Fridge not cooling on highest setting

[Bierp]

Originally Posted by walterc2

When you say the highest setting, do you mean numerically? On our norcold refrigerator, 1 is the coldest setting, and progressively higher numbers are warmer. In other words, if you put it on 1, that is the coldest setting.

Sorry, that's not correct for the 2118.

From the Norcold 211x manual:

Select one of nine (9) temperature settings:

- The number one (1) is the warmest temperature setting.
- The number nine (9) is the coldest temperature setting

[richfaa]

Same as above.

[Bierp]

Originally Posted by BuilderBob

Check the seals around the doors you can put a dollar bill close the door and see how tight the door seals are

I wanted to do this, but I only had a twenty.

[Ed and Carole]

This may help in the cooling of the refrigerator. Smart RV Products sell 12 volt cooling fan units that attach next to the coils and distribute cold air through out the refrigerator which in turn will make the refrigerator operate more efficiently. Their instructions on installation and wiring are very clearly written.

[biankym89]

I had the same issue in the Montana I just trade in. Verify the the bottom of the refrigerator does not come up with the interior heat generated during storage. when the floor lift up, the center plate that close to seal the 2 doors remains open and air escape. I had to do a home repair and after getting the center seal moving freely, the refrigerator was still not as my previous forest river unit. The freezer was not capable to make ice or maintain the ice cream frozen.

[BerryrunCamper]

Thanks for all of these great suggestions. We found a small problem with the door seal at the bottom that we’ve corrected. We purchased a 9v fan to install but haven’t yet done it.

The exact model is 2118 and 9 is the coldest setting. That’s what we’ve had it on. We have a fridge thermostat with an outside display (so we don’t need to open the door) which we’ve verified using another thermometer. Freezer stays at 5-10.

We had a family emergency and had to return home a few days ago so it’s sitting in the driveway not being used. Without the door being opened it’s staying below 40. We’re getting ready to go out day after tomorrow again and we’ll know if any of these things have helped. I suspect from what I’m seeing that a new thermistor may be needed.

[walterc2]

Originally Posted by Bierp

Sorry, that's not correct for the 2118.

From the Norcold 211x manual:

I stand corrected. I had it backwards, and besides that, our fridge is a Dometic anyway!

[Bierp]

So I did the dollar bill test, which was a cool suggestion. It showed that I was getting good seals, but, I have to manually close the 'flap' every time because it won't close on its own.

I've known this for a week or two now, but hadn't had time to delve into it. The first thing that was glaringly obvious to me was that at the bottom center of the fridge, right where the flap flaps open, there was a large "Made in America" sticker. So +10 for being made in the US, but -1000 for putting a large, extremely tacky, very shreddy sticker right where the critical moving piece is. (And I'd bet more than a few bucks that the sticker was made in China, but I digress.)

Anyway, I got out the trusty razor blade box knife and the trusty bottle of Ronsonol lighter fluid (the BEST sticky remover in the world!) and got to work. The sticker was a mess and it was clearly rubbing against the flap. The bottom of the flap was tacky with the goo from the sticker. I cleaned it all completely, but alas, it didn't help. The flap still rubs on the bottom and won't fully deploy unless I manually move it.

Manually moving it helps keep things in a tolerable range, but it's not my only issue on this unit. Still, for today, I'd like to be able to get the darn flap to work. I don't see any clear adjustment options for it. It seems to have fixed screws into the door and the door didn't jump out at me with any obvious adjustment points. (And as I said, it is sealing sufficiently to pass the dollar bill test, once I close the flap.)

Anyone know how to tweak this?

[Butch & Kathy]

I had the same problem with the door flap while under warranty had a dealer fix it by putting a shim (washer) under the door pin to raise the door slightly.

[goodellj]

Originally Posted by walterc2

When you say the highest setting, do you mean numerically? On our norcold refrigerator, 1 is the coldest setting, and progressively higher numbers are warmer. In other words, if you put it on 1, that is the coldest setting.

Wow, I have also had difficulty getting sufficiently cold temps with my Norcold N811. We set it on 5 lots of times. The temperature control has 5 settings and is labeled "1 2 3 4 5" and above the control says "cold ... coldest". This agrees with the manual. But I will try setting #1 and see what I get for a temp just to satisfy my curiosity.

[Hobos3]

Hello,
We have had amazing performance from our 2013 Norcold 1200 since we put the ARM cooling and boiler control on. We had it done in the desert campout at Quartzite by the fellow who invented it. He’s from Helena MT . Also you are never going to get it cold enough with the factory controls AND have serious risk of a fire starting while you’re on the road. Get the ARM control right away. Then your Norcold double door will cool properly. Oh with the double installed in a slide the problems are the worst. Good news is the ARM device comes with 12 volt fans. One is installed on the top vent and the other on the bottom vent. They are controlled by the little microprocessor of the ARM device.

[wprantera]

My wife and I bought a 2017 340BHS in September of 2016 and everything was working just fine. Fastward to Memorial day 2017 and the fridge no longer cooled day or night. So I by-passed the thermostat relay near the fans, which power the fans on manually. Bingo it worked and the fridge the next morning was at 34. Not wanting to burn the fans out by running them 24 hours a day, I went to the local harware store and bought a timer, outlet cord, gauge wire and some terminal ends. What this did was allow me to turn on and off the fans during peak heat or at night to ensure the fridge was good and cold in the morning. Thank god I did, the dealer was so back logged that they weren't able to replace my cooling unit until mid august 2017. I used this setup on several trips between than and it worked great. I have a picture of my set up but I am having techincal difficulties trying to figure out how to attach it to this post. Hope this helps.....

[wprantera]

With a little help I was able to insert a pic. Hope you all enjoy...it works if you are ever in bind thats for sure. No one like warm milk!

[Bierp]

Thanks for that. I don't have my schematic handy. Is it just one relay controlling all three fans? Is it easy to identify?

[Bacfyr]

Ours started warming also problem was bad contact between cooling fins and small clip that I believe goes to thermostat. Took the clip off and reinstalled, problem solved. They evidently develop a corrosion between them. May not work but only takes a second.

[Bierp]

Originally Posted by Bacfyr

Ours started warming also problem was bad contact between cooling fins and small clip that I believe goes to thermostat. Took the clip off and reinstalled, problem solved. They evidently develop a corrosion between them. May not work but only takes a second.

Yeah, that's the first thing I checked. It was brand new and had no corrosion. I ran a resistance check on my multimeter and it was perfect. I also ran the unit with it disconnected and got the same results, so that's ok.

[wprantera]

Originally Posted by Bierp

Thanks for that. I don't have my schematic handy. Is it just one relay controlling all three fans? Is it easy to identify?

It's pretty easy to find. Take off the upper cover and you should be able to see the upper cooling fans. On my unit the thermostat relay is on the left side and there is 2 red wires going to the relay. Remove the 2 red wires with fridge power on and touch them together. The fans should kick on and if everything else is working correctly. In my picture you can see that the 2 wires going to the right were for 110 power and the one's going up are to the thermostat relay. Just plug one red wire in each end doesn't matter white or black and set your timer as you feel neccessary. Remember you want the fans on during the hottest part of the day and during the night when the fridge isn't being used to be able to start the morning off nice and cold. Hope this helps, because it worked for me.

[JohnandJoyce]

I have a 2018, 3810MS, Montana Norcold frig, and my RV frig goes from 1-9. 1 is the lowest setting!!! The higher the number the colder it gets. And YES!!!! It takes a FULL day plugged in to get cold.

[rslopez65]

found this on another website after having a problem with the flap on the fridge not closing correctly. We have to make this adjustment every once in while especially when road conditions are bad. Our fridge, even in Florida 100 degree heat stays pretty much at 34 degrees. Hope this helps with the flap problem.

The issue we have discovered and remedied is the flap attached to the left fridge door not closing completely against the right door seal. To visually verify this is happening on your fridge, open both fridge doors and close only the left door. Is the flap fully against the stop in the black plastic guide mounted at the bottom center of the fridge opening? If you gently pull the flap toward you, does it move further? We found the left door "settles" during regular fridge use and over-the-road transport. When this happens, the flap tends to start scraping against the plastic guide and does not swing fully closed.

If the flap in your fridge is not closing completely, you need to raise the left door with the adjustment screw that is mounted in the center of the bottom hinges (on both fridge doors). Lay down on the floor and while applying upward pressure to the bottom of the left door, adjust the set screw counter-clockwise. Rotate it a couple of turns. Then check the flap for free movement. Continue raising the door with the set screw until the flap swings freely.

[Bierp]

Thanks for that. I do have the flap issue. We’ve been manually pulling it closed as I wasn’t sure how to adjust it. I’ll try your method.