Another Norcold 1210 Problem

[jimandlaurie]

We have a problem with our 1210 Norcold. It works great on propane ,but doesn't cool on electric 12v or 120v. Trying to troubleshoot it, i.e. checking the fuses, but the controls light up ok, but no luck otherwise so far.
Any ideas on how to fix or is this going to be a trip to the RV repair?
I see alot of folks retro-fitting a residential unit which sounds great,but sometimes we only have 12v or propane available.

[DQDick]

Your frig will not cool on 12v. You have to be plugged in to run it. On propane it is using 12v to run the controls, but not the cooling.

[jimcol]

A lot of you already know this but the following explanation to me many years ago finally made sense of RV Refrigerators. 12volts from the battery or converter is always required to the control board. If your frig is set for gas the control board will tell the propane valve to open, ignite the burner, heat the ammonia solution in the coil and cool the inside of the fridge. If the frig is set for auto it will look for 120v first, if that is present it will turn on the 120volt electric heating element on the coil and heat the solution and cool the inside of the fridge. If 120 is not present it will revert to propane and follow the first scenerio.
If you are working OK on propane check the 120 volt plug the refrigerator is plugged into. Plugs have come loose and breakers have popped. Hope this helps, Jim

[jimandlaurie]

Thanks Folks , I will double check the power at the Plug in and Breaker and such. Senior moment had me on not remembering from my boating days about the 12v power role in the system. Duh!

[jimandlaurie]

Checked power to the plug where the unit plugs in. Got power there, but refer still dead on 120v. Looks like a time to wrestle with the dealer.

[psomers]

See if your getting 120 volts to heating element. If you are could be element is open. I've replaced one before.
Remember when rv refrigerators were 3 way. 12 volt element, 120 volt element and propane. Guess I'm telling my age.

[jimcol]

quote:Originally posted by jimandlaurie

Checked power to the plug where the unit plugs in. Got power there, but refer still dead on 120v. Looks like a time to wrestle with the dealer.

Don't head to the dealer yet. If you are getting power to the element set your meter to ohms. Should read like 45 to 50 I think. Usually if the electric heating element is bad it reads open. Jim