Norcold compressor fridge troubles

Naio wrote:
Hello folks, this is my first post :).

I'm converting a truck, and I lucked into (I thought) a Norcold 12/120 for $50.

Like an idjit, I hooked it up to a 200ah AGM battery and left it overnight. In the morning, the battery was at 5v and the fridge was warm. I am working on the battery, cycling it and hoping. But, in the meantime, the fridge seems to have died.

It now doesn't work on AC nor on DC (with a different battery). It makes a little 'ringing' sound, but not its normal (louder) hum, and it doesn't cool.

I've checked the connections from fridge to battery, the AC/DC switch, and turned it off and on again like a computer :). What else can I try? I am generally comfortable with mechanical stuff, but clueless about refrigerators.

Thanks for any help.

If the Sawafugi compressor is toast feel lucky that you only paid 50 bucks for it. Replacement units are very costly and can be bought only from the maker of the refrigerator. When I was looking around to go to a 12Vdc compressor type refrigerator I ruled out the Sawafgi compressor because of the replacement expense and there wasn't a lot of information on them.

I decided on refrigerator that used the Danfross 12Vdc compressors in their units, they look just like your domestic ref. compressor and can be bought at Johnstone Supply (replacement compressor). This subject of 12Vdc compressor refrigerators has been talked about a lot on the Truck Camper Forum and many of us TCer's have them incuding me and I will never go back to a absorption unit with all the headace I had with it.

I ended up buying a Dometic CR1110 which fits in the same space that my old unrelible Norcold 300.3 use to be. If your existing norcold is toast and you want to stay with a 12Vdc compressor refrigerator here's some link for you and post a question in the TC forum on this subject, you'll get a lot of reponses.
Indel Webasto ( Isoltherm)
Nova Kool
Dometic

Any more questions just PM me.

My personel thanks to Chris Bryant for making those pdf file open to all of us, I've used them many times.