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ichudov's avatar
ichudov
Explorer
May 22, 2016

Norcold refrigerator not working despite propane burning

I have a 12 year old RV with a norcold refrigerator, serial CU1571912.

As it gave me the NO CO code in the past, I decided to give it one more go.

I have reset it via a jumper wire.

I made sure that the motorhome is dead level.

I powered it on. It does seem to "run". I switched it to Propane mode for simplicity.

I can see the propane flame burning nicely. I also can hear faint sounds of boiling or percolating inside.

However, after an hour of running, the aluminum heatsink inside the refrigerator has not changed its temperature. I measured it with a laser thermometer and it is not getting colder even by a degree.

I do not see any yellow residue inside the cooler cabinet.

Any idea what I can do at this point, will be enormously appreciated.
Class A
  • ichudov's avatar
    ichudov
    Explorer
    May 23, 2016
    Hello. I do not want to start a flame war here. I respect all opinions, but I want first to be done with troubleshooting my RV fridge.

    My first question is "what is normal"?

    What sort of temperature should I expect on the aluminum fins after, say, 1 hour of running on propane and seeing propane burn?
  • crasster's avatar
    crasster
    Explorer II
    May 23, 2016
    Another Norcold RV fridge issue.... WHEN RV fridges work correctly they take forever to get cold. Your freezer will probably never hit zero and may be 30 degrees after 24 hours. You need to wait more time.

    Just a tip, once I went to a dorm & residential set of fridges in my coaches, my ice cream has been solid as well as my ice. You can run them on inverters while driving. The setback is boondocking. Sorry I vent because there are so many bad RV fridge stories and I got sick of eating slime ice cream out of my bowls by personal experience.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    May 23, 2016
    Not a Yurt! wrote:
    We have a similar problem with our Norcold. Works fine on A/C. Propane flame fires up and is nice and blue, but the refrigerator and freezer do not maintain the cold temperatures attained from A/C use. Ice and cold stuff is already in there, but no cold is happening from the propane option.

    Anyone with comments from similar experiences and solutions are much appreciated. Especially solutions. And, no, please don't say, "Get a residential refrigerator." I am looking to the incredible number of experienced RV's out there to point out something that I may be missing. Your help is much appreciated!


    If it cools correctly on 120 and not on LP, there are only 3 problems it can be.
    1. LP pressure is low
    2. The orifice/burner is slightly clogged and needs cleaned
    3. IF the cooling unit has been replaced, there is a Spiral Baffle in the chimney right above the flame that dispurses the heat evenly to heat. IF that Spiral is gone or rusted out and destroyed, the unit will NOT cool on LP correctly. You have to pull the refer to verify this. Doug
  • AidenJ's avatar
    AidenJ
    Explorer
    May 23, 2016
    I have no answers to your refer problems, but I do know it shouldn't take 24 hrs to start cooling. After starting ours on propane there is a noticable difference in 4 hrs or less.
  • mydazeoff's avatar
    mydazeoff
    Explorer
    May 23, 2016
    Check out the video's at: http://rvrefrigeration.com they might be helpful.
  • koda55's avatar
    koda55
    Explorer
    May 23, 2016
    It took 7 hours for my freezer to get down to 40 degrees. The fridge was still warm. Next morning all was well.
  • Not_a_Yurt_'s avatar
    Not_a_Yurt_
    Explorer
    May 23, 2016
    We have a similar problem with our Norcold. Works fine on A/C. Propane flame fires up and is nice and blue, but the refrigerator and freezer do not maintain the cold temperatures attained from A/C use. Ice and cold stuff is already in there, but no cold is happening from the propane option.

    Anyone with comments from similar experiences and solutions are much appreciated. Especially solutions. And, no, please don't say, "Get a residential refrigerator." I am looking to the incredible number of experienced RV's out there to point out something that I may be missing. Your help is much appreciated!
  • Jim's avatar
    Jim
    Explorer
    May 22, 2016
    Wait 24 hours. It takes quite a while for those fins to even attempt to cool down.

    If you're leaving on a trip and are in a hurry...fill the freezer with frozen foods. And Ice.

    In the refer section, put in gallon jugs of frozen water. Don't put any warm foods inside, buy on the road after it cools down.

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