133 AC volts for Norcold

katcatkmc

Advanced Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2021
Posts
42
Location
Groveland
2019 Jayco Melbourne 24L
Norcold N8x

Fridge is intermittently failing on AC. I measured 3.3v this morning on fridge outlet plug & after resetting 30 amp switch it now reads 133v. Is this too high? My power surge protector reads 120v. Avoiding propane mode due to distance of filling propane. Last week I had a complete AC power outage & had to replace some of my relay box wiring. Fridge was working & had AC on then all off. I’m hoping the fridge voltage isn’t causing a power issue.
I think we’re getting power surges at the campground but I have a surge protector installed.

Thank you.
Kathleen.
 
133 volts is too high although that is not necessarily "damaging" high, but right there close to it, especially for a prolonged period of time. However, it is not possible to have 120v coming in to the RV and finding 133v anywhere in the RV unless you have another source turned on such as an inverter. (for others that may read this, my comment applies to 30A RV's not 50A RV's). You should use your voltage meter at the pedestal and check there and then back at the outlets inside the RV and as you stated the outlet the refrigerator is plugged into. If you don't have an inverter and\or you are sure that the one you have is turned off or that it doesn't power the refrigerator outlet anyway, then most likely your meter has issues.

With the Norcold N8x, the freezer will always get cold much faster than the refrigerator, this wouldn't indicate an issue by itself as long as the refrigerator does get cold, just that it takes longer.

Let me know though if you have 50A service for your RV as that could\would change my thoughts and suggestions. ~CA
 
One other quick question, can you check the display on your norcold and see if there is a flashing LED and if so, count the flashes, should be a sequence up to ~10 or so then a pause and then a repeat? I remember that most (even my older one) will flash a code that can provide some diagnostic information. It would also help if you could share a little more details regarding your statement "Fridge is intermittently failing on AC", does this mean ??? display goes out, error code, just to warm or something else? ~CA
 
Fridge shows green light & electric plug icon. It did flash yellow quickly when trying to level couple days ago. No caught codes. By intermittent I mean all is well then fridge warms up & eventually freezer warms up. I always bubble level & then let my slide out. That has always worked in the past. I lived in my RV for a year in 2023 & never had this issue.

I’m now seeing ~123v for the fridge outlet. After seeing the 133v, I measured inside my RV & saw ~120-123v & my surge protector was ~120v. I am camp hosting so the only other power at the post is a 20v outlet for the golf cart & a switch to power the shed. My RV uses 30 amp not 50.

Another question. I am having to raise my front quite a bit to level. Tires are 5 1/2 & 5” off the ground when measuring from hanging front ti. Will this be an issue for a 6 month time frame?
 
I would be very concerned with the voltages you saw if you don't believe that you misread the 133v or have a bad meter. One thought I have regarding your 133v reading is that the voltage coming into the RV at the pedestal went up to 133v and by the time you went back and checked the surge protector voltage it was back down. I would suggest if you don't have one, purchase a plug in voltage meter and plug it into an outlet near wherever you spend the most time in the RV and keep an eye on it whenever you walk by or think about it. Not to go deep, but there are certain conditions with poor or loose wiring connections from the pedestal to its source that can cause higher voltages that can be up one moment and down (way down) the next moment and then settle back, but with a loose connection it generally will get worse instead of better.

Which surge protector do you have? You really need an "EMS" surge protector, as if the voltage of 133 was not a misreading then it could go much higher, so high that it could cause costly damage to your RV converter, wiring, microwave, almost everything... A/C for sure. An EMS will shut off the power before the voltage would get that high as well as protect for other similar concerns. I have the Progressive 30 hardwired but they sell one that you connected at the pedestal, which maybe the style you already have.

Regarding your refrigerator, if you do have issues with it again, check for a flashing LED on the display and count the flashes. Here is something to know though and I suspect this is what you are seeing, the Norcold has a defrost timer that triggers a defrost cycle right at 48~50 hours after the last defrost cycle and a defrost cycle last 2~4 hours (I have read reports of 6 hours). There is no heating element (as a home fridge) so it takes a quite while, temps go way to high inside the fridge and freezer, and is a poor design imo. Also keep in mind that when this occurs it is not random but also never the same time of the day. I never noticed this issue for a few years as I suspect the defrost cycle hit at night. Also, the defrost doesn't actually defrost the freezer much if any at all, but it will defrost the fins in the refrigerator if they are coated in ice. Not too mention, the defrost cycle gets the refrigerator fairly warm (on my N8x) and takes forever, hours and hours to get it back cool again (at least to the <40 degree safe zone).

The Good News is that if you will turn off and back on the refrigerator every morning for just a minute or two, the timer will reset and therefore will never hit a defrost cycle. That is what I suggest you do being a camp host and knowing what can happen if you don't keep your food <40 degrees. If the coils ever do ice over (as they certainly can and will in humid conditions) then you would be much better off to turn off the fridge and use a hairdryer and defrost it as quickly as possible and then turn it back on, evening time would be better for a faster recovery. Beware not to overheat anything though. btw, some icing isn't an issue, the issue is with a lot of icing. If you see light or partial icing on the fins then that is not really an issue where defrosting is needed.

I don't have any specific thoughts on your front tires being up in the air other than I would be a bit uncomfortable doing that long term and instead would try to pull forward or reverse to flatter ground, and then if needed use some ramps to get as close to level as possible and then deploy the leveling jacks, that way some of the weight is still on the tires and suspension. (you may want to start a new thread regarding the jacks and leveling as perhaps someone with your same setup could provide specific information). ~CA
 
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Another question. I am having to raise my front quite a bit to level. Tires are 5 1/2 & 5” off the ground when measuring from hanging front ti. Will this be an issue for a 6 month time frame?

I believe Jayco's official response would be - no, please don't leave them up that high, on jacks alone. While I've left ours up pretty high for a couple of days, I think if I was going to be there 6 months, I'd buy or build some ramps.

That's a long time to have your front end suspension dangling.
 
Please take a voltage reading from neutral to ground at the pedestal without the plug being in. Ground is the pin and neutral (I believe is the larger blade). Starting at the pin, the counter clockwise is neutral. The reason to check this is to see if they are the same. If there is a lack of ground on the system, it can look as though your voltage is floating, when it truly is not. Should be zero volts. If you truly are getting surges, (which I doubt) most surge protectors will not for more than a few minor ones, or one good one.
So, if it’s still working, most likely not getting surges.
Another thing, 3.3 volts on a circuit with a tripped breaker is not unusual.
My question is, what caused the 30 amp breaker in the pedestal to trip? Did you have some kind of electrical event that caused it to trip? Does the plug go in very easy and is a little loose or is it a good tight connection?
 
I have a Gear Go Tech model FC-03 surge protector. 30A, 125v, 3750w, up to 8000 joules. Another camp host measured the post wiring (lower panel wiring-wiring coming in which comes in from a transformer behind his host spot & from me goes to the back host-no other sites have hookups, just the 3 hosts-he thinks it’s an odd setup-I have no idea) & at first seemed to get off readings but eventually settling down. I’ll take a reading at the post where I plug in. For 30amp I can read 120v? I guess so since I did on my protector. My plug fits fairly snug.
 
Your surge protector is likely a quality surge protector however you need an EMS style that yours is not (based on my quick check of the model you have). An EMS is an Electrical Management System. In other words an EMS is more than a surge protector as it has the ability to monitor the electrical voltage (and other conditions) and if the voltage gets too high or too low it will disconnect disconnect the RV's power in order to prevent very expensive damage to the electrical appliances and components inside the RV. This is extremely important in order to have protection to your RV in a situation such as you described as the conditions that allowed your connection to get to 133v could just as easily be 150v or even more next time. Even if a person is awake and watching the voltage, if it gets very high very quick, you will never get to the pedestal to disconnect the breaker or unplug before the damage is done, and ems will shut it all down within a second, (which sometimes still isn't fast enough but still your best bet).

This is what I recommend, The progressive industries (PI) ems (it connects just like what you have)


However, Amazon recommended to me this one and as far as specs go and the reviews it seems to be just as capable and 100$ less and also connects the same as what you have. Assuming the specs and reviews are all legit, this one would be a better value.

 
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Voltage from the post was ~0.1-0.3. This morning I’m getting very low voltage on outside fridge plug. 0.1…. Inside camper I get 123v. Why?
 
If all of your RV outlets (or most all) have 123v but not the outlet the refrigerator is plugged into which has less than 1 volt, then the issue would be with the refrigerator outlet's circuit. It could be a loose connection at (inside and behind) the outlet or at the circuit breaker panel that this outlet is wired or even another outlet wired between the breaker panel and the refrigerator outlet. Checking loose connections can be very dangerous if mistakes are made, but checking for a loose connection could be relatively safe if the RV is not connected to the shore power or any other source during your checks.

What I would suggest you do, disconnect the shore power, pull the cord far away from the pedestal especially if anyone is around that could mistakenly plug it back in while you are making these checks, and check the wiring connections at the Refrigerator's outlet. There could also be a loose connection between the refrigerator outlet and the breaker panel which means that the wiring could be loose on an outlet that feeds the refrigerator's outlet.

If you are even a little uncomfortable with any of what I am suggesting, then I highly encourage you do have someone who is comfortable help you (preferably an electrician) as some of the electrical mistakes a person could make could cause serious injury or even death. ~CA
 
Jumping back to an earlier point that is important. Does your Melbourne have an inverter (which I suspect it does) and have you verified (double check) that it is not turned on or in standby? (it needs to be completely off and verified it can't come on while you check any connection) I don't know what inverter would be installed on yours, but some inverters can turn themselves on when there is no incoming power, similar to a computer UPS system which could result in a condition where the shore power pedestal has low voltage, inside the RV some outlets have ~120v (provided via the inverter) and other outlets (that are not wired into the inverter circuit) have little to no voltage. ~CA
 
A skilled friend installed a new auto transfer switch & thought he checked wiring connections for the breaker box in same location.
I’ve checked the inverter and it is off via on/off button. Model is Krieger 1100W.
After putting fridge on propane option & 12+hours later I’m seeing 5 red dot flashes, pause, then repeat. My Googling says something about not enuf battery voltage. Control panel shows battery full. Is it running off house battery in propane mode?
I’m at a different campground now and will check fridge voltage outlet again. Camp hosting at the other campground wasn’t a good fit.
 
A skilled friend installed a new auto transfer switch & thought he checked wiring connections for the breaker box in same location.
I’ve checked the inverter and it is off via on/off button. Model is Krieger 1100W.
After putting fridge on propane option & 12+hours later I’m seeing 5 red dot flashes, pause, then repeat. My Googling says something about not enuf battery voltage. Control panel shows battery full. Is it running off house battery in propane mode?
I’m at a different campground now and will check fridge voltage outlet again. Camp hosting at the other campground wasn’t a good fit.

There's a common problem that the wiring that supplies the 'fridge in later Jayco's wasn't thick enough and voltage drop was a problem. The 'fridge was seeing 11ish volts or something.

It's been posted about here a lot. Running a dedicated wire from a 12V source to the 'fridge was the solution for many.
 
What kind of house batteries do you have? If you have lead acid or glass mat batteries 13.9 is a little high, unless by settles out, that is when your plugged in to shore power. These batteries after charge complete and no shore after a few hours should be 12.6 or so volts.
If Lithium, then 13.9 is ok.
 
Well, so far, fridge is working on power, day #2. I tried on propane just to test it out and after 20 hours, nothing was cold. Will check 12v battery without shore power when I’m disconnecting everything to leave.
 

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