Norcold N811 fridge-no power

[agesilaus]

OK we have a Norcold N811 and it was working fine a few weeks ago. We powered it fdown when we got home. When I tried to power it up again to get ready for another trip the display is blank and it does not respond to the on/off switch.

1) 12V Fuse is OK
2) Checked 120V outlet that the fridge is plugged into with an outlet tester and it is fine.
3) Propane is OK, runs stove burners and oven OK

so this seems to come down to the circuit/power board.



I don't know where the power board is tho, is it inside this black box in the outside access hatch?

Also how can you get to the on/off switch, there doesn't seem to be any way to open the panel. Do you have to pull the fridge out from the wall?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

[Gjac]

How are you making out with your refer problem?

[Gjac]

Another thing to try is the other end of that eyebrow ribbon where it attaches to the control board. When mine would not work on electric I removed that harness connector and cleaned the contacts with a pencil eraser and reconnected the harness and all was well again. If that does not help I would remove the control board and look at the back side and see if you see any burned tracks in the solder tracks if so it might be the control board.

[agesilaus]

OK just an update.

OK the only thing left seems to be the eyebrow panel on the front of the fridge. A trip to YouTube showed me how to get to it. I opened it up and it was quite dirty. I gave it a clean up with contact cleaner. Still does not work tho.

Thinking back on this, I have not been able to set the temp on the fridge, I could cycle thru only some of the temp settings but no matter where I set it, it would revert to setting: 5. Maybe that was an early sign of trouble.

So I suspect either that board or the membrane switches which I don't see a way to get to so far. There is only a ribbon cable and I don't see any obvious test points.

Any suggestions?

[agesilaus]

OK by flashlight, I pulled the wires from that round device in the bottom side of the flue. I fridge did not respond to the off/on switch with the wires disconnected or with them shorted out. I see from the drawing all the way at top that there is another device above that switch. A thermister? Do I need to check that and how?

If these are not the problem what is left? The circuit board has 12V and the two fuses check out with an ohmmeter. Amazon has a replacement board, should I order one or call the mobile RV guy. I tried the guy we used last time, he is not taking work until after Christmas. But there are a couple of others in the area.

The replacement board is $128 and the rv guys are $100/hr including travel time so the cost is about the same.

[agesilaus]

OK how do I check that switch? I see something with wires running to it inserted in the flue, so I assume that's it. Do I just short it out?

I got 12V at the circuit board BTW. And when I was cleaning up the compartment I found a circuit diagram on the bottom of the compartment. Unreadable since it is under all sorts of flue piping.

[Old-Biscuit]

dougrainer wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
How come NOBODY has stated the obvious FIRST thing to check? The Hi temp switch On the Cover of the FLUE????????? Doug

Ding, Ding, Ding......winner/chicken dinner!

I was shocked you did not mention it. Doug

Got 'side tracked' about lower circuit board cover......
You know----shiny things LOL

[dougrainer]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
How come NOBODY has stated the obvious FIRST thing to check? The Hi temp switch On the Cover of the FLUE????????? Doug

Ding, Ding, Ding......winner/chicken dinner!

I was shocked you did not mention it. Doug

[Old-Biscuit]

dougrainer wrote:
How come NOBODY has stated the obvious FIRST thing to check? The Hi temp switch On the Cover of the FLUE????????? Doug

Ding, Ding, Ding......winner/chicken dinner!

[dougrainer]

How come NOBODY has stated the obvious FIRST thing to check? The Hi temp switch On the Cover of the FLUE????????? Doug

[Itinerant1]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

Itinerant1 wrote:
This is what's behind that black plastic box.Arrows are to the fuses.

That doesn't look like a circuit board for the Norcold N811 like OPs fridge model

You're correct it's an 821, I had to look at my fridge for some reason I was thinking it was an 811. My apologize. 😞

[Old-Biscuit]

Itinerant1 wrote:
This is what's behind that black plastic box.Arrows are to the fuses.

That doesn't look like a circuit board for the Norcold N811 like OPs fridge model

[Itinerant1]

This is what's behind that black plastic box.Arrows are to the fuses.

[agesilaus]

Flute Man wrote:
You might make sure that the 12 V battery is not discharged.

I have a bank of four six volt golf cart batteries and have a volt meter on the 12V bus. All is well there and all the other 12V gear is working. I'll pull that black box off in the morning to check the fuse and I'll check voltages on the board too. I'll call the mobile RV guy if I don't figure it out in the AM.

[Flute_Man]

You might make sure that the 12 V battery is not discharged.