Refrigerator Problem

[jkbrea]

I have a Norcold fridge in a '05 Thor Jazz. Couple days ago I opened my trailer and, OMG, it smelled like a dead body. I had it plugged into my house and had some fish in the freezer. I had filled my propane but didn't turn it on. (Lesson learned)
Anyways, it will work on propane. On the front there is a Auto/propane switch. Green for when it's on electric and orange for propane. If I swith to the auto mode with the propane off, it will stay green for about a minute then start flashing signaling its not working. The lights inside the fridge works though so its getting power. On propane, it works fine. Any ideas??

Could also use advice on how to get rid of the smell. I cleaned it with all kinds of house cleaner, wiped it down with bleach, set bowls of white vinegar, boxes of baking powder, did a naked voodoo dance...etc. It's better but still a little noticable.
Thanks, Jim

[wnjj]

jkbrea wrote:
UPDATE: Haven't found out why it won't work yet. On electric, plugged into my house, the fridge wants to switch to propane but the light will work. It all works fine on propane.
The smell is gone! Wiped it down with bleach. Did the tray with coffee suggestion. It kinda worked but not completely. I stuffed the freezer and fridge with crumpled newspaper and shut it a few days. That seemed to do the trick. Thanks for the advice.

Did you check for AC power where the fridge plugs in? Remove the outside cover to find it. The light is 12V so doesn't tell you anything about the 120V power.

[jkbrea]

UPDATE: Haven't found out why it won't work yet. On electric, plugged into my house, the fridge wants to switch to propane but the light will work. It all works fine on propane.
The smell is gone! Wiped it down with bleach. Did the tray with coffee suggestion. It kinda worked but not completely. I stuffed the freezer and fridge with crumpled newspaper and shut it a few days. That seemed to do the trick. Thanks for the advice.

[GMandJM]

Model number might be helpful. Is the green flashing light constant or in a series...like 3 or 5 at a time?

Can you turn it to AC instead of auto? If so what happens?

I would check the power source (outlet) to make sure that it is working right. Low voltage might make the fridge go to LP.

Could be that your control board has flaked out. Might need a reset. Might need a new one.

For the smell: charcoal briquettes (without lighter fluid) and wadded up newspapers with the fridge off and the door closed.

[DrewE]

It sounds like the fridge isn't working on 120V power, but is on propane. Check the 120V element and associated wiring. That won't solve the smell issue, of course, but it might prevent it from recurring next time.

[filrupmark]

We once had a shrimp issue in our garage fridge. Tried many different things with no luck . Then my wife read in the hints from Heloise to wad up newspaper and stuff it in there. So we did and it worked great. Now we keep a little in our fifth wheel fridge while in storage and it always smells nice and fresh inside .

[oldtrojan66]

I too, have a Norcold. My JAYCO is an 07. Occasionally, usually when changing power sources, the fridge will warm up to the loosing food stage for some period of time. The freezer seems to remain cold. I have taken the opportunity to defrost the freezer, which had accumulated to just over 1/2". I have used the diagnostics on board, mainly to watch the fin temp. This last time was after performing flawlessly for seven months. The diagnostic showed a thermistor fault, so I replaced it with a spare I ordered the last time it faltered. Still can't say for certain, what causes issue.

Smell is something I had to deal with as appliance tech for 35 yrs. the trick is finding a smell you like better than dead fish (not difficult!), and saturating the effected area more than bad smell. Clean immediate area with baking soda solution, bleach, or vinegar. Then load up room with Fabreze, room deodorizer, Lysol spray, etc. stay at it till you think bad smell is gone, then wait a couple days and re-do the good smell treatment. Usually works, good luck, and Happy Camping!

[imgoin4it]

Lots of people will have lots of suggestions and most will work. Since I found "odoban" I would try it. Can get it concentrated or ready to use at Home Depot. I use it for lots of things and it works great. Just never used it to get a refer clean smelling again.

[Old-Biscuit]

Coffee grounds spread over newspaper laid out on baking pan

Electric......
Check 120V AC outlet that fridge is plugged into.....is it working?
On control module (outside compartment) is a 5A fuse for electric heat element...is it blown
Electric heat element....not working.

Those are just general issues/problems without specific model