Fridge failing - on the road ***Updated to include fix***

[AlmostAnOldGuy]

We are camping and the Norcold N81X refrigerator is not keeping the refrigerator cold. The freezer compartment is still frozen but fridge section is approaching 50 degrees and it is running constantly.

Same issue on electric or gas.

Seems to have deteriorated in last couple of days. That is, cooling efficiency has fallen off and I can hear the gas running every time I check.

Will likely shut down and grab a cooler and ice to finish trip.

The clip on the fins was not knocked loose. Have adjusted slightly higher.

Any helpful thoughts appreciated.


Thanks,
Stu

[hawkeye-08]

Glad you got it fixed. I bookmarked the Norcold guy website.

[myredracer]

Good to know what the fix was in case that ever happens to us since we have the same fridge. Our fridge is in the slide with the upper vent on the sidewall. Has worked well in temps. up to 105-ish.

I hate the way the door seal feels so warm. I may look into installing a switch for it.

FWIW, if running on electric and if the CG voltage gets low it can affect the cooling. The element is rated 300 watts and if the voltage got to a low 105 volts (down from 120 nominal), the element will only put out 225 watts. This could result in the fridge struggling to cool when it's hot outside.

[AlmostAnOldGuy]

That trip in August was the last for the year. Pulled the trailer out of storage in May and repeated test with refrigerator in the driveway and same symptoms - it would cool down fine, then at 48 hour mark warm up too much.

Ordered board from The Norcold Guy swapped out the new board for the old one and now everything works great. Had a nice week at the Oregon coast and the fridge held the temperature great the hold time.

Take it easy,
Stu

[AlmostAnOldGuy]

Wanted to post back and let provide status.

We were able to complete trip and have had the trailer parked in the driveway. Fridge is empty and we put a remote thermometer in so we can monitor the temperature from the house. Replaced thermistor and ensured all connections are clean and firm on circuit board. On both electric and gas it cools fine. Then, after 48 hours it appears to enter a defrost cycle. The defrost cycle seems to last a couple of hours which in 90+ weather (no AC running so interior is hot too) allows it to warm up 10+ degrees. It will then resume cooling.

So, I will either live with it (and perhaps cycle off fridge every morning to avoid 48 hour defrost cycle) or swap out the circuit board.

Thanks again for support and feedback while chasing this down.

Stu

[AlmostAnOldGuy]

Update: this morning the fridge stopped cooling. Was operating on gas. Tapped the thermistor three times firmly and in about 5 seconds heard the gas kick off in a cooling cycle.

Will swap out thermistor when I get home and monitor. Expect that to fix issue. Will clean and check connections for good measure.

Also, thanks for reference to dinosaur electronics should I need to follow up with circuit board replacement.

Stu

[aftermath]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

aftermath wrote:
I might be wrong here but I don't believe the thermistor measures the temperature of the fins. I read somewhere, and it made sense to me at the time, that moving the thermistor up will cool your fridge down. Cold air pools in the bottom of the fridge. As the level of cool air fills the compartment it will reach the thermistor and then shut down the fridge. If you raise it, it will take longer to fill the cool air to this higher level and thus keep the fridge cooler. Is your thermistor loose? When you raise it, does it slide back down on its own?

Remember, these refrigerators do not have fans to circulate the inside air like ours at home do. Venting the fridge is also important. I have had almost no trouble with mine because, I believe, it vents through the top of the trailer. Some fridges vent through the side and usually need an additional fan to help with circulation.

Good luck with your troubleshooting.

Thermistors measure FIN Temp.

Moving thermistor ----if fridge does NOT have an temp settings that can be selected (AUTO TEMP CONTROL)

Still can't get my head around this. Suppose you have a fridge without temperature control. The thermistor attached to a fin will control the temperature in the fridge. Many of these actually have a printed instruction that shows moving it up will cool, down will warm.

If the thermistor measures the fin temperature, how would moving it change the temperatures inside of the fridge? I am assuming here that the metallic fin conducts heat uniformly. We might be saying the same thing. I said the "air" inside is cooler down toward the bottom. Move the thermistor down and it senses the cold and shuts down the fridge. As it warms, the thermistor turns the fridge back on. If your fridge is too warm, move it up so more cold can invade the fridge.

Are you saying that this change in temperature is occurring in the fin itself? If so, then we agree....sort of. I will stick my neck out and claim that the metal fin is far more uniform in conducting heat than the air inside this box.

Semantics. Certainly not worth fighting over. Regardless of our positions, the advice still holds.

[CharlesinGA]

For a new circuit board, look to these folks.

http://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/

Supposedly their boards are much better than the factory ones.

Charles

[AlmostAnOldGuy]

Door seal was a fair suggestion- seal is fine.

When I get home I will grab some Deoxit from Radio Shack and clean up / tighten connections. I can the run in my driveway for awhile and check results. If issue persists will likely swap out circuit board.

Thanks for the feedback.

Stu

[westend]

hawkeye-08 wrote:
When we first got our current trailer (used Arctic Fox 27T), it had some issues and went away after cleaning contacts and unplugging and plugging in some connectors. I have recently found out about a product called DeOxit that I might get to help with the connections.

Sometimes a cold solder joint will cause some issues also..

Good advice, there. Caig (brand) Deoxit D5 will remove oxidation and dirt from any mechanical connection like the thermistor terminal (if not soldered), the wire clip to the circuit board, the power and ground wires for both 12V and 120V operation.

Once you start using Deoxit on the wiring in your RV, you will wonder how you got by without it. I build and work on electronics and have other Caig products like Deoxit Gold (a terminal protector) and Faderlube (used on sliding switches or controls). Deoxit D5 is sold at Guitar Center and also at Radio Shack, if you can find an existing one that is still open.

Good luck with the fridge, it sounds like an easy bug to fix.

[bartlettj]

Check the door seal!

[CavemanCharlie]

SidecarFlip wrote:
Simple and less expensive answer to an absorbtion fridge that don't work well.. A Danfoss Secop compressor fridge. Very efficient (residential units aren't they are power hogs). A Sanfoss Secop fridge is a duty cycle fridge. That is, the compressor (which is brushless and very efficient) runs only enough to hold a set temp and it automatically reduces power use by itself.

In cool down from ambient mode a Danfoss/Secop might pull 5 amps, but once it reaches set temp, it reduces it's power drain to less than 2 amps. About what an amonia fridge pulls with auxiliary fans installed.

Plus, no special venting and they are not affected by high ambient temps. Finally both Dometic and Norcold make drop in replacement units. Basically plug and play for about 800 bucks.

Your really sold on these things. And, they may indeed be great for a lot of people. I am still not sure they would work for me though. They do draw some currant. Not a lot but, some. I go camping for 2-4 days with 2 batteries and I don't know if it would be enough to keep this type of fridge going. Sure, I could then put on solar panels. But, I would have to add that to the cost of the fridge. And, I always try to camp in the shade. Solar doesn't work then.

I think I'll stick to my absorption fridge for now. But, I have a older good one. Some of the new ones don't work very well. i can tell by looking which ones to avoid.

[mr__ed]

I second the motion to replace with a compressor-type fridge, especially if you're usually connected to power. A friend in Yuma has a small TT and did just that. The job was so well done you couldn't tell it didn't come with the trailer when new.

I'm not RVing at this time due to a sudden health issue, but that's what I'd do if I purchased another RV. I would be hooked up to electric most of the time.

[hawkeye-08]

When we first got our current trailer (used Arctic Fox 27T), it had some issues and went away after cleaning contacts and unplugging and plugging in some connectors. I have recently found out about a product called DeOxit that I might get to help with the connections.

Sometimes a cold solder joint will cause some issues also..

[Farm_Camp]

It surely sounds like some sort of wire loose or component trying its best to fail
Doesn’t it.

Reminds me of my old 1979 VW Rabbit: It started having random electrical failures. Wipers would quit. Then they’d work, but I’d have no high beam lights, or maybe no headlights at all. Finally the motor would randomly quit acting as if it were starved for fuel. I had no choice but take it to a mechanic who found the issue to be a tiny crack/s in the board that all the fuses/wires mounted to. Since I was well acquainted with poverty at the time - he fixed it by bypassing the board and hooking the wires directly to the fuse mount and bypassing the break.

Guessing you could have something similar that is opening some circuit or other at random due to vibration or temp swings. I’m glad to see you getting by.