Norcold noisy

[Canadian_Rainbi]

Norcold 1201 LRIM seems to be getting noisier. The fan(s)--not the ones up top, but sound to be inside and shut off when the door is opened, are quite noise and every 7 seconds or so the sound drops in tone for about a second then goes back up again. Its a fairly low tone, not the grinding of a bearing.

Any Ideas anyone and should I be concerned? We'll be taking this rig back to Mexico this fall and it needs to be dependable.

Thanks in advance

[mchero]

Did you get the bench testing part of it Doug? I can jump the switch, the fans spin up. I open the door, the fans still running. Got it?
Also just tested my Norcold 1210IMD and fans still run. Can we move on now? Sorry I posted what "I" experienced on two Different Norcold.
Perhaps the 1210 models will keep running. I'll double check the model at work.
Thanks

[dougrainer]

mchero wrote:
1200LRIM, Never gets hot enough for the fins to run. But they don't shut off when door opened. Neither does my own Norcold, so I must have 2 bad units! LOL.

If it never gets hot enough for the fans to run, HOW could opening the doors stop them since they are not running???????:h You do not have a bad unit. Something is miswired. One of the funny early complaints on the 1200 was--"what is that noise I hear every time I close the doors?". They never realized that when they opened the door the fans stopped(IF the fans were running). Doug

[mchero]

1200LRIM, Never gets hot enough for the fins to run. But they don't shut off when door opened. Neither does my own Norcold, so I must have 2 bad units! LOL.

[dougrainer]

mchero wrote:
Rear fans stopping when the doors are open? That's odd.
I have been bench testing a Norcold 4 door for the last four days and only time the 2 fans above condenser in the rear shut down is when temp switch opens.

Then something is miswired. ALL Norcold 1200/1201 models the fans STOP when either lower door is opened and the interior light switch is engaged. Doug

[Canadian_Rainbi]

Mine was an older model, fans well below condenser.

New one has the fans above. At least they're accessible without pulling the fridge!

[mchero]

Rear fans stopping when the doors are open? That's odd.
I have been bench testing a Norcold 4 door for the last four days and only time the 2 fans above condenser in the rear shut down is when temp switch opens.

[Canadian_Rainbi]

Finally fixed the fridge. The door hinge broke--tore out of the wood. Temp fix in PV last year, new 1200 LRIM this spring.

[dougrainer]

If the noise you hear STOPS when you open the refer door, it is the rear 2 cooling fans. The ONLY way to access those fans is to pull the refer. There are 2 fans and a fan tstat. REPLACE both fans and the fan TSTAT. Also, run a 2 wire from each side of the fan tstat down the back of the refer and terminate at the rear bottom. Use this 2 wire to test and jump the fans to come ON in case the fan tstat fails again(very common). Doug

[SCVJeff]

You said "fans up top"... The 1200 series has fans in the BACK and the 'noise' from those sounds like it's coming from ~ mid fridge. If there are any other fans above that, they are after market, or NOT NORCOLD OEM

[opnspaces]

I wonder if the sound is the cooling fan on your converter. if your converter is mounted under the refrigerator it might sound like the fan is actually in the refrigerator.

Maybe try opening the refrigerator door and look for a door switch.If you find one press it in and see if the noise starts up. If you can't find a switch but there is a light in the refrigerator, try removing the light bulb. Maybe it;s the converter fan and it changes pitch as the bulb in the refrigerator puts a load on the converter.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

The sound dropping may be the converter doing fluctuating voltage. Try it with no shore power and see if that makes the sound constant.

[Canadian_Rainbi]

It definitely sounds like a fan. I just wondered if it is on the way out and how easy and $$ it would be to fix. From the out side it seems to be coming from behind the control board.

[Old-Biscuit]

There are NO moving parts.....therefore silent operation except for maybe the sound of propane burner if you listen closely

If you hear any noise it would be from fans.......or ice maker.

Unless you hear 'gurgling noises'---that would be from a blockage in cooling unit tubes