Norcold N8X refrigerator intermittent
I am chasing an issue with our Norcold N8X refrigerator where suddenly the refrigerator portion will not go below 50 degrees. This is in our 2022 KZ 303MB fifth wheel. Our last two trips we turned on the refrigerator a few days before leaving it god cold we packed and all was good. We traveled to two different campgrounds, one about 1.5 hours away one 3 hours away. Plugged in made sure no faults were showing and all seemed good. But buy the next morning the refrigerator was warm and showing about 50 degrees and the freezer was around 0 in both cases. Went out and checked and the chimney where the burner/heating element was hot to the touch.
On the first trip when we we got home I did some investigating and turns out the panel sheet that blocked off the compartment above the refrigerator had fallen and blocked off the air flow up and out the roof. Fixed that and while I was up there I installed two 4” dc fans to help pull the heat out. Ran the refrigerator all was good, on high the refrigerator got down into the ‘mid 20s.
Next trip, same deal turned in a few days prior all was good. Packed traveled to campsite, plugged in and system appears to be working. Awoke next morning to a warm refrigerator. Now it was HOT out side so I figured maybe with the heat it was having problems, so I stuck an additional fan on the lower outside and hoped for the best. No change. Night time temps were in the low 70s, and it would not go below 50. So we gain packed a cooler full of ice and moved perishable stuff to the cooler and just used the freezer portion as that was good, and filled the refrigerator with water bottles to “precool” since it was atleast getting to 50. Tried it on LP mode and no change, so put it back to electric. Since the outside fan was doing nothing I took that out and just let it be and I would look at it more when we got home.
Next morning same thing 50 degree refrigerator 0 degree freezer. I grumbled and moved on. That afternoon when I went to move some water into the cooler I discovered the fridge was cooler, like much cooler, looked at the temp and it showed around 30 degrees and I also noticed the fins were so cool they had iced over. I turned down the temp setting to 3 snowflakes and left it. The next day it ran no issues, even when air temps rose to almost 90 and humid.
So we returned home unpacked, and I plugged the camper in. Refrigerator was reading 55 degrees around 1pm. Closed it and left it. Around 7pm I checked it and it was ready 28 degrees and operating normal. Today I am going to pack it full of water bottles and see what happens.
Anyone have any thoughts on what is going on? I don’t think it is the air temperatures as temps on the 70s have not made it suddenly work. It seems to be random.
i have replaced the thermistor already even though the original tested OK. I don’t think it is the heating element. I know the first incident is questionable as the air flow was blocked but I am wondering if it is related somehow.
