Norcold 4 door not working on AC.

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Gasser

Gasser

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Posts
173
Location
Ada, Oklahoma
just wondering if you guys can give me a quick easy fix before I have to call my service tech on my fridge.  I finally got the thing plugged in at my storage facility and checked a few things out.  My fridge alarms and tells me it has no AC to the unit.  Its plugged in fine and the plug has power to it.  The fridge worked fine at the check out but was running on propane at the time.  It got cold on propane but the tech did not check the AC function evedently or chose not to fix or acknowledge the problem at the time.  I know the unit works but not with AC power.  Everything else in the coach works fine.

I checked the fuse and breaker box and all is good.  I know the plug where its plugged in is hot.  No help there.

Any other thing to look at or try?  I was hopeing it would be something simple like an internal breaker I don't know about or a switch somewhere.  I am taking the coach to a campground this weekend for its first shake down cruse and will run it on propane the whole time so all is fine but obviously need it fixed.

Any help will be appreciated.

Jeff
 
Gasser,

An easy thing to check is the electric heater.  As you may know HEAT starts the cooling process.  If the refrig runs when you use gas then it's probably the 115V electric heater that is broken or, on the other hand, it could be the electric wire or fuse that feeds the electric heater.

From the outside refrig opening you can feel the heat with your hand when you touch the right side sheet metal when you run the refrig on electric (or gas too).  It gets hotter with gas.

JerryF
 
On my coach, the two receptacles behind the refridgerator are actually powered by separate AC lines. This allows either the refridgerator or the icemaker to run from the inverter while travelling down the road. So it's possible for one of the receptacles to have power and the other one not. Depending on which of the two lines it is, you could have the "No AC alarm" on. If you have an inverter, check the switch(es) that may be on the outside of the inverter box.
 
Well, I will check that.  However that being said.  I plugged the fridg in using an extention cord to wall current.  It still did not work.  No AC alarm came on again.  I will take a volt meter out there tomorrow and see what I can find out and then it will be up to the tech to do the rest.  I just was hoping it would be easy.  Since it did not work wtih even the outside power, It must be in the unit itself.  I wonder if there is a fuse between the power cord and the unit itself.  I will need to dig further in my owners manuel.

Thanks for the ideas.

Jeff
 
Jeff,

I'm looking at a generic service manual that says the Norcold has a 5A fuse to protect the heating element. The fuse is on a circuit board accessible from the rear of the refridgerator. There will also be a 3A DC fuse. Sorry, I should have looked at this sooner.
 
Tom said:
Jeff,

I'm looking at a generic service manual that says the Norcold has a 5A fuse to protect the heating element. The fuse is on a circuit board accessible from the rear of the refridgerator. There will also be a 3A DC fuse. Sorry, I should have looked at this sooner.
Click to expand...
Thanks, i will look for it.  I found a 5 amp fuse for the fridg in the fuse box found in the bathroom and its fine.  I will look behind the fridg outside and see what I can find tomorrow.  I hope that is it.  if not then I guess its time for a service run.

thanks again.  I will let you know what I find out.  Always good to learn from others problems.

Jeff
 
Jeff,

If you know what you are doing you can disconnect the AC leads from the circuit board and wire directly to a power cord. If it starts to heat the chamber then it's a board problem. If not you need a new electrode. If you are under warranty I'd make the dealer fix the problem. I would also let them know it may not have been checked during the PDI.
 
If youknow the model number for the fridge go to www.bryantrv.com You can go to the service documents section and find the complete service manual for your fridge available for download there. Hope this helps. It will be the same manual the service techs use.
 
Thanks.  That looks very helpfull.  I will let you guys know what I find out when I get a chance to work on it.  It worked great on gas this weekend but the AC still does not work.  I bet its a fuse on the board in the unit.  I just need to down load the specific tech page and go from there.  It seems to walk you through things quite easily.

Jeff
 
If the 5-amp fuse on the fridge board is blown, replace it and DO NOT OPEN THE FRIDGE DOORS.  Now turn on the fridge to see if it will run on 110-vac.  If so, then open the fridge (not freezer) door.  Does the 5-amp fuse blow now?  If yes, and you have a 4-door fridge, and there is a flapper between the two lower doors, I know what the problem may be. 

The 5-amp fuse on the fridge board is controls the DC to the board.  The fridge must have DC in order to operate.  The flapper which is normally attached to the left hand door rotates 90-degrees when the door is opened.  The flapper has a heater in it.  The wiring comes from the door into the flapper about the center of the flapper.  On mine the wires came loose from the connection and shorted, causing the 5-amp fuse to blow any time the door was opened which powered the heater.
 
Yes, I have the flapper.  i will look at it and go through this procedure if the fuse is indeed blown.  I am going down to the storage building tonight and work on it.

Thanks

Jeff
 
Hi Jeff,

Interesting you started this thread. Must have been bad luck for me. Now my Norcold 4 door doesn't cool!!! Had a similar problem last summer when we were here in CT. Must be the air. :) Now I get to work on mine. :(
 
Jim Dick said:
Hi Jeff,

Interesting you started this thread. Must have been bad luck for me. Now my Norcold 4 door doesn't cool!!! Had a similar problem last summer when we were here in CT. Must be the air. :) Now I get to work on mine. :(
Click to expand...
Sorry for your luck Jim.  I hope your problem is an easy fix.  So yours does not cool at all?  I am guessing since you are experienced that the propane is lighting or the electric it getting hot but no cooling right?  I hope your system did not leak out all of it ammonia and H2 gas.

Good luck on the repair.

I did not get a chance to work in mine tonight as work intervened.  Too many women having babies tonight. :mad:
 
Hi Jeff,

I forgot to bring home my tools last night so the refer is still not working. I'll tie the AC line directly to the heaters and see if that makes any difference. If not it's most likely the cooling unit. Had it replaced about 3 years ago. Luckily I can save a little money having it done where I work. Unfortunately I no longer have a warranty. I haven't smelled any ammonia so I don't think I have a leak.

The propane is working fine but still not getting the cooling. I'm hoping it's the control board. I still think it's the area. :) I've had a similar problem with the generator at Anza Borrego. Twice now it has failed to run properly while in Anza. Eventually it runs but is very balky. Everywhere else it runs just fine.
 
Karl said:
Jim,
Any chance the flue is plugged up?

I know you'll measure the resistance of the heater element before throwing 120 to it directly ::)
Click to expand...
What should the resistance be?\
 
Hi Karl,

I don't think it's the element since it doesn't cool on propane either. This happened last year but suddenly corrected itself. ??? It's either the control board or the cooling unit. It's difficult to do stuff right now since most of my tools are at work. I do have the board bypassed and it's not working. Will have to do some further investigation. I'd hate to replace the cooling unit again. Guess the only other option is trade it for a new Allegro Phaeton!! ;D ;D Drove one the other day and it is so much better riding than mine! Naw, that takes money and I don't have any. ;D ;D ;D
 
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