Fridge not cooling

[Jasonc]

The freezer appears to be working fine but the fridge isn’t. It’s a Norcold 1210. The cooling fans on the back are running. Thought maybe it was the thermistor since I got OL when I ohm’d it out. Purchased a new one and it reads the same. Any ideas?

[JFlightRisk]

Take a look at this manual. It might help you out.

https://rvrefrigeratorrepair.com/wp-...rvice-1210.pdf

[RoadrunnerII]

Got the same fridge....
After a bunch of changes I have it working consistently.
Added a fan inside the fridge..
I wired into the plunger terminal on left side. Fan only runs when fridge is turned on and the fridge doors are closed. Used a computer box fan 12 volt dc
That balances the cold inside fridge.
Added two additional fans in the back pointing up. The two fans from the factory just don't push the hot air out well enough.
These fridges need to get the hot air out the back.
Ours did not have the deflector installed properly at the top. Hot air was trapped.
The range side of the interior wall was not insulated
Air space above the fridge as well
Filled up the range wall and above with insulation sealed with aluminum tape.

Set at 4 and freezer holds 20*F
Fridge holds 38*F on a97*F day in Florida in March
Per Norcold that is the designed temps.

RoadrunnerII

[RedHorse1]

Are you sure both fans are running? I had the exact symptom and discovered both fans had died. Replaced them and all was good. About a year later the symptoms returned and I discovered only one fan working.
Try putting a small room fan in the lower access area pointing up and see if performance improves. That’s how we got thru our trip when the fans failed. It’s not pretty but we didn’t have any spoiled food and didn’t have to cut the trip short.

[Jasonc]

Ok. I’ll check on that this evening. Thanks for the info

[RoadrunnerII]

The factory fans are on a temperature snap switch that is measuring the upper tubing temp.
You can hear them running if the campground is quiet enough.
This is a known issue with these fridges mounted in Slide outs.
I tapped into the upper fan wiring so the lower computer 12 volt dc box fans I added run at the same time.
Oh and that piece of panelling covering about half the upper vent is needed. It helps with the convection chimney effect. Without it the fridge works terrible.

RoadrunnerII

[Rwollfy233]

Norcold ugh swap out for a dometic

[Adios Pantelones]

Seems to be a common issue with side vent fridges when the temps get high 80s and above. I added two larger exhaust fans directly to the vent and it helps immensely. The 4" muffin fan just couldn't move that much air

[Jasonc]

Checked it this morning and the freezer was -10 and fridge was 22. Come home from work and freezer is up to 25 and fridge is 42. The fans appear to not be running. It looks as though I have to pull the fridge to replace them.

[Adios Pantelones]

Originally Posted by Jasonc

Checked it this morning and the freezer was -10 and fridge was 22. Come home from work and freezer is up to 25 and fridge is 42. The fans appear to not be running. It looks as though I have to pull the fridge to replace them.

Are you running on propane or electric? Mine was fine on electric. On propane the side vent and fan is not adequate. You dont need to replace the fan. I just cut the wires so the snap disk was still in the circuit and attached the new fans to the vent.

[Adios Pantelones]

I also used 200 mm fans which required some mods to get the vent back on. On hind sight I would have went with 140mm or so. The Aerocool fans are really quiet as well. Once everything is installed you can test the snap disk with a hair dryer.

[Jasonc]

Originally Posted by RoadrunnerII

The factory fans are on a temperature snap switch that is measuring the upper tubing temp.
You can hear them running if the campground is quiet enough.
This is a known issue with these fridges mounted in Slide outs.
I tapped into the upper fan wiring so the lower computer 12 volt dc box fans I added run at the same time.
Oh and that piece of panelling covering about half the upper vent is needed. It helps with the convection chimney effect. Without it the fridge works terrible.

RoadrunnerII

So are you removing the fridge to do this? I can’t even see where the wiring from my fans go to. It doesn’t run down to the lower access panel from what I can tell. Also the snap switch? Is it located on the fins at the upper panel ?

[RoadrunnerII]

I pulled the fridge into the interior about 6-12 inches. I think it was 8 screws 4 top 4 bottom. I 5hink 5hey where behind a cover trim. That gave me enough room to work thru the upper vent and drop wire down. Snap switch was mounted chimney side on tube
I patched in my wire into input to fan. Grounded the lower fans on the fridge ground by the circuit boards.

RoadrunnerII

[JimD]

Originally Posted by RoadrunnerII

Got the same fridge....
After a bunch of changes I have it working consistently.
Added a fan inside the fridge..
I wired into the plunger terminal on left side. Fan only runs when fridge is turned on and the fridge doors are closed. Used a computer box fan 12 volt dc
That balances the cold inside fridge.
Added two additional fans in the back pointing up. The two fans from the factory just don't push the hot air out well enough.
These fridges need to get the hot air out the back.
Ours did not have the deflector installed properly at the top. Hot air was trapped.
The range side of the interior wall was not insulated
Air space above the fridge as well
Filled up the range wall and above with insulation sealed with aluminum tape.

Set at 4 and freezer holds 20*F
Fridge holds 38*F on a97*F day in Florida in March
Per Norcold that is the designed temps.

RoadrunnerII

How did you secure your wiring to those door terminals?

[RoadrunnerII]

I used white electrical tape and ran along the side. Then at the plunger terminal I flattened out the copper and taped it down. Basically I took a piece of tape and cut a hole in it for the door terminal to make contact. Stuck it on the terminal.
I used alligator clips mounted to the fan to hold it to the fins in the back. Fan blows out away from the fins. Get very little condensation on fins now

RoadrunnerII

[RoadrunnerII]

Oh and the fan is grounded via one of the alligator clips to the fin

RoadrunnerII

[Jasonc]

Ok. Thought I’d try it on propane today just to see. The fridge cooled to 48 and the freezer to 24. Both fans are running. Which is what I thought the issue was. It’s only 74 outside here today. It’s always been fine before. So any ideas are appreciated

[CAG]

There must be a gazillion threads on "fridge not cooling". Sorry folks these units do not cool when the outside temps are high 80s to 115 (see my posts on what you can expect with high temps). Fans may help, then again they never did much for me. The higher the humidity the less they cool. Gas or electric will make little if any difference.

The bottom line to all of this is it has been very hot this summer and your RV fridge is not going to keep up. If you don't dry camp, replace it with a residential otherwise suffer with the heat.

[Jasonc]

You might be right but for the last 3 years mine worked fine with no issues. I could run it on 5 or 6 and keep the freezer around 0 and the fridge around 30

[JimD]

The question is....Does the flame ever shut off? If it is shutting off then the fridge is regulating to that temperature. If that is the case it could be a thermistor or something in the control circuitry.

If the flame stays on then the fridge is never reaching the temp you have set. This is where the fans, etc. all come into play. Also, they recommend cleaning the flue and burner area. If that is clogged or dirty you won't get the cooling.