric (230 v) cable was contacted in my house. Every is ok, but still not cooling on electric. I can hear amoniakk works,and the pipes are hot,but still not cooling. Electric was on in 10 hours,and when I controll yesterday it was + 20 degress inside freeser. I think its a simple wrong,but where ??  Is something on controlpanel on top of fridge a problem ? I cant find anything wrong on panel. ( On gas the fridge are cool on a half hour)
 
Do I understand correctly that in electric mode the pipes on the back get hot?  That doesn't make sense, since they are the same pipes, doing the same thing, as in gas mode and you say that gas works fine. The only difference between gas & electric is the heat source used.  It is barely possible that the electric heat element is partially burned out, but that is rare. The usual failure mode is a complete burn out and no heat at all.

There is a fuse on the circuit board for the electric heater, but you would get no heat if that that was blown.

The 230v power very likely damaged either the fuse or the heater itself, but your description says you still get heat when you use the electric mode.
 
Hi and thanks for answer.
Last day I startet the fridge up on gas and every is ok. freeser and cooling. Then I shut of gas and put electric cable ( 230 v)on,and after 1 hour the grund fuse (230 v) stopped every electric in my Winnebago. Maybe the inverter/convector give 230 V and not 110 v to the new heat element ??
The bulp/pipe was very hot. If I put 23o V ,(300w) electric into heatelement 110v (300w) ,my electric manager says it will give maybe 800 W into the bulp/pipe,,and then the amoniakk not will cool because its to hot. ?? I dont know. Maybe the inverter/converter  from 110 to 230v ) is broken?
I dont know about there are fuse inside this. (Sorry about my english writing)
The problem come in fridge when I startet the car whitout taken out 230 v eleckrtic cable from my house. Many tell me that yoy shoul not start the car before taken out 230 v cable. Right or wrong , I dont know if you can broke som inverter/converter. Its  ok for giving electric to the rest 230v lamps, battery,stereo etc. I am shure that I cannot be the first person with this problem,and I think the problem is electric somewhere.
 
Yes, the cooling unit ceases to cool if the ammonia solution gets too hot.

I'm still not clear how your 230v house power is getting reduced the 120v, 60 Hz power the American-built RV is designed for.  Usually a step-down transformer is inserted between the 230v source and the RV's power cord.
 
Hi , thanks for answer me.
Yes thats correctly you name. Shout down from 230v to 110 v or 110v to 230 v , they call it here in Norway ,inverter/converter. Then I think its  give wrong volt 230v to heat element. But where in converter/inverter ? the electric problem are. Maybe fuse inside this ??? I have not control this innside.Heat element I buy from US I think is made for 110 V ? they tall me. On power board  the electric contact give 223 V to heat element. I think this should give 110v to the heat element. ?? Is that correct ?? Maybe we  can find the problem here ?? In Norway its always problem with 230/110 v. Thats the problem with US motorhomes and Europe car. I still like my Winnebago Winni Minni 1995 mod, I own it in 8 year now. Only the problem on my car  I have 2 times, was head computer left side motorhouse. The unit/brain cost 2500 US dollar in Norway in dealer. You know where I can buy some cheaper ? so I can have one in reserve if the problem come again ??
 
Part of my confusion is that an RV will have its own component called a "converter", which produces 12v DC from 120v AC. It does not have anything to converting Norways 230v power to US standard 120v. You have to provide that externally to the RV, and I guess in Norway you call than an "inverter-converter"?  If you see 230v on the wire to the heater element, then your "inverter-converter" isn't working and you need a Norwegian expert to diagnose and repair that. It's not part of the RV.  The fridge heater is designed for 120v and 230v will cause a huge increase in heat if it doesn't actually burn out the element.

Do you also see 230v elsewhere in the RV? That much voltage is very likely to damage other components as well, e.g. the 12v converter I mentioned earlier.
 
Hi
I have also ho****er for 230 v electric.I havent controll this when 230 v pluggeg in my house. I`ll test it today. If this is ok the inverter are ok. The heat elemnet is correct ( partsnr) for my Winnebago. I have one friend with Fleetwood with same problem. He used only gas on fridge. He cut cable for elektric and never mind for problem.
 
I will repeat, you must either modify the RV for 230v operation by replacing certain electrical components, or provide an external step-down transformer that reduces the 230v to 120v and then plug the rv into that. If you do not do either one of those, you should expect to have electrical problems.

You mention an inverter, but there is no inverter as standard equipment on that coach. If this something you or a previous owner added?

 
Hi
Yes, my motor homes has been i Norway since 1995, and is modify for 230 with converter , up/dovn 110/230 and me and earlier owner had no problem before now the electric problem with fridge.  I still think the converter from110/230 maybe is broken, so put never  electric cable to house when you start the car. The car give 12 volt to something to converter/pover board etc  ??? i think.
I still think its a little problem on my car, but where ??? Maybe innside converter?, if there are some fuse innside ??
 
I still think its a little problem on my car, but where ??? Maybe innside converter?, if there are some fuse innside ??
Click to expand...

Are you using the word "car" to refer to the motorhome? Or am I misunderstanding. Perhaps you're referring to a towed car? I'm just trying to figure out what starting the car has to do with a motorhome problem.
 
I think "car" refers to a "house car" AKA a motor home, in America. Likely a literal translation thing!!

If memory serves, the only place I have actually seen the term used, I think, is while reading about certain California RV regulations.

The term inverter/converter, could be a simple as a transformer or it might be a more complex piece of equipment. When I inquired once before how the transformation for 230V was done in England, the answer was simply that a transformer was used.
 
Thanks, Stu -- that's new to me, and probably a number of others here. To clarify for Trygve, most of us here think the term "car" refers to an ordinary automobile, that is, an ordinary personal passenger vehicle, as opposed to a truck (lorry in Britain, I think), pickup truck, bus, etc. For a motorhome, the terms coach, motorhome (abbreviated MH, if you like) or sometimes rig are more commonly used and eliminate confusion for us.

This makes me wonder if perhaps there are also a couple of other terms in this thread that are somewhat misunderstood.
 
Hi
Somebody who know where I can buy a heat element 230/240 Volt -250/300 Watt for my refrigerator in my Winnebago Minni Winni 1995 mod ?
My element is burn/broken and its not 110V. No  firm in Norway know about this element ????  . If not Norcold/Thetford have this,Iam undered who have installed this in US etc United Kingdom. The element have standing since 1995 . I have talk with the owner before me.
 
My element is burn/broken and its not 110V.
Click to expand...

How do you know it is not 110V/120V??

Coaches made in USA are all 120V, not 230V. I suspect you still need a 120V element as your coach has likely been modified to use the 230V/240V supply available in Europe converting it to 120V and this conversion takes place at the power entry point to the coach so the  coach itself remains functioning on 120V as it always did.  Coaches imported from USA usually have all been converted either in Europe or in England and not in North America.

Since the fridge or water heater wiring is part and parcel of the  coaches original 120V system and not separated from it, it likely still 120V unless some special wiring has been added to purposely change this. 

If that is the case, all bets are off!! We would have no idea what was done!!
"Hvis det er tilfelle , er alle spill av !! Vi har ingen anelse om hva som ble gjort !!" (Google translator!!)


220/240V elements are common here and used in many household appliances but they would be physically too large for RV applications AFIK.....​
 
Hi and thank for answear.
Parts nr on my element is :: 1703240V-03240V250W/55 . (Its standing 03..240V/250Watt.) My chef electric  had controll it and my element is  240 Volt . My converter/inverter give 240 V from contacts  to the element. If you used a 110V element and the volt is 240V the element give over 900W.then the refrigerator are not cooling, but heating inside. Somebody have prodused my broken element in 240V .and it have to be Norcold/Thetford,but they dont know about any 240V element.(May be I should send my broken to them they can see buyself.)
The element I have is a Norcold/Thetford prodused element and 240V.I have no 110volt in my motorhomes Winnebago Minni Winni 1995.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 789 (members: 34, guests: 755)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,965
Posts
1,388,337
Members
137,718
Latest member
urnwholesaler
Back
Top Bottom