Norcold N8LX Hi DC Fault Error With Power Converter on
Hi,
I was searching around for any info that would help me troubleshoot a hi DC fault error on my brand new Norcold refrigerator and came across this forum. I hope perhaps one of the many knowledgeable members here might be able to help.
With the help of a handy friend, I recently upgraded my old fridge with a brand new norcold N8LX two-way model. The removal of the old fridge and installation of the new one went very smoothly, using existing DC power cables already there, which measured between 12.8-13.1 volts. The first power up after installation everything ran great for two hours until I turned on the generator and 45 amp Power Converter/Battery Charger, and then the fridge immediately gave a Hi DC Fault error.
I turned off the fridge immediately and checked voltage at the DC lines to the fridge with the Generator/ Converter on (fridge off) and the voltage was 14.l, well below the 16.0 Max indicated in the Norcold specs.
I also checked the AC voltage at the outlet where the fridge was plugged (it's a 2 way) and the AC voltage was 123, also within max specs.
Next I tried running the fridge on AC Power only, as a test, but that was not possible because the Hi DC error popped up again, as DC lines are always connected on this fridge.
After a bit of Googling around I read on a Norcold site that it is possible-- given the troubleshooting that I performed to verify that the fridge was working perfectly before the power inverter was turned on-- that the problem has to do with the DC lines that I'm using being "unfiltered" from the converter, causing "AC ripple".
If that's the case I'm not quite sure how to solve the problem because I basically used the same lines that were being used in the older fridge. It's true that the older fridge did not have an electronic control board so perhaps that setup won't work with this newer model.
It's not really easy or convenient to trace those DC lines back to the source either or I would do that, so my thought would be-- unless someone is familiar with this problem and has another suggestion-- perhaps the best solution is to just run clean DC lines directly from the battery to the refrigerator using a 6 amp fuse (to spec) in between.
I was trying to avoid running new lines, the less wires the better, usually, but at the same time I absolutely must be able to run the generator and converter to charge the trailer battery without the fridge throwing a fault.
Right now I have the generator and converter off and the fridge is about 5 hours into its first Power Up Cycle after the new installation and everything is working great so I thought I would reach out for some input before going to that effort of running clean DC lines directly from the battery tomorrow.
Any advice anyone can offer on this situation would be so greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Indie
I was searching around for any info that would help me troubleshoot a hi DC fault error on my brand new Norcold refrigerator and came across this forum. I hope perhaps one of the many knowledgeable members here might be able to help.
With the help of a handy friend, I recently upgraded my old fridge with a brand new norcold N8LX two-way model. The removal of the old fridge and installation of the new one went very smoothly, using existing DC power cables already there, which measured between 12.8-13.1 volts. The first power up after installation everything ran great for two hours until I turned on the generator and 45 amp Power Converter/Battery Charger, and then the fridge immediately gave a Hi DC Fault error.
I turned off the fridge immediately and checked voltage at the DC lines to the fridge with the Generator/ Converter on (fridge off) and the voltage was 14.l, well below the 16.0 Max indicated in the Norcold specs.
I also checked the AC voltage at the outlet where the fridge was plugged (it's a 2 way) and the AC voltage was 123, also within max specs.
Next I tried running the fridge on AC Power only, as a test, but that was not possible because the Hi DC error popped up again, as DC lines are always connected on this fridge.
After a bit of Googling around I read on a Norcold site that it is possible-- given the troubleshooting that I performed to verify that the fridge was working perfectly before the power inverter was turned on-- that the problem has to do with the DC lines that I'm using being "unfiltered" from the converter, causing "AC ripple".
If that's the case I'm not quite sure how to solve the problem because I basically used the same lines that were being used in the older fridge. It's true that the older fridge did not have an electronic control board so perhaps that setup won't work with this newer model.
It's not really easy or convenient to trace those DC lines back to the source either or I would do that, so my thought would be-- unless someone is familiar with this problem and has another suggestion-- perhaps the best solution is to just run clean DC lines directly from the battery to the refrigerator using a 6 amp fuse (to spec) in between.
I was trying to avoid running new lines, the less wires the better, usually, but at the same time I absolutely must be able to run the generator and converter to charge the trailer battery without the fridge throwing a fault.
Right now I have the generator and converter off and the fridge is about 5 hours into its first Power Up Cycle after the new installation and everything is working great so I thought I would reach out for some input before going to that effort of running clean DC lines directly from the battery tomorrow.
Any advice anyone can offer on this situation would be so greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Indie
