Refrig/freezer issues

[Levi777]

Our refrigerator is set on 9 and the freezer is set on high, but the freezer isn't freezing things, meat has thawed, ice cream has melted, and the refrigerator keeps the milk at room temp.

Any ideas? This was happening at home base, and we defrosted the freezer thinking that was the issue, but it didn't help.

[Levi777]

We are plugged into electricity, and not running off propane.

[jcurtis934]

Jeff, it would help the forum to understand what fridge model and manufacturer you have that is being nasty to you. John

[Levi777]

John, thank you. It's a Norcold Model 1210.

[1retired06]

We had a 1210 in a previous unit, with similar symptoms. Had to add additional seals at the doors to stop cooling loss. Could also be a failed cooling unit.

[jimcol]

Jeff, Try switching over to propane for a few hours. Electric heat elements can go bad. Jim

[Levi777]

I do not detect cooling loss. I'm thinking another $150 bill for a mobile RV mechanic. He's a great guy, and very knowledgeable, but he is expensive. I'll start digging into it tomorrow and see if I can figure it out.

[Levi777]

Jim, switch made to LP gas...we'll give it about three hours and see if that makes a difference. THANK YOU! We would have rather read, "flip this switch", but it is what it is...RV living! Gotta love it! No lawn to mow!

[rohrmann]

For these units to fail, coolant loss, which is when you see yellow stuff dripping in the back, is just one way, and if you see this or smell ammonia, immediately turn the unit off, so you don't burn your rig to the ground. The other failure is when the coolant has developed crystals and those crystals clog the orifice in the system. We have had both types of failure in ours, and both this year, and both failures require replacement of the cooling unit.

[Levi777]

When you say "require replacement of the cooling unit", do you mean the entire refrigerator, or a part?

[rohrmann]

The cooling unit. It is the entire unit you can see on the back of the fridge when you look at it from the outside. It is quite a project, requires at least two strong guys to remove the entire refrigerator, lay it face down, and R & R the cooling unit. The cooling unit is going for about $1600, and that is a new Norcold unit. Labor for a mobile repair for the last replacement was $600. Shipping and tax are extra, plus there may be other costs. I was lucky for the first replacement, as it was covered by my extended service contract, less a deductable, plus they didn't cover shipping or tax. The second replacement, Norcold covered the unit cost, but they messed up on the shipping, sent it to the wrong location, and they do not cover labor. The techs that did the last replacement said if it had been a Dometic unit, the labor would have been covered, as the second replacement was less than five months after the first replacement.

[jimcol]

Don't know about the Norcold but on my Dometic it is as simple as pushing a button. That takes it off auto and puts it on gas. I had to replace the cooling unit on mine. After watching a few U-Tube videos and excellent support from RV Cooling Warehouse, it was pretty easy.I can see where bigger units would be harder. Check out this video and many more from this company to get a better understanding of how these units work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqAHaTpexc

Good luck and let us know what you find. Jim

quote:Originally posted by Levi777


Jim, switch made to LP gas...we'll give it about three hours and see if that makes a difference. THANK YOU! We would have rather read, "flip this switch", but it is what it is...RV living! Gotta love it! No lawn to mow!

[Levi777]

Yeah, I went to the Americold website, and read the Warranty contract. A lot of hoops to jump through.
One of my purchases today will be a temperature gauge for our fridge and freezer, then I'll know for sure if it's getting colder with propane or not. Seems like it is.

Thank you for the reply! I be learnin' lots!

[jimcol]

If it is getting colder on propane it is not a difficult job to change the electric heating element. You just have to make sure you get the correct one. Jim

[Rondo]

Jeff-- You haven't mentioned what year your RV is and which model. As Jim has stated switch it to propane and see if that makes a difference. Also, check the thermo on the fins in the back of the unit and see where that is located on the fins. It makes quite a bit of difference where that is located at. If your unit is a newer unit 2015-2016 it is still under warranty and all would be covered by that. I'd also call Customer Service of both Keystone and the manufacturer of the refrig and get your case on file. I just might be covered by them also. Let us know what you come up with.
Oh, also if you do not have anything in the frig or freezer, put something in both because they cool better if they have something to cool rather than just the air inside.

[Levi777]

Hi Rondo. We have a 2009 Montana, pulling it with a 2013 Chevy 2500 HD. Yeah, we got stuff in there. I put the thermometers in there, and the freezer is at 27.9 and the fridge is at 47.1. We cleaned out the drip tray and blew air through the drain line, its clear. We also checked the seal on the fridge and its good. This has been an off and on again issue, so I don't think its an element gone bad.
I remember when we picked this up, it was in the low teens in Seattle, and we had to have a service tech come out to where we were staying, and fix the issue because the stove wouldn't work, the hot water heater wouldn't heat, and it all came about because the coach wasn't drained of water, nor winterized, and the water froze solid.

After that fix, it worked great for about a year, then we started having this intermittent issue.

[Dontana]

I had the same exact experience as the OP. Mine wouldn't work on gas or electric. Called a very good mobile tech and he reported that the previous night, for the second time, he also had the same issue. He said, "neither dometic or norcold has these things figured out yet." As a consequence, and since he resides in his fiver with a wife and small child, he bought a residential unit the previous evening.

I wanted some different options. He went through the usual ones, e.g., motherboard, cooling unit, etc. He also said that he had previous success with his own unit, when he determined the problem to be plugged coils by using the hammer technique. He said that it might be worth a shot for me, too.

After he left, taking his advice, I opened the exterior panel and placed my hand around the large coil to find where it turned from hot to not, which in my case was at one of the lower sharp bends in the coil. At this location, I sharply struck the coil with a hammer about five times.

That was in early June and my fridge worked great from that day, until I closed it up at the end of September. I have two RVs and don't travel with the Montana, because it is on a seasonal lot. As "insurance" I bought a small igloo fridge/freezer to use for perishables, when I go home to cut the grass during the season. I'll probably stick with this method for a while, but it sure isn't a permanent fix.

[Preston & Terri]

Add this to your troubleshooting, http://www.arprv.com/norcold-thermistor.html . I just replaced mine today.

[Levi777]

Thank you Dontana. I will check that out. Right now it seems to be working okay. I bought thermometers and put one in the freezer and one in the fridge. The freezer is freezing and the fridge is not, but neither is it room temp. The freezer is running from 10 to 20 degrees, and the fridge is low thirties to low forties, all depending on how often we open the door. I was also able to turn the setting down from 9 to 6. The thermometers will let me know if there is a problem again, and we can then pursue your sage advice. I'm not willing to wake the sleeping tiger..

[Levi777]

EMCS retired, thank you for that page. (I will treasure it always!
In my limited electrical understandings, I will bark up that tree soon. Good information!