Norcold n811 refridgerator not working

Any ammonia smell from inside the freezer/refer? Any yellow residue on the tubes?

None whatsoever. No evidence of a leak anywhere.

I also bypassed the high end sensor (or whatever it's called) to see if that was kicking off the system and it made no difference.

Jim@HiTek wrote:
Any ammonia smell from inside the freezer/refer? Any yellow residue on the tubes?

None whatsoever. No evidence of a leak anywhere.

I also bypassed the high end sensor (or whatever it's called) to see if that was kicking off the system and it made no difference.

If you don't have the service manual (google and download it) that has step by step for troubleshooting (you'll need a multimeter) that will eliminate any doubts of eyebrow board/ power board, thermistor, heating elements.
I just went through this with my N821 same thing no faults except for a '0' on the eyebrow display. No where could I find what it meant but after a bunch of internet searching found it was for the high temperature limit switch (on the exhaust tube) locked out the controls to turn the fridge on propane or electric. Disconnecting the 2 wires from the limit switch and used a jumper to bypass it, the fridge would turn on and run. *Do not run fridge like this it's a safety feature to shut down before a possible fire*. Waiting for new switch to arrive.
After pulling fridge out of cubby the heat shield that goes over the exhaust pipe slide down and started to block the tube.

Usually the only time you'd get a blockage in the tubing is if you had parked for a while with more than an 8% tilt on the refer. Or if the refer had been shut off and left off for weeks. I've not heard of a spontaneous blockage under normal conditions but I suppose it's possible.

If either one of those scenarios is the case, and after you've eliminated other causes, then rattling the tubing with a rubber mallet for an hour or attaching some device that vibrates the tubing and leaving it there for an hour might help.

I did that with my brothers refer after he parked with it on a hill and left it on for a couple weeks without noticing it was on. Totally stopped cooling but I did an hour long rapping with a rubber mallet on the tubing brought it back to life. It's still working after 8 years.

Back in the old days, people would restore their refer by pulling them out, flipping them upside down, and letting them sit for 24-48 hours. That would often restore them. I prefer to do the vibration thing first.

USMA Dad wrote:
I have power to it and it works on ac and gas.

I guess you mean those are the two fuels it uses..?

2oldman wrote:

USMA Dad wrote:
I have power to it and it works on ac and gas.

I guess you mean those are the two fuels it uses..?

Correct, it runs on AC and Propane.

Itinerant1 wrote:
If you don't have the service manual (google and download it) that has step by step for troubleshooting (you'll need a multimeter) that will eliminate any doubts of eyebrow board/ power board, thermistor, heating elements.
I just went through this with my N821 same thing no faults except for a '0' on the eyebrow display. No where could I find what it meant but after a bunch of internet searching found it was for the high temperature limit switch (on the exhaust tube) locked out the controls to turn the fridge on propane or electric. Disconnecting the 2 wires from the limit switch and used a jumper to bypass it, the fridge would turn on and run. *Do not run fridge like this it's a safety feature to shut down before a possible fire*. Waiting for new switch to arrive.
After pulling fridge out of cubby the heat shield that goes over the exhaust pipe slide down and started to block the tube.

I found the service manual and will go through the troubleshooting steps. Thanks.

I don't think it's the high limit switch since the Condensers are getting hot. That tells me the heating unit is working, plus the canister is hot to the touch. As mentioned below, I think I'll try the rubber hammer for a while. The trailer is level and everything was fine for months...until last Wednesday.

In a Slide out and IF the cooling fans are NOT working, then the refer will not cool. The good news is, you can access the Fan tstat from the upper door on a slide installed refer. BYPASS and jump the 2 fan tstat wires and if the fans run leave it bypassed until you can get a new tstat. Doug

I've searched for the fan and do not see it. According to the service model, my model (n811L) does not have a fan installed. Hopefully, Jayco installed the fan kit; however, again, I don't see it. I'm heading out again to search.

I've tapped on the condenser tubes/fins with a rubber mallet so we'll see if that helps. The Absorber tubes are still cold to the touch. In fact, see the picture for the condenser tubes' temps. it's strange the are not the same. Tube on the left runs down to the Absorber tubes and it is cold as well.