Problem with Norcold Frig

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JPBJR

Active member
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Posts
26
Location
Greenville, SC
Older Fleetwood Bounder with 4 door Norcold refrigerator. Sounds like compressor comes on and off but the unit is off. Have tried resetting it with magnet and it will work for maybe an hour then turns back off and won't re-set. We're plugged in to power and not using LP or battery. HELP!
 
Uh. is this an Absorption Type RV Propane/Electric Fridge?

THERE IS NO COMPRESSOR.. none. zip. Does not exist. in that kind of fridge

NOW there may be fans. and they may be controlled by a thermostat.
 
It may be trying to run but something is shutting it down.

Have you checked the outside access panel area for anything out of order....Such as as a yellow residue.
 
JPBJR said:
yellow residue where?

It's usually around the burner/heater area.

JPBJR said:
OK it's the power converter that keeps coming on and off but frig won't stay on

Do you have a battery installed. Some converters don't work well without one. Your refrigerator does require 12 volts to operate.

How do you know the Frig. its't staying on?
 
light is off when you open the refrig door and the red light is lit on the black box of the outside panel. Are you saying a separate battery for the converter or the RV battery?
 
JPBJR said:
light is off when you open the refrig door and the red light is lit on the black box of the outside panel. Are you saying a separate battery for the converter or the RV battery?

There is no separate battery, the fridge uses the house battery system. The red light and the box are part and parcel of the overheating (fire) protection scheme used by Norcold. When activated, the box removes  the 12V power to the fridge shutting it down and this action is indicated by the red light coming on. It can be a false alarm in many cases and the unit can often be reset by passing a magnet over the top of the unit but... If it is happening time after time after being reset, it is time to have a qualified technician replace the unit after checking out the fridge operation. (Only a qualified tech can usually get these parts from Norcold).
 
JPBJR,

Was the motor home in a rain shower recently?  Our black box would trip after a shower. I could get it to resent until one day it wouldn?t.  I had previously installed an ARP and the black box was redundant so I removed it.  The ARP works great and turns off the fridge when temps get too high and restarts when the temp drops.  Easy to install and takes place of recall crap Norcold installed.


JPBJR said:
Older Fleetwood Bounder with 4 door Norcold refrigerator. Sounds like compressor comes on and off but the unit is off. Have tried resetting it with magnet and it will work for maybe an hour then turns back off and won't re-set. We're plugged in to power and not using LP or battery. HELP!
 
If you had a leak you?d see yellow residue around the burner.  You would probably smell ammonia too.

As previously stated, those recall black boxes are notorious for tripping for no known reason.  But only an authorized service center can verify, fix, or replace it.

It?s that important.
 
The sound you are hearing from underneath is probably NOT part of the fridge. That's a fairly common location for a 12v converter/charger, which produces 12v power when plugged into shore power (120v). It has a fan that cycles on if it gets warm. There are no fridge components underneath - they are all mounted at the back and accessible from the outside vent panel.

If the recall box keeps shutting off after a reset, your fridge boiler is overheating and the box is just doing its job to prevent a fire.

 
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