Norcold fridge issue

[SeventyGTX]

We have been living in our fiver close to 8 months waiting for our home to be built. We have been having to keep the fridge on the 5 setting for a few weeks now, especially since temps have been in the 80's.

But this morning I noticed it was 43 degrees in there with an outside temp of 73 with the fridge side in the shade. So I decided to kick it on propane to see if there was any change. About 4 hours later, it is now at 37 degrees inside/85 outside with sun on the fridge slide. It is still on the coldest setting #5 although it still may drop lower on propane. Can anyone tell me if I should look for anything obvious so I can run it on 120? We gotta make this thing last a few more weeks until our home is done.

[RogerR]

I assume you have checked for ice up on the fins. Go outside and check the air inlet and outlet. One big problem is wasps so be careful when you remove the grills. If no sign of wasp nests, birds nests or mice inspect for any other blockage that would prevent proper venting.

Inspect for yellow of fins or parts which indicates leakage. Inspect with mirrors and lights to make sure you are getting good air flow.
If this doesn't help then use the search bar as many have had fridge problems and there are more things to check but I think these are the easiest.

[Grumpy]

Make sure the thermistor didn't get moved down on the cooing fins.

[SeventyGTX]

Thanks guys. The thermister is very tough to move, so I doubt it got moved. I personally have never moved it intentionally. But just tried and I couldn't get it to budge.

The fins are icing up a bit. I don't have a ladder to get to the top vent, but haven't seen any wasps around at all. I took it off once before and it had a large piece of plywood covering 2/3 of it, so not sure I would see much.

[SeventyGTX]

Got the picnic table moved and pulled the upper vent cover. I couldn't see inside because of the plywood, but reached in with my phone and took a few pics. Didn't see any sign of leakage anywhere.

[RedHorse1]

Our fridge is a 4 door Norcold and was having cooling issues on gas and electric. Turns out the 2 ventilation fans on the back side had died. Replacing them required pulling the fridge, luckily the kitchen area has enough room for that.
The plywood baffle you describe is necessary to help move air across the fins. Get your make/model numbers and Google for owner/install/service manuals. Install instructions should have the details for venting and fans if your unit has them.

[Marcm157]

I added 2 DC powered fans at the roof vent of Norcold fridge the help move the hot air up and out. It helped a bit but I am thinking about moving at least one of them down behind the fridge and see if that improves it even more.

[SeventyGTX]

Thanks again guys. It seems better today with the same outside temps. I put it back on electric last night and it seems to be holding temps in the mid 30s. As far as the fan, it came on late yesterday when the sun was beating on the slide. It was working ok, but sounded like a bearing may be ready to go out as it was making an annoying sound. Haven't heard it come on today.

I do remember seeing a video where a guy installed dual fans in one. I may do that when we get into our house. So far if it stays like it was today, we should be ok, unless the temps start ramping up here in the foothills of Arizona.

[edatlanta]

I don't know if this is still the case, but with my previous N1095 Norcold I would notice the freezer temp would increase from the low single digits (set on 6) in the low to mid teens periodically. I talked with Norcold and they said the cooling unit would automatically defrost itself every 46 hours and the temp increase I was seeing was normal operation and can not be changed. Since my N1095 died and I now have a newer model I don't know if this is still the case or not.

[SeventyGTX]

Since I started this thread, it seems to be working as it should now. I have no idea why that one day it would not get cold. Fingers crossed it won't act up again.