lost power to refrigerator

pink303 wrote:
We lost power for a few minutes in the RV park during a storm and when power came back on we had absolutely no power to our Norcold Refrigerator. We have checked all coach fuses and they are all good. Has anyone had any experience with this?

Reset all 120vac circuit breakers by turning them off and back on. Check behind the fridge for fuses as well. Check for 12vdc voltage back there, also, as the fridge needs this to operate on electric or gas. Check for 120vac back there, once you've reset all breakers.

It is easier with a volt meter. You need to check for 12V at you circuit board. With little information I am assuming that you are without display and this is where you are getting your "no power" assessment. Those circuit boards are susceptible to failure after a power surge. But do not hold me to that! I am not there with my fluke 88 and jumpers! It just takes more troubleshooting on your end and feedback to the experience on this venue.

Look for and reset any GFCI outlets in the Kitchen and bathroom. They are usually on the same circuit with other outlets. I spent several hours one day trouble shooting no power to fridge and a friend of mine stopped by and went in the bathroom and noticed a GFCI tripped. Problem solved.

After resetting your breakers and/or GFCIs, see if you have power to the fridge outlet. If you don't have a meter, remove the outside panel, unplug the fridge and plug in a lamp or fan to ensure you have power to that outlet. If you do then you might have to reset the board to your fridge. Assuming you have a 1200 series, here's what you do:
1. Turn fridge OFF.
2. Remove outside panel to access the back of the fridge.
3. Locate the black box just to the left of center.
4. There should be two wires on the bottom of that box, a black wire, about 14 ga and a white one. The black one may have an 18 ga wire attached to it. The black wire is your 12V wire, the white one is a ground. Using a pair of needle nose pliers, carefully remove the BLACK wire. Leave this wire disconnected for 30 seconds then plug it back in.
5. Turn the fridge back on and see if it works.

If it works, you're good, if not, see the following:

1. Turn fridge OFF.
2. Make note of all wires attached to the aforementioned black box. Note colors and locations--write it down!
3. Remove all the wires. Remember that black wire is 12V hot, so wrap it with a piece of electrical tape.
4. Remove four small screws holding the cover on the black box.
5. Remove black box cover.
6. Inside the black box are TWO FUSES. One is for 12V power and the other 120V. Check to ensure both fuses are good. Replace as necessary. Make sure you use the exact fuse for replacement. This is important.
7. Reassemble in the reverse order you disassembled.
8. Turn fridge back on and see if it works...

Hope this helps....Dennis

Sherry sounds like you got some great advice. If you still have problems let me know since our friend Dwayne is a certified RV mobile mechanic. Hope to see you guys in Q. Let me know if you need some help. Kathie

I don't know what model Norcold you have, but we had a similar failure during recent thunderstorm with our older model 6282 Norcold fridge. I knew the 12-volt side was out when the auto feature did not switch to LP as it should have with just a 110-volt loss. The 12-volt fuse panel was all good, so I pulled the cover off the power control board on the back of the fridge as described above. A quick meter check found that a 3 amp "Buss" type glass fuse had popped on the 12-volt side. Once I replaced it from my spares kit, we were back in business. The temps only went up a few degrees while it was out, so there was no loss of any food.

GFI is my first look see also.

Second is open converter and shut off each and every breaker and then turn each one back on.

I've seen it too many times where the breakers LOOK all on, but actually they have not tripped all the way but enough to interrupt power. Left this way they will actually start an electrical wire fire. Don't ask me how I know that.:R

Go on line and look for your make fridge. Copy and print out the trouble shoot page.

My fridge had 4 different breakers inside it, all hidden from view. You should check them too. Good luck.

After you have done all the above, if still no luck, check for a fuse on the circuit board. On ours (1201 LRIM) all the wires to the board have to be removed before you can take the circuit board cover off!

THANK YOU EVERYONE! Bruce went out this morning and tried the magnet reset trick and it worked! Thank you for all your suggestions