Norcold N8X refrigerator not cooling

[PAL70]

I have a 2020 Jayco Melbourne 24L and it has a Norcold N8X refrigerator and the freezer does cool down to about 35 degress but the refirgerator does not coool at ll. I have checked the thermister and run the unit without it for several hours - no change. Any suggestions

[RetiredOne]

I guess I'll ask the most basic question. Did you advance the temp adjustment to it's highest setting on the control panel?

Then, check the location of the sensor on the fins in the back of the fridge, and slide it up a bit. It should stay on the fins.

[Martigg]

Our’s is a 12 cu. ft. but is the mh level? Our’s will not work if on a greater than 3 percent grade. (Norcold says 6.) Our’s also takes a long time to get cold. (24 hrs. at least.) Although they had to order it I ordered a refrigerator temp. sensor from Walmart. Wireless. One sensor for the freezer the other for the fridge. Ap. $25. Now we can monitor the temp. without opening any door.

[PAL70]

Yes I have the setting all the way cold and the thermister is as high as I can get it on the find.

[PAL70]

The unit is almost perfect as far as level goes. Thanks for the input.

[JimD]

Does problem happen on AC and propane? Try operating on propane and see if the flame shuts off. If so, then the problem could be the thermostat. If the flame stays on then the fridge is still trying to cool down and would point to different areas. It is easier to see whether it is trying to cool if there is a flame rather than having to measure the 120 volt element.

Does the unit have vent fan(s) to pull the air up and out of the back area. They have been known to fail.

You need to narrow down the problem of whether the unit is trying to cool and failing or shutting off before it has reached a low temp. If it is trying to cool but getting nowhere that could be a big problem. If it shuts off before cool that could be a thermistor, control board, etc.

[PAL70]

It does not matter as far as AC or gas. It is the same issue. The freezer gets cold about 35 degres and the refer does not cool. The condenser gets hot for both. I am not sure about vent fan. I have only had the unit about a month and it's still under warranty. The unit does not shutdown and at night when it is cooler outside the freezer gets cold and then during the day when the outside temperature gets hotter the freezer gets warmer. I am trying to figure this out because the dealer won't be able to get it in until mid June. Not happy with the dealer at this time.

[Tim413]

I would try calling Norcold they helped me in the past.
They will work with mobile tech’s.

[PAL70]

I called Norcold and they told me to take the thermister out and let it run for 8 hours on the coldest setting. If there is no change contact an authorized dealer/repair shop. No help.

[Martigg]

As previously mentioned ours is a 12 cu. ft. but Norcold recommended to a repair facility that the exhaust fans on the back side on the refrigerator unit needs to come on sooner & run longer. They implemented this fix. I don’t believe Jayco built sufficient venting area on the back side to exhaust the heat build up while operating.

[JimD]

Any idea what fix they used for the timing of the fans? I would think the timing would be controlled by the board.

[PAL70]

Thanks for getting back to me. I think based upon my research the venting is th issue but I am not sure how to correct it. I guess I will have to wait until I can get it in to the repair facility in mid June.

Thanks for your help

[Martigg]

They did not replace the board. The exhaust fans must be thermostatically controlled. Sorry I can not be of further assistance.

[RVermont]

There were some earlier post related to venting and adding exhaust fans to the top of the unit. I believe it was Rustynuts that had a pretty good explanation of his original problem with lack of venting and finally adding fans to improve efficiency.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by PAL70

I called Norcold and they told me to take the thermister out and let it run for 8 hours on the coldest setting. If there is no change contact an authorized dealer/repair shop. No help.

Sorry you're having trouble. Two thoughts - if it's ventilation related, would pulling the outside cover / access panel off, and dragging a fan there - possibly help?


Second - call a Mobile RV Tech. Find one that you like and trust. I'm not trying to get Negative Nicky or Doom and Gloom - but most RVs will need a lot of things fixed over the years. Waiting on the dealer is usually ill advised.


I've gotten to know a Mobile Tech and he's the first one I call when there's something I can't fix myself.

[PAL70]

Thanks for your input. I don't hear the freezer fan coming on so I asume it is ventilation. All fan fuses check out fine. I have owned 3 other RVs - 2 of which were brand new, none of them were Jayco, and this one has the most problems for a 2020 unit.

[kayakkeith]

I have an Entegra Qwest which is the the Melbourne prestige under a different name. I went through Jayco for the warranty issues. I am currently working on that very issue. Since my Fridge is pulled out I have included two pictures for you looking down from the top. The first you can see the small fan below the fins and if you follow the red wires to the right you can see the temperature sensor connected to the coils that tells the fan to turn on. Then I took the second picture so you can see the bottom coils to orient you if you want to look up for the fan in your unit. Since you are under warranty you certainly want to take advantage of it but I will tell you that the bigger issues with the fridge will not be solved through warranty. This is a gas absorption fridge meaning in simple terms that the heat in the fridge is sucked out by the fins inside and sent to the black fins outside that you can see above the fan. As designed it will not cool if outside temps are above 80. Check the owners manual and it tells you that. To make it possible to cool in warmer temps I am in the process of adding two more fans to suck the heat out the top. Many people have done that and it then enables this kind of fridge to cool in warm temperatures. In addition there are two scary issues. The first is that the flue exhaust actually gets hot enough to burn the plywood in the Jayco unit as seen in the third photo. The other issue is that if the gas absorption unit spends too much time out of balance or just gets too hot the ammonia and chromium in the black pipes can burst out and poison and burn down your RV. I am installing an ARP boiler sensor which also includes an added fan control. The device shuts the fridge down if it gets to 400 degrees and also turns on the added fans I will be installing. In addition to all of this fun info that you do not want to hear; Jayco did not follow the install instructions for the fridge so the opening area around the fridge is larger then it is supposed to be thus making the air flow worse and they also routed much of the electric cables right there as well. Finally above the fridge they have a large opening which is why you might notice the storage next to your controls for things like the grey and black water seems to get really hot. This larger opening at the top really ruins the flue effect that is supposed to naturally carry the heat away. Now, yours is not two years old and so I do not imagine you want to dig in and re-engineer it as I am. What you can do right now is direct a house hold fan to point into the bottom fridge access door. If you do that you should find that your fridge will cool down nicely. Simple fixes include adding a 12 volt fan to the bottom or top vent, search amazon they have kits for that. Another option eventually is there is an Amish company that makes better absorption coils that have twice the capacity and the units are designed to swap in to replace the unit. I am handy with tools and bought some 1/8 inch plywood and set the opening to the specs directed by Norcold and added a metal plate at the location of the flue outlet. That combined with the ARP and two IP67 computer fans (IP67 dust proof and water proof) which will enable the fridge to work at higher ambient temperatures and also give my wife and I piece of mind. While we love our rig, however: the number of issues we have had under warranty (8 trips to the dealer in two years) is rather astounding. Realize that we use it a lot and that I look over it with a careful eye. For instance rolling around underneath I found there were two holes where wires came out and the foam that was supposed to fill those holes was only partial. Mice or bugs anyone? I found that contacting Jayco warranty directly sometimes enabled the dealer to suddenly find a time to fix the item sooner. Hope that helps and sorry if it includes info that bums you out, but honesty is what I wish I was provided with in relation to the rig.

[Paradiddle1]

Mine was not quite cool enough - and i and have a Non Fan model - I did see some Youtube stuff and one was that the "chimney" needs to be not oversize. so some people did mods with baffles and filled in areas that trapped the heat. Then added a 12v fan with a sensor. He also tested to see if putting a temp fan in the lower opening (I used a 110v small fan) to see if it changed performance. Another this is to pull off the thermistor and that basically puts the fridge in full cooling mode. I have an older unit and did replace my propane nozzle as they get rotted out.

So identify how it runs on 110v - in a 24 hour period. I used a digital thermo and I have a cheap temp gun. I get -5deg now in freezer and about 38 in fridge on 110v - before it was 10 deg and 48. I went up top and cleaned out the insulation that was tangled up in the upper coil. Someone must have pulled the fridge out

[SHMILY03]

probably already thought of this, but be sure the camper is level for fridge to function properly.

[spark of insanity]

I hate the one coachman put in. It takes forever to get cold. I start it a few days before we leave otherwise it is a warm fridge. They told us it was the seals so they fixed it. I hope it works on the next camping adventure. Otherwise camping world is going to see a very frustrated person.