Norcold issue again, this is getting old

[kalynzoo]

Getting ready for a nice vacation, an FMCA rally and then a week with grandkids traveling through the West. I went out to put some more stuff in the Norcold 1200 frig and the green light was off. It appears the "wart" fix for the recall probably tripped. My mobile mechanic came out an reset the box, so we are ready to go. But really, this is the best fix Norcold could come up with for their high end unit. Sure, I've thought about going all electric, even looked at new rigs with household refrigerators. But I like my RV, and just the thought of replacing 6 or 8 deep cell batteries at the same time gives me the same shivers I get when I have to replace all 6 22.5 tires. Anyway, this is just my Rant for the day.
Happy Trails to all.

[tinkerer]

Mine tripped when it was running and we power washed the coach. Just tripped it back on with a magnet. Just opened up the cover on the board which has the trip light on it and just move a magnet from the light to the left.:)

[SCVJeff]

There are two different threads going on here. One to reset the fridge, and the other to reset the fail-safe. The fail-safe is what the reset conversation is about

[MCDDY]

Any semi well equipped RV'r should have a 12V test light. The kind with an ice-pick light on 1 end of the 4' wire and a spring clip on the other. Attach the clip to the bracket for the valve for the icemaker which is a ground and insert the point into the red-wire clip and wait till you hear the lighter start clicking and the flame starts. The fridge is now re-set. Hardest part is getting the cover off of the assembly.

Dave

[doxiemom11]

The norcold fix will also shut the frig down in extreme wind/rain when moisture gets blown into the compartment and or following the use of a power washer. It also could be a leak from the roof frig vent that allows water in. We have had this happen 2X and have reset the device. In both cases we were positive it was moisture and the GFI also tripped when the rain tripped the device. Yes, it was blowing and raining that hard.

[Sully2]

I never had that sort of trouble with 15 years worth of Dometic reefers!!!!..:E

[pianotuna]

Hi,

The Norcold reset works at extremely high temperatures--high enough to start the process for failure. It uses a "reed switch" that can be externally reset using a magnet.

The link I provided shuts down the fridge at a much lower temperature--before any damage happens. It is intended for when the fridge is not quite level enough.

If the out of level protection works as advertised--the Norcold reset ought to never have to be used--but is still in place to prevent fires.

Several folks have done testing on the unit and so far all have been pleased.

[dougrainer]

IF people have read all the complaints with the Norcold recall box, the majority all come after the refer had been shut down and NO 12 volt power was to the refer OR the 12 volt system slowly went dead. You rarely hear of a Norcold red light trip from someone that was using the refer and all of a sudden it tripped and NOT because the flue temp went up to the 700 degree trip temp. IMO, from dealing with scores of trips and resetting with a magnet, that the storage issue is what trips the box. The original recall boxes DID have an issue with loss or slow loss of 12 volts and the current REV E is a little better at not tripping. UNLESS you Boondock, you do not need a large battery bank to run a Residential refer. Their 120 power consumption is actually smaller than a Norcold 1200 when on 120. I do not understand why all the people get worked up about batteries when thinking about a Residential UNLESS they will be Boondocking a lot. Doug

[Gjac]

I was hoping someone more knowable than myself like Chris Bryant would post by now, but from what I understand when the refer is run off level heat rises quickly the Norcold fix shuts it off at 700 degrees to prevent fires. The ARP system shuts it of around 350 to prevent the ammonia solution from hardening inside the tubes blocking the flow of ammonia. Someone posted awhile back doing some tests with various out of level conditions and how high the temps reached. A simple solution to this problem would be to put a temp sensor right above the heating element and adjust the levelers until the lowest temps are recorded, then set bubble gauge to be level.

[John_S_]

I would go with the residential sooner or later. It is very energy efficient and they work well and do not seem to have the issues that the no cold has. The new cooling units have less of the protecter ant in the lines that prevents the ammonia from eating the copper. The EPA mandated that they reduce it and therefore the life span is much less than our older units.

[Old-Biscuit]

Teacher's Pet wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:

Executive wrote:
Learn how to reset it yourself until the dreaded ammonia smell comes....I replaced my cooling unit with the Amish one and am happy with my fridge. The reset is pretty simple and avoids the expense of the mobile mech...if you can't find the directions, let me know and I'll dig them up. It's really a simple jump across tow terminals. You'll need a short piece of telephone or sprinkler wire.....Dennis

Its actually just a magnet.

That's what I was told on our 1200.

The 'recall' box can be reset using a strong magnet. (RED LED Light ON)
The fridge lower control board can be reset with a jumper wire ('NoCo' error code)

Resetting of 'recall' box should only be done IF fridge has been checked and verified that a real condition doesn't/didn't exist.
The recall box is designed to shut down all power if high temp is detected (700*F)

[Teacher_s_Pet]

SCVJeff wrote:

Executive wrote:
Learn how to reset it yourself until the dreaded ammonia smell comes....I replaced my cooling unit with the Amish one and am happy with my fridge. The reset is pretty simple and avoids the expense of the mobile mech...if you can't find the directions, let me know and I'll dig them up. It's really a simple jump across tow terminals. You'll need a short piece of telephone or sprinkler wire.....Dennis

Its actually just a magnet.

That's what I was told on our 1200.

[Teacher_s_Pet]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

I'd add on one of these:

http://healthyrvrefrigerator.com/

Excellent link. Very interesting concept. Will talk to our RV refrigeration guy this summer about his thoughts.

[SCVJeff]

Executive wrote:
Learn how to reset it yourself until the dreaded ammonia smell comes....I replaced my cooling unit with the Amish one and am happy with my fridge. The reset is pretty simple and avoids the expense of the mobile mech...if you can't find the directions, let me know and I'll dig them up. It's really a simple jump across tow terminals. You'll need a short piece of telephone or sprinkler wire.....Dennis

Its actually just a magnet.

[SCVJeff]

pianotuna wrote:
I've ordered the unit and will have it installed. I can ill afford a new fridge.

I dont think anyone can. But it would be interesting to hear how this one is any better or worse than the Norcold device? It just makes no sense to detect a problem, shut down, cool, and relight, just to mask the real problem. The Norcold can be reset too, but its meant to be done by someone smart enough to look for the reason it tripped, and how serious it might be. Not so with this one.

Although it would be cool to have a temp display.