Norcold N821 Refrig. has stopped cooling

[geofferyh]

Have a 2003 HR Admiral SE with a Norcold N821 refrigerator that has been working just fine. The RV Resort had a power outage and when I got back around 6 PM the temp in the refrigerator was only 49° F. I ran the Optical Control Diagnostic Mode which showed nothing wrong, yet the temp is well below normal of a fin temp of 32° F.

A Norcold Diagnostic Segment Codes .PDF file outlines a "Power Board Reset Procedure", but the diagnostic procedure has found no Error codes or other problems. There is no fin cooling detected in either AC power or LP operating modes. Even though the LP gas flame appears normal, the cooling unit is not hot.

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[JudyJB]

Did you try pushing the reset button. There is one in the outside access area on my Dometic, but is was very hard to find. Service person showed me where it was--not labeled and quite small.

 

[John From Detroit]

Dometic and NoCold have different resets.
Dometic small white button on the round "Chimminy" pipe.
NoCold. black box with flashing light

Dometic: Push to reset
NoCold wave magnet at the part that logically is the wrong part of the box .(The smaller top part as I recall only done it once) I used a "Fishing magnet" (used to pull up metal stuff from undrewater) but that is overkill Worked however.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

If it was the black "recall box" causing the problem, the fridge 12v power would be off and the propane flame would not ignite. So I don't think it is the "NoCold" condition.

If the propane flame burns steadily and the cooling unit is functioning, the follow conditions will be true:

• The insulation on the refrigerant tubes (rear of fridge) should be warm to the touch within 20 minutes. The tubes themselves should be quite hot (be careful!)
• The fins inside the fridge should be cold within 60 minutes (and usually much less)

If both are not true, the cooling unit is toast.

Based on your report of the Diagnostics Mode, the fridge is receiving 12v and all control functions are operating.

You seem to have the manual for the diagnostics but here's the N821 Service Manual.

 

[Kirk]

If both are not true, the cooling unit is toast.

Keep in mind that the refrigerator is now 20+ years old and so a bad cooling unit would not be at all surprising.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

But the coincidence of the problem coming to light after a power outage is, shall we say, intriguing.

 

[Brad Buchanan]

Dometic and NoCold have different resets.
Dometic small white button on the round "Chimminy" pipe.
NoCold. black box with flashing light

Dometic: Push to reset
NoCold wave magnet at the part that logically is the wrong part of the box .(The smaller top part as I recall only done it once) I used a "Fishing magnet" (used to pull up metal stuff from undrewater) but that is overkill Worked however.

I did this a few times on the unit in our horizon and it kept malfunctioning. the fix was to replace the switch. no problems now.

 

[John From Detroit]

I did this a few times on the unit in our horizon and it kept malfunctioning. the fix was to replace the switch. no problems now.

I have the same issue with a residential water heater.. I like HOT water. not lukewarm and it trips the over temp sensor (Same as Dometic Fridge but different location).. First time Maintenance showed me where it's is from then on I push the button. I finally turned it down about 10ºF

 

[8Muddypaws]

If you see yellow powder anywhere near the cooling unit no further troubleshooting is necessary, the cooler has a leak and will have to be replaced.

Don't touch the yellow powder. It's extremely toxic.