I have a norcold refrigerator in my Monaco Windsor motorhome.1) It works fine on AC2) When run on propane, it gives a "NO FL" error3) When performing diagnostics, I was watching the flame as someone else turned it on from inside. The flame started and burned just fine with nice mid-sized blue flame. The thermocouple above the flame was glowing red hot. 4) However, despite a good flame, the arc lighting attempt never stopped, and after a minute the fridge shut down with NO FL.5) I blew all crud from there with a compressor. A lot of **** came out.6) This cleaning did NOT help and the fridge still would not run on LP.Any idea what else I can do. I would prefer a DIY fix as I need to know how to fix this RV while on the go. ThanksThanks

The scenario you describe suggests Thermocouple failure

darsben1 wrote:The scenario you describe suggests Thermocouple failureX2

I once paid $238 for a new control board in Whitehorse, YT, only to find 200 miles down the road that it didn't need one. What it turned out to be was a high resistance on the terminals coming from the thermocouple. This device is very low ohms when under normal circumstances, when it's heated, the resistance falls even more. This is what the control circuit is looking for, a lower than average resistance in the presence of flame.So before you replace the thermocouple, chase out the wires to the control board and verify they are OK, and then clean the terminals so they make better contact. I squeezed mine so they were tighter too and that fixed the problem.

Norcold refrigerator "NO FL" code, propane burns fine

Edd505
Explorer
Dec 11, 2017
Norcold Manual error codes

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/327885/Norcold-1210.html?page=22

Mine just back from RV repair - bad high temp cut off
ichudov
Explorer
Dec 10, 2017
Alright, here's a very happy followup!!!

I purchased a replacement board on Amazon. Took me a while to get my act together to switch it out. Finally I switched it and made sure that I reconnected all leads correctly.

I am DELIGHTED to report that now the flame burns great and the fridge is working very well!!! No problem!!!

It was the board!
dougrainer
Nomad
Jul 25, 2017
ichudov wrote:
Jim@HiTek wrote:
ichudov wrote:
Thanks guys for guiding me. I have replaced the spark wire yesterday. The sparks work GREAT and the flame starts every time.

However, despite that, flame is still NOT detected.

The "tower" on top of the control board, from where the spark electrode terminal comes out, is NOT loose.

I feel that I am making progress, eliminating possibilities at acceptable cost, but still no final resolution.

In that case, then you probably need to follow Doug Rainers instructions above. If you can solder and have the equipment that is...

Good luck!

You don't open it up. You remove the main board and look behind the board and re-solder the Piezo pins that are soldered. Doug
Thanks! I will try to see how I can open up that Piezo tower. I can solder no problem.
ichudov
Explorer
Jul 25, 2017
Jim@HiTek wrote:
ichudov wrote:
Thanks guys for guiding me. I have replaced the spark wire yesterday. The sparks work GREAT and the flame starts every time.

However, despite that, flame is still NOT detected.

The "tower" on top of the control board, from where the spark electrode terminal comes out, is NOT loose.

I feel that I am making progress, eliminating possibilities at acceptable cost, but still no final resolution.

In that case, then you probably need to follow Doug Rainers instructions above. If you can solder and have the equipment that is...

Good luck!

Thanks! I will try to see how I can open up that Piezo tower. I can solder no problem.
hostage
Explorer
Jul 23, 2017
If it was me I would have just replaced the whole board in the first place there only 200$ or less and its 14 years old if its original
Jim
Explorer
Jul 23, 2017
ichudov wrote:
Thanks guys for guiding me. I have replaced the spark wire yesterday. The sparks work GREAT and the flame starts every time.

However, despite that, flame is still NOT detected.

The "tower" on top of the control board, from where the spark electrode terminal comes out, is NOT loose.

I feel that I am making progress, eliminating possibilities at acceptable cost, but still no final resolution.

In that case, then you probably need to follow Doug Rainers instructions above. If you can solder and have the equipment that is...

Good luck!
ichudov
Explorer
Jul 23, 2017
Thanks guys for guiding me. I have replaced the spark wire yesterday. The sparks work GREAT and the flame starts every time.

However, despite that, flame is still NOT detected.

The "tower" on top of the control board, from where the spark electrode terminal comes out, is NOT loose.

I feel that I am making progress, eliminating possibilities at acceptable cost, but still no final resolution.
nicksmarto
Explorer
Jul 22, 2017
Agreeing with Jim@HiTek, I just had the same issue on my Norcold N841. Detected the resistance on the electrode to be about 1.5? but quickly dropped to ~0.1? as the multimeter applied testing voltage.

Cleaned and now that number stayed ~0.5?. Would guess that the actual resistances vary a bit based on conditions, but the moral of the story is that I fixed it by removing and cleaning the electrode tip and all of the connectors of the spark/sense electrode. Happy to avoid replacing the power board.
dougrainer
Nomad
Jul 16, 2017
ichudov wrote:
dougrainer wrote:
The Spark Electrode sense the flame and also sends the spark. IF the spark sparks and lights, then the Piezo tower on the board(where the spark electrode wire spade connects to) is defective OR (most likely) the solders for that Piezo Tower have ben broken loose.
Doug

Doug, sorry, I lost you here, if the spark sparks and lights, then the piezo tower is NOT defective, right?

The flame lights up easily and burns well (it looks like it burns ok)

NO, It does not take much for the Piezo to send the hi voltage spark. A loose connection can do that. BUT, the return flame sense voltage cannot overcome a loose solder connection. I should have worded my post better. The FIRST thing you do is replace the Spark/Electrode assbly. Then check and do the solder if needed. It is RARE for a control board to be the fault from No FL. You can usually tell if the Piezo Tower is loose on the board. Remove the black cover and try to wiggle the Piezo tower. IF it moves slightly, the solders are loose. Doug
ichudov
Explorer
Jul 16, 2017
dougrainer wrote:
The Spark Electrode sense the flame and also sends the spark. IF the spark sparks and lights, then the Piezo tower on the board(where the spark electrode wire spade connects to) is defective OR (most likely) the solders for that Piezo Tower have ben broken loose.
Doug

Doug, sorry, I lost you here, if the spark sparks and lights, then the piezo tower is NOT defective, right?

The flame lights up easily and burns well (it looks like it burns ok)

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Norcold refrigerator "NO FL" code, propane burns fine

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