Hot Norcold

Rear fans not working on 1200 will result in fridge temps 'chasing' ambient air temps....as they rise during daytime so will fridge temps and then as ambient air temps go down in evening so will fridge temps

Could be as simple as the t-stat for fans is bad or loss of 12V to fans (bad in-line fuse)

T-stat should start fans at 130*F and stop them at 115*F (Condenser Fin Temps)


Then there is the 'frost management' cycle that shuts down cooling every 49 hrs to minimize frost on fins in food compartment.

kcgaz wrote:
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!

OK that's not quit how you came across in your first post so its a bit confusing to try and help.Before replacing the rear fans as that's a big job go buy a small high volumn fan and put at the rear lower part of the fridge and have it blow against coils and up wards
and see where your at temp wise during the heat of the day
In my experiences just because the rear fans are not working it should not cause your temp to rise from 32 to 50
maybe it will I have not seen that scenario personally
I always felt my 1200 and 1210 fridges cooled ok but was never able to get any of them to 32 except one where the thermistor went bad
even when set on 9

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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