Norcold Refrigerator Problems

[dshinnick]

Hey All-

Ok, here's my situation. We have a Norcold Refrigerator model 1200LRIM in a 2005 Holiday Rambler Ambassador, and here's our recent history:

1. We've been parked and on 50AMP service for the last month. All was fine.

2. About an hour before we left that park yesterday, the reefer started beeping and displayed a "no co" ( no cooling) message. I turned it off, back on, and it settled on LP, though we were still hooked up to 50AMP. I tried forcing it to AC, and it said "NO AC", so I put it back to AUTO, and it landed on LP again. I thought, fine, we can run on LP til we can get it fixed. We left that park and headed north.

3. After about 2 hours I stopped for lunch, heard the beeping again, saw "no co", and this time it would not work even on LP. So, I turned it off.

4. On the phone with a Norcold tech, he walked me through the process of resetting the circuit board. I noticed that the fuse on the board had blown, so I replaced that as well. After doing these two things, the reefer went to LP and seemed happy. After about 3 hours, more beeps, back to "no co", and the fuse on the circuit board is blown again.

5. The tech I had been talking to seems to think that the heating elements have gone bad. Another tech said no, that fuse is a 12-volt fuse, and bad heating elements would not cause it to blow.

So, here I am, stuck in the middle, with melting ice cream. If you're knowledgable about such things, would you share an opinion and suggestion?

Thanks Much-

Dave

[rooster2]

http://rvcoolingunit.com/1200LR-Norcold-Brand-New-Cooling-Unit-built-by-the-Amish-P13259.aspx

[rooster2]

We also have the 1200 LRIM and had to replace the cooling unit. Ordered one that the Amish make. I think it is better than the Norcold due to longer warranty and materials and better design. One can buy, for couple hundred dollars, a 10 year warranty. YouTube has some great videos on replacing the unit. I'm almost 70 and did one 2 years ago. Was not very hard and I did make sure seams etc were insulated correctly and added more insulation to side of RV back of refrigerator. Also added 2 new cooling fans.

[JR45]

Same here, we went with the Samsung 197 residential, I like it and the wife loves it.
JR

[John___Angela]

dshinnick wrote:
Update:

It's the 120V fuse which kept blowing. And it wasn't a tech at Norcold which helped me do the reset; it was a mobile RV tech, who services Norcold, who stepped me through it while inching along a typically-jammed southern California freeway.

Well, we've started to smell ammonia, which I understand is a slam-dunk indication of a bad cooling unit. Lovely. So, now, how should I proceed? My shop is suggesting I order a brand-new OEM unit for about $1,200, plus 3 hours labor to install. Just wanted to run this by the forum for opinions and options.

Dave

Sorry to hear of the problems. The numbers they quoted are within norms for that kind of job. The only other option is to replace it with a residential unit. Lots of threads on the pros and cons of that route. For what its worth we had something similar happen and went the residential route. Very happy we did.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Stay safe on the road.

[dougrainer]

dshinnick wrote:
Cost for the new unit is about $1,750, with tax.

Jump on it. The NORMAL warranty time for a Norcold Cooling unit is 4.0 hours from Norcold. A NEW refer will be about $4000. Of course, I would wonder why someone would bid a job at 3 hours. ANYBODY who has done 1200 series knows that 4.0 hours is a fair time. Make sure they replace the 2 rear cooling fans and the Fan tstat. On a 10 year old refer, the odds are the fans are either inop or will go out. You have to pull the refer to replace the fans and the tstat for the fans. NO extra labor if they are replaced when the cooling unit is replaced. Doug

[prism]

good to hear u found the trouble and 3 hours to replace is a good deal

[dshinnick]

Cost for the new unit is about $1,750, with tax.

[dshinnick]

Update:

It's the 120V fuse which kept blowing. And it wasn't a tech at Norcold which helped me do the reset; it was a mobile RV tech, who services Norcold, who stepped me through it while inching along a typically-jammed southern California freeway.

Well, we've started to smell ammonia, which I understand is a slam-dunk indication of a bad cooling unit. Lovely. So, now, how should I proceed? My shop is suggesting I order a brand-new OEM unit for about $1,200, plus 3 hours labor to install. Just wanted to run this by the forum for opinions and options.

Dave

[dougrainer]

1. IF the 120 volt Heat Element fuse blows, one of the heat elements is bad Replace BOTH.
2. I find it hard to believe that a NORCOLD phone tech would tell a retail customer how to reset the board after a NO CO lock out.
3. A LOT of posts but NONE address the problem----NO CO
4. NO CO means that SOMETHING has caused the refer to NOT do a normal cool down. SIMPLE code---FIND the reason and when you fix the cause the refer will operate.
5. The MOST OBVIOUS cause of a NO CO on a 1200 is the rear cooling fans are not operating. IF they do NOT the refer throws the NO CO code
6. You have 2 chances to STOP a NO CO code. After the 1st code if you just restart the refer without fixing the problem(100% of people do this because they do NOT read the Norcold operators manual), the refer restarts and since you did NOT fix the cause then throws the 2nd NO CO and Locks Out the control board. THIS is the reason I find it hard to believe the OP talked to a NORCOLD rep AT Norcold. Norcold's policy is to NOT show or tell Rv'ers how to reset the lock out code because if you do NOT find and fix the problem it will throw the code again.
7. Fans not operating is the first thing. Disconnecting the Temp thermistor is the 2nd thing. Doug

[dengineer]

also you may wish to disconnect the fans and place temporarily an external one and see if it still blows the 12vdc fuse. the wires to the t-stat and fans could be damaged...
let us know what you find and good luck!!!!!
Tony

[Executive45]

Just a point of clarification. Inside the circuit board box are TWO fuses. One is 12VDC and the other is 120VAC. Which fuse kept blowing? I'm not in the "use it til it blows camp". This usually leads to bad and expensive repairs. There's a reason why the fuse keeps blowing. That should be addressed and repaired before using the fridge.

There is a short somewhere that's causing the problem. I would suspect the problem crops up after the elements get hot. This points to two areas, the heating elements and/or the circuit board itself.

Start with some easy stuff first. Pull off the outside inspection door and run a check of EVERY wire and CONNECTION behind that panel. Make sure they're tight and not corroded. Look inside the circuit board box, where you found the fuses, and look for any discoloration that might indicate short circuiting or damage. Determine which fuse continues to blow....12v or 120v..that might help in tracking the problem further.....Dennis

[2ndhom]

First things first!!! Go to a Walmart parking lot and sell ice cream cones (this will get rid of your ice cream melting problem) which will help pay for repair cost if any.
Second ... replace your fuse again and this time try turning the cold temp to the warmest number so the fridge does not run so long. This may limp you home until more time available to play with it.

[Coyote74]

X2what mccsix did.

[mccsix]

Buy a small dorm fridge till you can sort it out. Just did this on our big trip to Maine this summer. Notcold would be marginal in the freezer and 50-60 in the fridge section, so we finished the trip with our small fridge...worked out OK cost us $80 till we got home then replaced the cooling unit.