Norcold fridge

Corvairdave

Finally heading out on our first trip of the year and found our Norcold fridge is working well on propane but not on 110 volt. It's a 2010 and I imagine the original fridge. Is there a breaker or fuse somewhere? TIA Cheers, Dave

rcarlson1957

I have a later model (2018). All the wiring to it is under my 2 burner stove above the fridge. 4 screws hold the stove in place. On mine there are big yellow in line fuse holders for both 110v and 12V power under the 2 burner stove. There are also fuses for 12v and a breaker for 110v in the converter.

hammerstone

My heating element gave out several years ago.  If you have the layout with the cooktop over the frig, you might be able to remove the cooktop and check the resistance across the 120 heater element to see if it is bad.  Otherwise you've probably got to pull the frig.  That isn't too bad a job, at least once you've done it 30 times like i have   Let me know if you have to go that route or ask for input on doing it.  

Cherokee

• If the crystal still generates a spark: check the gap, clean the fire box, pipe and therm-coupler - there are several you-tube videos on how to do this 

Grumpy_G

Yes there is a breaker for the fridge in the "power center" (the converter/12V fuse, 120V breaker box). IIRC in the older T@bs the AC power wiring can rub against metal parts of the fridge and cause a short, and the breaker to trip. Had to fix that on a friends T@b 320. If the breaker is fine, proceed as suggested by @hammerstone.

hammerstone

@Corvairdave

I found some old pictures and happen to have my 3163 on a bench, so i checked and the DC heater element (on mine, YRMV) has the yellow leads, and the AC element has the black leads, which might be useful in addition to what @rcarlson1957 said.  I took a picture of the two fuses, the 3amp is for the 120V, and the 20amp is for the 12V, see attached.

Hopefully it is just a bad fuse, but if you do end up needing to replace the heating element, and have to pull the frig, i have an unedited video showing the location of the element and the insulation that comes off.  I wasn't able to attach it here, maybe it is too large.  @Sharon_is_SAM, can I upload a video of 9.3meg somewhere? 

Your method may vary, but i removed the burner box to get the vent pipe out of the way, in order to access the insulation.  In the attached single picture, you can just see the slit that exists in the insulation, and i think what i'm trying to say in the video is that I slit the foil to access the 12V and 120V heating elements.  In hindsight, now that i know what the insides look like, it might be possible to remove the two upper stacks (halfway done in the picture), and then slide up the insulation block and the two heating elements at the same time, without cutting the foil.  Those two elements are not easy to remove from their pipes, which makes sense from a heat transfer point of view.  That insulation blanket is obviously important, and i now have to hold mine together with zip ties.  So if you can keep it intact that would be best.  And as shown the DC heater element is ON TOP of the AC heater element, so you'll have to remove both.  

I'll also suggest if you do purchase the heater element, there are two different elements depending on your 3163 Serial Number (ask me how i know).   Model and SN are located inside the frig on a tag (at least on mine it is).  Below is an image of the SN split and the heating element needed based on the SN.  

I needed the 61745322 and they are still available from AdventureRV.net for $50.

If it is not the fuse, you might be able to check the internal resistance and see if it is to spec.  I don't know where i found it, but i have an old email saying 81.7-90.3 ohms is the spec, but i don't know if that is for the 61745322 or the 630805.  And, when i checked mine it was 81 ohms, which Norcold at the time told me was "close enough" but when i took it out and applied power to it, i got no heat.  So just because it measures in spec doesn't mean it will work.  If you get no heat and you have power downstream of the fuse, i'd say the element is bad and you'll have to pull the frig.

All of this may be superfluous if you have a bad fuse or some other power trouble, but i thought i would type it up in the event others need the information.  and of course, others might chime in with better information.  I was trying to tag @Cherokee and @Grumpy_G but not getting the hyperlink so it may not be working.