Anyone cleaned gas jet on Jayflight Norcold fridge

Jake · 09-01-2015, 09:39 AM

So my 2012 185 RB jayflight slx, has fridge problems , it won't light on gas, works great on 120 volt and 12 volt. I am fairly handly and have worked on propane fridges before (old VW bus fridge I converted to cottage fridge)
So I have confirmed that this Norcold 3 way fridge has sparker working (I can see the blue sparks with burner cover off) I definetly have gas going to bypass pilot lighter because I can light some gas in there with a bbq lighter stuck in there, but the gas flames location (with red buttion held down by my wife) is actually occurring back along burner outside the tin box somewhat ...so my guess is that the gas orifice for the actual burner feed is plugged. I did vaccum out alot of rust and road dirt when I opened the access panel to back of fridge, and I further used compressed air to blow the crap out of the area..........but access to this whole burner area is really tight.
I have viewed a few you tube videos and there are "similar" frdges, but not exactly the same, so in theory I suspect I need to somehow access the orifice , but I suspect I need to remove alot more parts . has anyone else done this on these smaller Norcold fridges ? The tin box that is left after I remove the tin box cover and the one screw still leaves a tin box with three sides and so still seeing the burner end is impossible it seems. I dare not loosen the gasline nut that goes into the tin box without knowing I am heading in right direction. thoughts anyone ?

mike837go · 09-01-2015, 09:52 AM

YUP!

On our first boondocking, the fridge would sorta work on gas and then quit on the first overnight. Eventually, I found the aluminum filings from the gas tube had clogged the burner orifice.

I removed the burner from the fridge. Then bent the tip of a safety pin to poke the jet clear via the air intake holes. Reassembled. Been fine since!

And all the hair has grown back on my right hand. There are good ways and bad ways to find a clog in a gas line. I discovered one of the bad ones.

Jake · 09-01-2015, 10:15 AM

thanks Mike , when you state "I removed burner from the fridge".......are you saying you just took the tin cover off, or did you take apart more?

I do see the 3/4 inch air intake slot on the end of the gas feed line (because that is where the gas ignites now instead of at the burner end) but maybe I can bend a pin and put it in there but it would be blindly hoping you hit the hole...even as I type this I have to figure you took it further apart ? Did you ?

mike837go · 09-01-2015, 10:32 AM

On the back of the tin box (chimney) is an observation hole that is generally kept closed.

The burner assembly enters the chimney from the left and is held in by 1) the gas line and 2) an almost invisible sheet metal screw.

Disconnect the gas line (fridge on 120VAC) and remove the screw to wiggle the burner assembly out.

I was able to clear the orifice at that point. But, according to the manual, the brass jet parts can separate from the stainless steel burner.

**norty1** · 09-01-2015, 10:41 AM

I removed mine once by taking the gas line off and removing the screws needed to pull the orifice and gas tube out. I was able to blow compressed air thru it in the opposite direction after pushing a very small piece of stranded wire thru it. It has worked flawlessly since.

Caution: do not do anything to enlarge the orifice.

Jake · 09-01-2015, 10:46 AM

The almost invisible screw !!! .........Okay that is the one I will look for and then I suspect I will be able to access the way you and Norty1 did. ......now I got to find a brighter flashlight !!!! smile

mike837go · 09-01-2015, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by norty1

...snip....

Caution: do not do anything to enlarge the orifice.

An just what is so wrong with an inefficient orange flame, sooty combustion and excessive carbon monoxide emissions?

Iraqvet05 · 09-01-2015, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike837go

An just what is so wrong with an inefficient orange flame, sooty combustion and excessive carbon monoxide emissions?

On a grill, it will ruin an entire meal...don't ask me how I know.

Jake · 09-03-2015, 05:42 AM

I looked at it again the other night and found those hidden screws .....even one for the thermocouple retainer.........EXCEPT ! that you need hands the size of a baby to get in there, and then you need a flexi screwdriver (which I don't have), so trailer went to the shop (40 mile round trip) yesterday.......I will report the results in a few days when I get it back.

mike837go · 09-03-2015, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake

I looked at it again the other night and found those hidden screws .....even one for the thermocouple retainer.........EXCEPT ! that you need hands the size of a baby to get in there, and then you need a flexi screwdriver (which I don't have), so trailer went to the shop (40 mile round trip) yesterday.......I will report the results in a few days when I get it back.

I take exception at "need hands the size of a baby". My hands are men's medium. What you need is lots of Band-Aids for the numerous cuts from the sheared metal when you manage to get your fingers free again.

I've been fixing cars since I was a kid. And stuffing fingers into tight places just to get that last...stinking...bolt....was a routine activity.

**norty1** · 09-03-2015, 06:25 AM

I have the proper tools with magnets to hold the screws in place.

silverark · 09-03-2015, 07:00 AM

Magnetic drivers are the best but if you don't have one a little grease on the end works good too.

mike837go · 09-03-2015, 07:54 AM

8" long tools are useless when the screw you are after is just inboard of the burner's cylinder (so you are reaching over/past it) and you have the refrigerant reservoir to the left, occupying the space where the handle of the screwdriver needs to go.

It's awkward at best. A short (3") #2 Philips, nimble fingers and lots of good light!

Then a light touch to wiggle the burner assembly out.

Jake · 09-08-2015, 08:25 AM

So I got back mytrailer Friday evening , and the bill came to a whopping $470 with taxes.

So I want people’sopinion on whether I got fleeced. So when I dropped trailer off last week atDealer I told them the same as I told you folks above, that there is gas going to fridge and that stove works fine. But it seems that orifice is plugged because flame (with BBQ lighter and holding down red button) is outside the tinbox, and won’t light where it needs to at burner end. And there is spark from red button sparker button. …….So the tech calls me at work Friday morning as he starts working on my trailer and tells me I need a new regulator , that no gas is going to fridge. I tell him that seems odd because the stove works and I had gas at fridge. I asked him politely to humour me and to try and reset the regulator or hose and that I bought (a new hose before I went on vacation and that stove and furnace worked fine on vacation ) I told him to please try the reset I had read about on Jayco internet site about closing tank, burning off gas in lines by using stove , and then reopening propane tank SLOWLY. He stated he would look at it again and call me back. He did not call me back and when I called to see if it was ready the secretary tells me it is all done ready to pickup.

So I go get it and get given the $470 bill. The tech comesout and tells me that is was multiple things and that beside regulator he also had to replace the new hose I bought, he said it was defective and he put a new one on, and that it still did not work so he then also cleaned the orifice and now the fridgeis working. So parts and labour and taxes $470. I don’t have the energy to argue the point, but I do pay and call them back when I get home , and I ask for the Service Manager. I tell him politely that I think the tech used the trial and error method to work on my fridge and might have been too embarrassed to admit that all along all it needed was cleaning. So the service manager wanted me his customer happy and was willing to talk to his tech , but that his tech had worked for them gasfitting for 30 years so he was pretty sure he knew what he was doing. I stated don’t bother talking to him, I might need him in the future and I don’t want him upset with me from now on. So I left it at that……………what do you folks think? Oh and by the way I took the new hose and blew thru it by mouth slowly and it lets the air thru, but if you blow thru it fast the check valve closes , and I thought that is exactly how the hose should work. I suspect the hose he put on does not have a safety check valve in it.

mike837go · 09-11-2015, 09:52 AM

First, I hate dealer service departments and don't trust independent repair places either.

A propane hose should not have a check valve in it. So the hose you bought earlier may not be defective, but it certainly is inappropriate.

I would strongly recommend you start reading up on what each component of your RV does. What to expect when each piece is working properly.

Then keep an eye and especially an ear on how each appliance behaves when they are in use. That way you can identify a problem early, order parts before the thing fails completely and repair it yourself with the confidence of knowing what went wrong.

Jake · 09-11-2015, 10:19 AM

Thanks Mike and I agree, I have been doing a lot of reading to catch up from my last trailering days with an 1983 Terry Taurus...........a few more safety features since then and older fingers to do the work, but it seems I better buy the tools I need for these tricky small spaces and do it myself from now on!

RedHorse1 · 09-11-2015, 01:32 PM

It does sound like he threw parts at it until the problem went away. You throw parts at a problem until it goes away and you've proven every part you replaced was defective. It's sad that a little diagnosis (and listening to the customer) would have suggested cleaning the orifice would have been the logical place to start. I might suspect the problem description he was given was something like, "fridge, no fire".
It was good for him in that his billing rate still looks good, "30 years of great billing? We LOVE this guy". It's too bad that when the new regulator didn't fix the problem the old one wasn't put back on. But then again since the stove worked which part of the regulator wasn't working? Same story with the gas line you replaced. I'm starting to talk in circles now since I'm back to diagnosis or listening to the customer.
About the gas hose you bought, if it has the big knob that connects the hose to the tank then the shut off valve is supposed to be there.

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