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Old 08-16-2011, 04:18 PM   #1
retired523
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Yikes, our fridge temp is 65!


We have the Norcold two-door fridge with double freezer sections on top. The top right freezer door was replaced only a couple of days ago at Camping World in Greenwood, IN. We're now in the sweet little town of Geneseo, IL and the whole fridge seems to have a problem!

We noticed earlier today that items in the fridge weren't quite as cold as they should be but thought we may have opened the door too many times (although no more than the usual since we bought our 2011 Montana 3400 eight months ago). Since then, the fridge temp has climbed to 65 and the food in the freezer is well on its way to thawing.

We've got it turned to the highest number (9), hoping that would make a difference, but no. I read the manual and it seems like we should be hearing an "audible alarm" for problems but there's not been any alarm sound. I went through setting the controls to automatic mode operation just in case something was disturbed on our seven-hour drive yesterday.

If you have any suggestions, would love to hear from you -- soon! Sure hate to dispose of all the food in the fridge and the freezer. Can't think of anyone to contact at this time of the night and not sure this small town has anyone who can do anything -- certainly no Norcold service providers.

We're loving this RV life but it sure seems like things are continually going wrong with our RV that's not even a year old.

 
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Old 08-16-2011, 04:48 PM   #2
racerjoe
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can you tell if the unit is icing up? that would slowly raise the temp until it gets warm. if it is,maybe the drain line is plugged and backing up the water.
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Old 08-16-2011, 04:49 PM   #3
Rondo
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Irene-- I don't know about the new units but our unit like many others in the Monte's have a slide clip on the fins in the back of the refrig. That slide has a wire connected to it and it controls the amount of cold in the frig. Check to see if your slide has been moved while you had the door replaced at CW.
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Old 08-16-2011, 04:52 PM   #4
awaywego
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Sorry you are having problems with the frig.
Have you tried running on gas to see if it would work until you can get help?
Not familiar with the Norcold so I am not much help but someone else will come along soon that may be able to help.
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Old 08-16-2011, 05:06 PM   #5
retired523
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Thank you so much for your suggestions. There's no ice and the clip on the fin doesn't move at all and the wire seems to be intact. I have changed the frig over to gas to see if that helps -- only did that about five minutes ago so will check it in half an hour. Thanks again, I'll let you know!
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Old 08-16-2011, 05:11 PM   #6
HOOK
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Rv must be level, I know it seems simple but sometimes we overlook the simple things. It will cool better on gas than elec. Use ice chests in interim. Look for some obstruction in flu behind fridge. Even a spider webb can restrict airflow so look closely.Good luck!! Larry
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Old 08-17-2011, 02:15 AM   #7
HamRad
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We've been told by refrigerator folks and others that while you do need to have the unit fairly level that it is not absolutely necessary to be exactly level. As long as you can comfortably move around the unit then you are level enough for the refrigerator.

Also remember that this type of unit takes a few days to get down to the cool level. They are much slower than a regular residential type unit. I hope you get if fixed soon. It is really a pain to not have a good cooling unit on board. Boy do we get spoiled in a hurry. Good luck. Dennis
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Old 08-17-2011, 04:21 AM   #8
Champ_49
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I just experienced this issue myself in the last couple days. I think what happened was the fridge door wasn't closed tight for the night. We noticed the temp at 60* and after changing to gas and all the above I called for service at a local RV dealer. He told me that for every degree the fridge needed to cool back down would take an hour at least. 1 hr. = 1* and he was right, in fact may even take a little longer than that. Took two full days and this morning woke up to it being 32* because I had it turned all the way up. So now that I say this, that formula is even a little off. Everything is fine now, electric and gas.
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Old 08-17-2011, 07:09 PM   #9
HamRad
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Any word on the refrigerator? Curious to learn what the problem was/is. Thanks, Dennis.
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Old 08-18-2011, 01:40 PM   #10
retired523
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We got the word from the repairman - the cooling unit has to be replaced. After being delayed in Indiana for several weeks for repairs and warranty work, another week's delay in Illinois while the unit is on order is not what we wanted to hear. The unit is still covered under warranty (thank goodness), although out of pocket is the $125 for the repairman to come to our site and another $100 for him to determine what's wrong. The good news is that we're at a favorite place - Geneseo Campground. We could probably enjoy staying here forever, but we're headed for Phoenix for the birth of our first grandchild.

Thank you again for everyone's input. Champ 49 - sure hope your fridge is okay.
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Old 08-24-2011, 04:45 AM   #11
sreigle
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Thanks for reporting back on this. And good look getting it fixed quickly and back on the road. I hope you make it to Phoenix before the birth.
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Old 08-25-2011, 02:15 AM   #12
Champ_49
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retired523

For now my fridge is working. As posted before I got it working. But then again the other day it went up to 47 held there all day long. I went out looked and seen nothing out of the ordinary. Then by the next morning it was once again down to 37? I have no idea why this keeps happening except for the fact that this seems to be happening when we make a move from one CG to another. I'm now wondering if the gas is working while en route. Will have to unplug from electricity and check and see if it goes over to gas automatically. This just came to mind. Although I have switched it over to gas and everything seems to be working manually.

One other thing, the day it went to 47 and stayed there it was 99* here in Cody WY. Would that have anything to do with it?

Kinda scratching my head also.

Dave
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Old 08-25-2011, 09:52 AM   #13
sreigle
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Even if you had it turned off entirely while on the road, the electric (or gas) side should bring it back down to normal temperatures within a day. Or less, depending on ambient temperature. The temperature drop overnight is likely due to the ambient outside temperature dropping at night and maybe no direct sun on the back of the unit.

I see you've been in Illinois and you've probably had the same heat we had in Kansas. Our fridge acted up to the point frozen items were thawing, milk was not very cold, etc. At the advice of our dealer's service manager I went to Walmart and spent $6 for a 4-inch metal fan, 110v, plugged it in the outlet behind the outside refrigerator access panel and everything is great. I even had to drop the temperature setting to a warmer setting awhile back. Our compartment had just a single outlet and the fridge was plugged into that. It was situated where a 2 into 1 outlet wouldn't work. So I used a short, heavey power strip to plug both the fridge and fan into. I'd bet a fan in the rear would really make a difference for you.
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Old 08-31-2011, 05:19 AM   #14
sanford1945
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We have a 2007 Big Sky that has that double wide fridge, same thing happened. New cooling unit was $1800 plus $200 It only has a 1 year warranty. If this happenes again in 4 more years I will be looking to change to another fridge. Has anybody else had problems with their double door model 1210 fridge?
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Old 08-31-2011, 07:18 AM   #15
Champ_49
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Even if you had it turned off entirely while on the road, the electric (or gas) side should bring it back down to normal temperatures within a day. Or less, depending on ambient temperature. The temperature drop overnight is likely due to the ambient outside temperature dropping at night and maybe no direct sun on the back of the unit.

I see you've been in Illinois and you've probably had the same heat we had in Kansas. Our fridge acted up to the point frozen items were thawing, milk was not very cold, etc. At the advice of our dealer's service manager I went to Walmart and spent $6 for a 4-inch metal fan, 110v, plugged it in the outlet behind the outside refrigerator access panel and everything is great. I even had to drop the temperature setting to a warmer setting awhile back. Our compartment had just a single outlet and the fridge was plugged into that. It was situated where a 2 into 1 outlet wouldn't work. So I used a short, heavey power strip to plug both the fridge and fan into. I'd bet a fan in the rear would really make a difference for you.
Steve, did you place that fan high in the compartment or low blowing out the vent, so as to draw the heat out? Curious, because I have no way to get anywhere near the top. But I can probably find room to make it like an exhaust fan.

Thanks
Dave
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Old 09-01-2011, 10:37 AM   #16
snfexpress
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Old 08-06-2017, 05:26 PM   #17
donhov
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Have a 2014 Mountaineer with the double door fridge. It failed 3 months ago. Repair teck said he has changed many as there seems to be some type of problem with the cooling unit, maybe some contamination in the coils??? At any rate thank goodness for the extended warranty, covered all but $100 deductable. Works great again. Not much warning before failure, seemed a little warm then back to cold. A few days later 65 degrees inside and didn't get cold again until new cooling was installed.
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Old 08-06-2017, 06:21 PM   #18
cdaniels
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We had the 1210 Norcold. They have a class action law suit because they knew these refrigerators had cooling unit issues. They lost the suit and everyone who filed towards the suit ( on line) started recieving checks this month. $274 annully for 4 years.

Our refrigerator did the same. Worked, got warm, worked, then got warm. Eventually it died on the way home from FL a few years ago. Put the residental Samsung in. Best thing ever! We do however never dry camp. Never added the inverters. We can make it 16 hrs travel time with ice in freezer and refrigerator holds cold.
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Old 08-06-2017, 07:00 PM   #19
rohrmann
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We have the 1210, had the cooling unit fail due to crystals plugging up the plumbing. Was covered by our extended warranty, but still cost the shipping, tax, and the extra cost of the tech coming to our site. That unit worked for maybe 5 months, then failed. This time it was the unit leaking. Norcold does not pay labor for their warranty, plus they shipped it to the wrong place, so had to pick up the extra shipping, so cost almost $900 for the warranty replacement. That sucker is working better than the original unit, the beer is almost too cold to drink and the ice cream is hard to spoon out of the carton. We are also getting the settlement payments, and if this unit ever fails, it will be a residential unit that goes in.
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Old 08-07-2017, 01:02 PM   #20
oceandansar
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they are ticking time bombs! I hope none of you ever have to go through what we have gone through with this bomb. A fire in an RV is no joke and that norcold is not to be taken lightly.
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