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kkimkozi28's avatar
kkimkozi28
Explorer
May 21, 2015

No power to Norcold refrigerator

I have a 1998 Jayco Eagle Lite that I purchased last year. Upon getting it ready for the first trip out this summer, I cannot get my Norcold refrigerator to turn on. NO lights come on when I push the ON/OFF button - NOTHING. I have tried it hooked up to electric, just propane and just battery...nothing. Also perplexing is that none of the panel lights on the tank level panel will work either. I changed all the fuses yesterday. I have attached a pic of the panel. (The first day I hooked it up, I presses one of the buttons to check a tank level and the lights flashed very quickly on then off and nothing since then.......)
Thanks for ANY help anyone can provide!!!
  • Plugged into shore power you should have 120V AC power to trailer....

    With 120V AC power you should have 12V DC power via the 'converter'

    No 120V AC power than battery should supply 12V DC power

    You need 12V DC power for fridge controls


    As suggested check on trailer tongue for a small box that has battery positive cable going to it and cable from it going inside trailer.
    That is a DC Circuit breaker. Some are auto reset and many are manually reset.
    Look for small button on side to reset

    Also need to check that you installed battery cables corrctly and not reversed.
    Reversed polarity happens a lot when batteries are replaced. Battery cables are not standard colors.......can be black & white, can be red & green can combination----so trace battery cable to frame--that is n=ground/negative on battery.

    If connected backwards then 'reverse polarity' fuse(s) on converter are probably blown (30A or 40A fuses---can be on back or front of converter)

    With the shore power plugged in........
    Check main AC power panel
    Main circuit breaker closed...all individual circuit breakers closed and see if converter is in a circuit breaker OR if it has a cord that needs plugged into an outlet.


    Then check ALL DC fuses in DC dist panel.......usually with main ac panel
  • kkimkozi28 wrote:
    OK. That will be the next step. Unfortunately I'm at work all day. I'll check that out tonight. And what happens if it comes back to have no power?

    You may have a tripped breaker in the battery's positive (+) lead. It is located close to the tongue. I would think that if the converter is supplying 12V power, though, it should supply enough current to operate the fridge.

    If you had a momentary flash of lights from the fridge, you may have a short somewhere and the fuses may have blown again. Your new meter will verify that the fuses are good or bad.
  • OK. That will be the next step. Unfortunately I'm at work all day. I'll check that out tonight. And what happens if it comes back to have no power?
  • The meter, commonly referred to as a multi-meter can be obtained at Home Depot, Lowes or Harbor Freight.
  • OK. Brand new marine battery. Fluid levels were checked and hooked-up to battery charger and charged the other day. Rig has been hooked up to 120V for past 24 hours. As I am new to all this diagnostic stuff - what kind of meter do I purchase and can I get it at Home Depot?
  • lets start at the source, even plugged into 120v you need a good charged 12v battery. so start at your battery. check water level and clean the post and connectors . . after that checks out. find the fuse that handles the frig, check.with meter.