I have a Norcold n811 refridgerator and it suddenly stopped functioning. After my troubleshooting attempts I'm at a loss. The thermistor is functioning, the heating unit gets hot, the condenser fins at the top are hot to the touch, but the absorber tubes are not warm to the touch. I replaced the control panel and that did not make a difference. I have power to it and it works on ac and gas. No fault codes are being displayed. The 5a fuse on the control board was blown so obviously I replaced that. The fridge is mounted in a slide out and unfortunately the cooling fans are dead center in the back of the refridgerator and not accessible. I've been full-timing in the rig and never had a problem. The only thing I can think of is there's a blockage somewhere between the condenser fins and the absorber tubes. I tried wrapping on the tubes but nothing worked. . Given the holiday weekend I can't get someone out here to diagnose so I welcome all suggestions and advice. Thanks in advance!

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.

Norcold n811 refridgerator not working | Good Sam Community

14 Replies

Itinerant1
Explorer
Sep 03, 2018
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.
USMA_Dad
Explorer
Sep 03, 2018
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.
USMA_Dad
Explorer
Sep 03, 2018
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
Explorer
Sep 03, 2018
Any ammonia smell from inside the freezer/refer? Any yellow residue on the tubes?

Forum Discussion

Norcold n811 refridgerator not working

14 Replies

About Technical Issues

Related Content

Norcold Model 611 Fridge problem

Freezer works, refridgerator doesn't.

Norcold Refridgerator

Storage and Work Space Near Portland

Fridge not working/freezer kind of working