I am one of the people who had a fire caused by my Norcold refrigerator in 2007. I (and mainly my insurance) had a new Norcold 1210 IM installed as a replacement. This fridge is now icing up the fins at the back and the inside temperature is at 30 degrees. I know that means the heater in the flapper is not working. Upon looking closely at the fridge, on the lower left door where the flapper is, there are 3 wires, 2 whites and a green, that attach to a white plastic plug that have problems. One of the white ones is intact to the plug, the other white one is broken off at the plug and the green one is frayed about 1 inch from the plug. I think I can possibly fix the green wire, but the broken white one is not going to be possible to strip back and reattach. I have called the manufacturer, who gave me a number for a flapper repair kit that is not the correct kit (it only has 2 wires rather than 3). What I need is a new wiring harness and then I could just replace the whole thing. I refuse to buy a new door or a new flapper for 2 broken 12V wires! What a piece of junk this fridge is!

With luck you may only need one of the white wires. Put a ohm meter on the one good white and the green to see if you have a couple of ohms. Turn the refer off first. My 04 only has two contacts for this heater and a 6" loop of small wires between the door and the flapper.

The door Flap Heater is NOT to keep the fins from icing. It is to keep the fresh produce from having moisture. If you leave the refer on without shutting it off, every 48 to 54 hours the refer shuts off for a few hours to help defrost the icing on the fins. Ice on the fins is NORMAL. The Fins will be 10 degrees colder than the temp in the fridge-----35 degree fridge temp, then 25 degree fin temp. Doug

The fins will also ice up if the door is opened frequently, left open while drinks are being poured, of if the door seal is leaking. Atmospheric moisture that gets into the refrigerator freezes out onto the fins.

There are so many who just love residential fridges in their RV's. I have 3 RV's and all three now have residential fridges (one is a dorm room fridge). They will all run on 12V with an inverter while traveling. No good for propane, but then again, it's nice having frozen ice cream rather than nut filled chocolate slime. :) I won't bash Norcold or Dometic, but I will say I'm VERY happy with these fridges. They are much cheaper too (especially nice used ones on Craigslist).

I am very happy with my Norcold 1200. No problems.

The infamous Norcold refrigerator! Rant! | Good Sam Community

12 Replies

bigdisplay
Explorer
Mar 14, 2015
Tedtoo wrote:
Success! (At least I think so.) Took off the door and the flapper and was able to resolder the wires! Added a little extra piece of wire to each and heat-shrinked. Have the fridge door and flapper back on and fridge running.

Since someone asked--I have never had ice on the fins before. This Norcold 1210 IM was installed in my 2000 American Dream after I had a fire in my original Norcold 1200LRIM in 2007. The current fridge had a recall after about a year.

Thanks for listening to my rant. Hope this fixes everything. Now to put the TV mount back on the door I installed where the original analog TV was in the bedroom and remount the new digital TV. I covered the inside of the cabinet with fabric that matches the cornice board in the bedroom. I am through with upholstery and electronics for the time being. Nascar time!

on contrare Iam on my third DPMH and therefore my 3rd 1200 series fridge and they all have the fins ice up and then defrost (cycle)
that why the "drain tray" and tube is just below the fins in question
Tedtoo
Explorer
Mar 14, 2015
Success! (At least I think so.) Took off the door and the flapper and was able to resolder the wires! Added a little extra piece of wire to each and heat-shrinked. Have the fridge door and flapper back on and fridge running.

Since someone asked--I have never had ice on the fins before. This Norcold 1210 IM was installed in my 2000 American Dream after I had a fire in my original Norcold 1200LRIM in 2007. The current fridge had a recall after about a year.

Thanks for listening to my rant. Hope this fixes everything. Now to put the TV mount back on the door I installed where the original analog TV was in the bedroom and remount the new digital TV. I covered the inside of the cabinet with fabric that matches the cornice board in the bedroom. I am through with upholstery and electronics for the time being. Nascar time!
bigdisplay
Explorer
Mar 14, 2015
crasster wrote:
There are so many who just love residential fridges in their RV's. I have 3 RV's and all three now have residential fridges (one is a dorm room fridge). They will all run on 12V with an inverter while traveling. No good for propane, but then again, it's nice having frozen ice cream rather than nut filled chocolate slime. :)

I won't bash Norcold or Dometic, but I will say I'm VERY happy with these fridges. They are much cheaper too (especially nice used ones on Craigslist).

the Fridge being discussed is the 1200 series Norcold.NONE of your RV,s have any such thing(not even close).Putting a "barfridge in a large MH is a ridiculous suggestion and is not what is being discussed here.
donandmax
Explorer
Mar 14, 2015
crasster wrote:
There are so many who just love residential fridges in their RV's. I have 3 RV's and all three now have residential fridges (one is a dorm room fridge). They will all run on 12V with an inverter while traveling. No good for propane, but then again, it's nice having frozen ice cream rather than nut filled chocolate slime. :)

I won't bash Norcold or Dometic, but I will say I'm VERY happy with these fridges. They are much cheaper too (especially nice used ones on Craigslist).

Yeah but installing them yourself is a real PITA. I'll stick with my 19 yr old Norcold which has never given me any problem and keeps the fridge @ 32/0 deg in any heat anywhere.When it goes out I'll probably get another one..Or be off the road by then because I 'm an old guy.!!
ArchHoagland
Explorer
Mar 13, 2015
Good luck with your repairs.

I'm curious as to what make and model motorhome you own.
Tedtoo
Explorer
Mar 13, 2015
Thanks for the responses. Today I am taking the lower left door off and will see if I can get this thing disassembled. Then I will be able to see what I need go do. Will let you know how it goes.
s_N_s
Explorer
Mar 13, 2015
Just a suggestion but try rvcoolingunit.com. They have plenty of parts for Norcold and also sell fin fans that circulate the air within the fridge to prevent the icing. We've had the fans in our Dometic for 3 years now and NO more icing on the fins. Good Luck!
the_silverback
Explorer
Mar 13, 2015
I am very happy with my Norcold 1200. No problems.
crasster
Explorer II
Mar 12, 2015
There are so many who just love residential fridges in their RV's. I have 3 RV's and all three now have residential fridges (one is a dorm room fridge). They will all run on 12V with an inverter while traveling. No good for propane, but then again, it's nice having frozen ice cream rather than nut filled chocolate slime. :)

I won't bash Norcold or Dometic, but I will say I'm VERY happy with these fridges. They are much cheaper too (especially nice used ones on Craigslist).
CloudDriver
Explorer
Mar 12, 2015
The fins will also ice up if the door is opened frequently, left open while drinks are being poured, of if the door seal is leaking. Atmospheric moisture that gets into the refrigerator freezes out onto the fins.