Fridge shutdown problem

[teebarjake]

Hi I need help with a fridge problem. I purchased a 2002 Expedition by Fleetwood last fall. It had a new fridge. We spent the winter in it full time with no problems. On my way home the fuel shutoff switch went bad. we unloaded it and a month later we had it repalced. When it came time to use the fridge the pannel would not respond. I took it in and they reset the pannel, after using it for a week we were on our way home and the fridge shut down again. The service dept says we need to prplace the fridge. I have a problem believing that we don't have some other problem to adress. Can any one Help???

[ferndaleflyer]

OK--On further investigation I see that 12 volt is required for the control box to work. I re installed the batteries and now all is fine with the frig----now to why did the batteries go dead in the first place.

[drcarr57]

I have the same make and model. I am now waiting for a replacement. 2 years ago I had the recall work done. This entailed putting a sensor on the heating area and is primarily for the propane side of the fridge. This sensor connects to a small black box, which has wires marked 12, grd,and power exit. It is designed to cut the power to the fridge should it overheat. My black box went bad. It had a steady red light showing. This particular box was not reset-able. Dealer put a new box in and everything worked fine on propane...for a while, then the red light came on and shut the fridge down. This box was reset-able. we reset and now on electric it did the same thing. Tech noticed an ammonia smell! we have now shut the fridge off and all coolant has leaked out. The ammonia penetrated into the coach and was bad for a while. So if you had the recall done check the black box and replace, but also check for leaks. Oh! I had all your symptoms no panel lights etc.

[ksg5000]

ferndaleflyer wrote:
It makes no sense to me that the frig won't work on propane, shore power, or the generator just because the house batteries are low or dead.....I would think it would work even with the batteries out of the unit. I got to find out about this---and what killed the batteries in the first place.

Remember the controls that operate your fridge (circuit board etc) operate on 12 volts and some converters require a battery to be in place to function.

[Coyote74]

You definately need 12volt to the main board on rear of fridge, which inturn pushes the 12v to the eyebrow board(on/off) for fridge through the harness. The black box kills it if your fridge cooling unit overheats is what the dealer explained.

[ferndaleflyer]

It makes no sense to me that the frig won't work on propane, shore power, or the generator just because the house batteries are low or dead.....I would think it would work even with the batteries out of the unit. I got to find out about this---and what killed the batteries in the first place.

[brick]

I had same type problem. After checking electrical, fuse etc finding everything ok I gave the control panel a good thump and it has worked ever since. Maybe just luck.

[ferndaleflyer]

Battery voltage may have something to do with it.....I have had my unit for a long time and today my frig shut down for just that reason----my house batteries were completly discharged....thats another story....I had no idea that the house batteries had to function in order for the frig to function on either shore power, propane, or the generator.....but until I charged those 3 batteries the frig would not work---period.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

There is a known issue with that model. It has a "safety" over heat retro fit. There is a code that can be entered to "clear" the condition--but there are all sorts of limitations on how that can be done.

Contact Norcold directly--or search here on Norcold.

[teebarjake]

The Fridge is a 1200 rim ser # 102061 with the over heat code twice now. thanks for all your help these class A's are complaicated.

[teebarjake]

Norcold. I postponed any fridge parts except I replaced the house baterys. they said low voltage could cause this and they were 4 years old.

[vegasfoodguy]

Does it work on electric?

[pianotuna]

duplicate post

[pianotuna]

What make and model is the fridge?

[Fulltimers]

If it is not leaking then the fridge does NOT need to be replaced. All the electronics are replaceable and a lot cheaper than the cooling unit or a whole unit.