Norcold 1200 LRIM

OP: Well, by disconnecting the thermister for a few hours and plugging it back in the temp went back down.

Now it's going up again. We have tried to see the fans, can't see them. (I'm sure we looked pretty silly with all the contortions.) There is a huge swamp cooler near our site so it's really hard to hear if they are running.

Someone suggested putting an auxillary fan on the outside to see if that would bring the temp down. Hence indicating the fans probably weren't working. That worked a little.

But the temp is still hovering right around 40.

So any more suggestions?

We are in the Florida Keys for another week, then reserved in the Everglades for two weeks. Not a good time to need service or frig replacement.

Thanks again for any and all help.

Also, if the fans are not working does that mean the frig is toast?

My fans on a 04 are at the top just under the coil so harder to hear than the ones in picture above. You can still see them from the bottom using a light and a mirror.

You will have two muffin fans on top of the cooling unit. Using a mirror, you can look up between the coils and see them. They should be running. If not, that will be your problem. They are 12VDC fans similar to ones on the back of a computer tower. Running the fridge without the thermister means the fridge will never shut off. This may lead to a bunch of ice buildup in the freezer compartment as well as on the back fins. Think of the thermister as a thermostat. Those muffin fans are controlled by a button switch at the top of the fridge. You cannot reach them or the switch without pulling the fridge forward.

As an interim measure, try this.... remove the outside grill inspection cover. Bungee cord a 120VAC fan across the opening and turn it on. After a couple hours, check your temps. If it's cooling, your issue is with your fans.

A picture is worth a thousand words....see below.....Dennis

OP: No it is not on a slide. We have tried to listen for a fan, think we hear something, but there is a huge swamp cooler near us that makes it hard to verify.

So far, it seems to be holding at about 38. Will see how it is in the am.

Thank you fellow rv'ers for your help and suggestions!

If outside is in the 80's and you do NOT hear the rear cooling fans running, that is part of your problem. Those fans are needed to cool adequately. Is the refer is a slide room? Doug

There is not a compressor but the flue on the right (vertical galvanized pipe) can be 180 degrees. The tube that comes out of the bottom of it and then goes into a round cylinder can be just as hot, but the cylinder and the coils above it are closer to 130 or less so this area is normally hot.

Unhooking the thermistor makes it go into continues cooling but if you do not hear the fans running at the back, it's not going to cool properly when it's 80 out. You should be able to hear the fans if you listen at the door you took off. Are they running? If not put a fan in the opening to get enough air flow for it to cool properly.

My guess is that you caught it when it went into a defrost cycle which can take several hours. This happens every few days and when it's hot out it's enough to make it look like you have a problem. By shutting it off briefly every two days you can stop it from going into the defrost cycle which will help when it's hot out. I would hook the thermistor back up so you can start monitoring the fin temperature. By pressing both the Mode and Temp buttons down at the same time for several seconds you should see 88. Then press the mode button three times you will see the fin temp reported by the thermistor. The fins need to be in the low 20's for it to get the lower door temps below 40. Hope this helps.