Norcold 1200LRIM Refridgerator not getting cold enough

[odieyodie]

I have a Norcold fridge that isn't getting cold enough.  Maximum I can get is 38.6 Farenheit at 9 (without food) around 48 with food.  I replaced the thermistor and that didn't seem to help.  I have been tracking the temp between setting 3 and 9 and there only appears to be about a 1-2 degree temp. difference between settings.  The fans work in the exhaust stack.  All fuses are ok.  It has had the recall work done on it and that didn't make any difference either.
The freezer doesn't get cold enough either.  It will sort of keep things frozen if they already were when I put them in.

Any ideas?
Tommy T.

 

[Gypsy Rovers]

Tommy, you probably don't want to hear the answer but we went through the same thing and ended up replacing the cooling unit.  Fortunately we were still under warranty so it was an inconvenience but not costly. 

No mention in your signature as to what you have for an RV (year) so depending on that it may be pricey.  It took about 10 days to get a replacement cooling unit to us (in Texas at that time) and 2 hours to replace, hasn't been above setting 4 since then.

Cheers
Dale

 

[Jim Dick]

The physical location of the thermistor can make a difference. Make a note of where it is located on the fins and then try moving it. I think moving it up will make it cooler but I wouldn't take a bet on it at this time. If moving it up doesn't help try moving it down. Just make sure you know where to put it if neither works.

It might also be a control board. Is there any difference between ac and gas?

 

[Gypsy Rovers]

Jim's right on the position of the thermistor, further from the core of the fins will lower the temps if it unit is working. 

That reminded me of another test, unplug the thermistor and let the fridge run essentially uncontrolled but check every few hours to avoid freezing, if it cools you have a faulty thermistor.

You may also shut the fridge off for 4 hours to allow the ammonia to liquefy and potentially clean out the tiny orifices in the cooling tubes. I had to do this about 3 times before getting it kind of working but a few months later it gave is totally and we had to change it out.

That being said if you've already changed the thermistor it could be the control board but I would bet on the cooling unit.  Your symptoms are very similar to ours.

Cheers
Dale

 

[Jammer]

Hmm.  Another thing to consider is the door seals.  On an older unit, if they are weak, they can cause a surprising amount of trouble.

 

[bigpemby]

Sorry to jump in with another question... I have an older Norcold refrigerator.  My cooling fins run right to left.  My thermistor is on the fourth fin from the left.  Would moving it help with cooling?  Which direction?

 

[odieyodie]

Mine is a 2003 Fleetwood bounder Turbo Diesel Model 39Z.  It makes no difference if it is on electric or gas.  The new thermistor is on the second fin from the right about 2/3 of the way up.

 

[Gypsy Rovers]

Bigpemby, I'm pretty sure yours should be the same as mine and odieyodie, second fin from the right and 1/2-2/3 up the fin.

Cheers
Dale

 

[odieyodie]

I had the thermal switch replaced due to a recall from Norcold.  Do you know if there is an additional recall to replace the cooling unit itself?

 

[FrontrangeRVer]

I had the thermal switch replaced due to a recall from Norcold.  Do you know if there is an additional recall to replace the cooling unit itself?

There is no recall for the cooling unit for Norcold.

We moved our inside thermistor switch a couple of fins to the left and it helped keep the temps lower somewhat.  We also bought one of these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250677760674&viewitem=&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D1&category=50070 which are one of the best things we have bought for our 13 RVs!

 

[royisenhower]

have a Norcold 1200 refrigerator that I am having trouble keeping cold.  After defrosting and starting over, icebox goes to 15 degrees and fridge goes to 50 degrees with nothing inside.  I have a small desktop fan behind unit.  I have replaced the control board.  Doesn't matter if it is on lp or gas it is still the same.  Any thoughts?

 

[Jim Dick]

Sounds like the same temps we got after my wife defrosted the refer. Check the boiler to see if it's hot. The pipes just above it also should be hot but not too far up. I used an infrared thermometer to check mine. They do get really hot when working properly.

If not hot then there may be a blockage from a particle of rust. Sometimes it can be dislodged with a little persuasion from a hammer but I wouldn't recommend banging too hard. The techs at the dealership did but it still didn't cool enough though the boiler temp rose somewhat.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You can download the Norcold 1200 service manual here:
http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/ncold1200.pdf

One of the things it will show you is use of the Diagnostic Mode, which enables you to display the cooling unit temperature (as sensed by the thermistor) and any stored fault codes. That's a good place to start your troubleshooting.

Measure the inside temperature with a thermometer in a glass of water. Measuring air temp alone in one of these is often grossly inaccurate. Norcold won't even discuss a temperature unless it was obtained by the water immersion method.

 

[hes4all]

Where is the best place to get a thermistor? I have a Norcold 1200 that is not getting cold. Norcold would not sell it to me or recommend anyone to buy it from. They told me it was most likely the cooling unit and that I would have to have it checked. I wonder how they check them. Not cold! I hope this will fix it. If not, then I will go with the Amish cooling unit.

 

[Jeff]

You do not have to buy a thermistor to troubleshoot the original. Disconnecting the thermistor will force the refrigerator into "max cool" mode that should drop the temperature to the the lowest the refrigerator can support. If the temps do not go down you probably need to check the cooling unit.

 

[hes4all]

Thank you. I will do that first. The unit is now cooling better when on AC. Set at 4, freeezer at 10 fridge at 40 in less than 11/2 hour off of LP. When on LP and set at 9, freezer was 20 and fridge was 50.

 

[Jeff]

That does not sound like a thermistor problem.


Our 1200 does cool as well on gas either. I haven't had a chance to clean the flu but would guess that is the first place to look. It is not going to be in there much longer so all it has to do is keep working a couple more months.

 

[Terry A. Brewer]

  so all it has to do is keep working a couple more months.

Dreamer....

 

[Jeff]

Dreamer....

Stop that!


Actally we are here at Peggy's Cove and the temps are in the low 70's so we were able to turn the fridge down to 7.

 

[Michael Holden]

Gary, just wanted to thank you for posting the link to the Norcold service manual. I was able to download it and fix (time will tell) my fridge. It gets very cold here this time of year and last night it dipped to 2. Yes, that's a two with a single digit. Fridge started beeping in the middle of the night. Without thinking to consult the owner's manual I shut it off, then turned it back on to see if it had reset itself. There had been a "no co" code flashing and in about an hour it happened again, so I just shut it off and went back to bed - figured I'd deal with it in the morning. The owner's manual explained that "no co" meant it wasn't cooling, and that there was a one time only reset that the owner could do, apparently I used up that opportunity last night. After that the circuit board locks out any further activity, and the manual tells you to take it to an authorized dealer. That's when I turned to the web, found a Norcold discussion and your link to the service manual. It had very clear instructions, w/photos, on how to clear the memory and reset the board, something that I believe the average somewhat skilled handyperson would be capable of doing. So for now it's up and running again, and I'm choosing to believe that with last night's cold snap and significant winds the electric heating element (it was on AC not propane) simply couldn't keep pace. Right now it has warmed-up outside to about 30, I'm running the fridge on propane and it seems to be chilling down nicely. Within the next few days I will have to find time to further test and finally determine whats going on, for now I'm glad to have it back in service. Thanks, M.