Hot Norcold

kcgaz wrote:
We have a Norcold 1200 side-by-side refrigerator and we have replaced the thermistor and will replace the fans tomorrow and still seem to have a cooling issue. Any ideas on what to do/check next?

although the condenser rear cooling fans are important in hotter weather that is not the cause of a 1200/10 fridge not cooling
My experience when the thermister goes bad it starts freezing food in the fridge- what do u mean by having a cooling issue? explain please
--is the control panel functioning?-- Is it level?- If the lpg is coming on and the rear cooling unit is getting real hot then its possible a blockage
If you hear a gurgling sound after a few minutes when the unit is run its because the ammonia has leaked out


also to note being a 1200 its getting up there in age unless its had a cooling unit replacement can rot out in the boiler area
being a 2003 unit the cooling unit is most likely shot(pluged)
or leaked out

1993 MH.......23 yr fridge....that is pretty good service

Unplug thermistor leads
Set temp control to highest setting (coldest #9)
Place thermometer in glass of water in food compartment and a glass half full of water in freezer
Let fridge run for at least 12 Hrs
Check temp food compartment......should be below 35*F
Water in glass in freezer S/B frozen (temp 0*F or lower)

IF cooling unit is functioning correctly.....no clogs/no obstructions/no blockage inside the tubing

usersmanual wrote:

kcgaz wrote:
We have a Norcold 1200 side-by-side refrigerator and we have replaced the thermistor and will replace the fans tomorrow and still seem to have a cooling issue. Any ideas on what to do/check next?

although the condenser rear cooling fans are important in hotter weather there not the cause of a 1200/10 fridge not cooling
My experience when the thermister goes bad it start freezing food in the fridge what do u mean by having a cooling issue? explain please


also to note being a 1200 its getting up there in age unless its had a cooling unit replacement
being a 2003 unit the cooling unit is most likely shot(pluged)

WHY would age have anything to do with the condition of the cooling unit? Doug

kcgaz wrote:
We have a Norcold 1200 side-by-side refrigerator and we have replaced the thermistor and will replace the fans tomorrow and still seem to have a cooling issue. Any ideas on what to do/check next?

Have you had the 1200 recall done on your refer? If not, you need to get it done once you determine the problem with cooling. Doug

The OP now has a 03 HR. The older the unit the more chances there are that it's been run too far out of level creating a blockage, but the OP cannot answer that as he just bought it.

OP, is this problem on both AC and propane? If just AC one of the heating element (there are two) may be burned out. If just on propane then rust on the burner or a clogged flue could be the problem.

If it gets down to needing a new cooling unit you need to seriously look at going residential. I made the mistake of spending way too much money on my 1200 before finally going with a home refer. We boondock often and I thought the electric power needed would be a problem...NOT my 21 cuft Whirlpool draws less than a 100W light bulb and it runs about half the time or less. You can find my posts by searching DIY and Ivylog.

Way to go Usersmanual, you looked at his previous post (03 HR) and you did not say it was a dumb idea to replace the thermistor or maybe you decided to edit that out.:B

dougrainer wrote:

usersmanual wrote:

kcgaz wrote:
We have a Norcold 1200 side-by-side refrigerator and we have replaced the thermistor and will replace the fans tomorrow and still seem to have a cooling issue. Any ideas on what to do/check next?

although the condenser rear cooling fans are important in hotter weather there not the cause of a 1200/10 fridge not cooling
My experience when the thermister goes bad it start freezing food in the fridge what do u mean by having a cooling issue? explain please


also to note being a 1200 its getting up there in age unless its had a cooling unit replacement
being a 2003 unit the cooling unit is most likely shot(pluged)

WHY would age have anything to do with the condition of the cooling unit? Doug

why would it not? seems to me the older the unit the more time its had to obtain cooling unit blockage mainly through misusage
its 13 years old.
could be a bad control board ; hard to say till the op explains as I asked Is it cooling a little or not at all
also seemed to me the cooling unit of that age could have easly ruptured through rusted lower cooling unit in the heating area especially

One thing not mentioned here is to carefully look at the burner as well. Being an '04, the burner could easily be full of debris and it doesn't take much for it to not work

SCVJeff wrote:
One thing not mentioned here is to carefully look at the burner as well. Being an '04, the burner could easily be full of debris and it doesn't take much for it to not work

agreed- except OP cart blank said "not cooling properly" so one can only assume that's on both 120V and LPG
until we can hear back from OP its all a guessing game

Thanks for all of the great input, I did change out the thermistor and it is cooling down to 32 (set at 9) in the refer and -7 in the freezer on both AC and LPG. As the day gets warmer (we are in AZ, ouch!) the temp creeps up to 50 in the refer, freezer stays good. The fans do not appear to be working, so that is the next item to replace, I will let you know if that works and thanks again!

Thanks for all of the great input, I did change out the thermistor and it is cooling down to 32 (set at 9) in the refer and -7 in the freezer on both AC and LPG. As the day gets warmer (we are in AZ, ouch!) the temp creeps up to 50 in the refer, freezer stays good. The fans do not appear to be working, so that is the next item to replace, I will let you know if that works and thanks again!