Norcold 3 way refridgerator not drawing propane overriding to battery and draining it

JB67

Our norcold 3 way seems to be going to battery even when it says it’s going to propane. When attached to car or when boondocking, the battery goes down fast. Any ideas?

JB67

We are in a Tab 400 2021 Boondock 

Verna

@JB67, Norcold has a great technical support group. Either look for your paperwork from when you received your T@B, or Google their contact info. They will need the model number, and possibly your ViN of your 400. I’m not sure if they are open on weekends. 

JB67

Thanks Verna. We’ve tried calling them multiple times Thursday and Friday. No one available to take your call. Our dealership had the same response too trying to call on our behalf. 

Sharon_is_SAM

Isn’t there a switch above the frig that has something to do with running on 12v vs LPG?

JB67

Yes we use the switch with green light when driving so it will go to battery. The battery drains there too. But when we have the switch off and switched over to propane it’s still pulling and draining the Battery 

Sharon_is_SAM

@JB67 - please see @bergger comments June 10th in this link.  https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/8075/switch-above-400-3-way-frig-only-required-to-operate-frig-when-on-battery-as-confirmed-by-nucamp/p2

bergger

Try running it only on propane and not on the auto propane mode, just the strictly propane mode with the 12v toggle switch off, and see what happens to the battery.  Have a fully charged battery when you do.  On this mode it should not have much affect on the battery.  We just got back from a 9 day trip using propane for the fridge when camped and the 12v mode when traveling and it performed very well.  It should only draw a lot off the battery when on 12v mode.  Not sure what kind of alternator you have on your TV but if it's a higher output one even towing on 12v with the alternator and the solar you should be able to maintain good battery levels.  We never went below 88% after 8 hours of towing in good sunlight.  Also if you have the victron battery monitor and use the app on your phone you can see the draw off the battery when you turn on various appliances etc.  That can be helpful in seeing what and when juice is being pulled off the battery. 

Tundra57

When you select propane I think you need the fan switch on. You can hear the igniter ticking. If it fails to ignite the screen flashes.

In propane mode 12v only powers the screen so it should not discharge the battery, draws less than 1A. In dc mode it pulls over 10 A when cooling.

Are you sure its the fridge causing the drain?

Tundra57

I have same fridge in 2019 Tab 400 boondock

bergger

The fan switch above the fridge only needs to be on if selecting 12v.  It does not need to be on for propane or shore power.  If in propane only mode, not automatic mode, like Tundra57 said the fridge draws very little 12v and should not drain the battery down.  With mine on propane I can hear the ticking of the ignitor and hear the flame if I listen carefully. Also go outside and you can see the pilot light through the vent cover or just take it off to confirm it is lit.  I agree that there may be something else draining the battery or the battery is not properly charged to start with?

narniaorwhat

I’ve a 2021 Tab400 and fridge stopped working on propane, took it to the repair place for norcold to send a new board for them to install. When they were replacing the board, the technician mentioned to us that our battery wasn’t even connected to the fridge (another thing that must have slipped past quality control). As people above mentioned it, fridge might not be what’s draining your battery.