Norcold Fridge on AC (not working)

Nomad

As Photomom says - make sure your aux fan is actually working.

R_CUP_A_Tab

Thanks for the indoor/outdoor therm suggestion, it works great. After 24 hours the inside temp remained at 86-87 degrees. Tried propane for several hours but still no cooling. After several calls to the Apache dealer in Everett, WA they discovered that they also have a new 2017 T@B (maybe more) with the same symptoms. They also discovered insulation inappropriatly stuffed in and around the heat exchanger at the top of the refrig. Mine also had the same unnecessary insulation. Will let you know in next post if removal of the insulation solves the problem.

FYI, also did an all night comparison experiment with a Coleman, 12V, thermo-electric cooler and it dropped the temp from initially 86 deg to 48 deg by morning. Not bad for a $100. cooler.

EWizard

Okay, back from my 2 week road trip and here is my postmortem.
The AC function seems to work fine, so that tells me that I need a short fat extension cord to go to the outlet in my garage.  No biggie.
The battery function only seems to hold the temp that it was at when you had it connected to AC.
The propane section just plain sucks (I was level).  My temps went up to 58 degrees.
Granted it was hot in NM and CO during the day but dang!

Nomad

Fridge temps - Works fine on propane but there doesn't seem to be any rhym/reason to my temp dial. Turn up to 5, gets warmer. Turn down to 3, gets colder. Always a mystery - gotta play with it.

Photomom

3.5 sums to be in the ball park for my fridge, either 120v or propane, fridge stays around 34-35 degrees. 12v doesn't work so well.

Photomom

EWizard said:

Okay, back from my 2 week road trip and here is my postmortem.
The AC function seems to work fine, so that tells me that I need a short fat extension cord to go to the outlet in my garage.  No biggie.
The battery function only seems to hold the temp that it was at when you had it connected to AC.
The propane section just plain sucks (I was level).  My temps went up to 58 degrees.
Granted it was hot in NM and CO during the day but dang!

The fridge needs a little 12v on propane, was your battery charged?

ericnliz

I agree with both Photomom, and PXL, especially when on propane, sometimes seems to have a mind of it's own, and you have to play around with the temp control a little 3.5 to 4 setting seems to be the most consistent. I have used mine up to about 95 degrees without a problem on propane, so I'm not sure what your issue could be.

EWizard

Yep, battery was fully charged.

EWizard

I'm going to try it again on propane on the 3.5 setting on the dial.

Photomom

I he procedure I have says to start on 0 when using propane, then turn dial to desired setting. Not sure if this actually matters but it has worked for me.

R_CUP_A_Tab

Just returned home after a long weekend to my T@B dealer to get the frig replaced. Turns out that there was a blockage in the heat exchanger that caused the problem. It's ice cold now (35 degrees on setting 5) on AC. Stayed cold during 4 hour return trip while operating on 12V (battery voltage was still 12.2 volts). Propane also seems OK so I'm very happy with the results. FYI, dealer also found another 2017 unit in their inventory with the same problem. I'll also test the temp vs dial settings on propane to address Photomon's issue.

Nomad

Does it always have to be replaced or can the blockage just be blown?

R_CUP_A_Tab

Just completed a thermostat setting vs. mode selector tests on my Norcold 3163. The results are , as follows:

Norcold Model 3163LGH26 Test Results
Mode	Thermostat Setting	Temp ºF after stabilization
Propane	1	46.0
Propane	3.5	41.2
Propane	5	29.8
AC	1	52.5
AC	3.5	38.3
AC	5	30.7
DC	1	29.0
DC	2	29.4
DC	3.5	30.2
DC	5	30.6

As can be seen from the data, there is no apparent thermostat control when operating in DC mode. The thermostat is only functional in AC and propane modes and the setting vs. temp data agrees favorably. Not sure why Norcold did not provide thermostat control for DC but the schematic, available online (assuming it is up to date) confirms it.

With the frig replaced I thought we were ready to start camping but also discovered that the water pump failed. Dealer is sending a new replacement which I'll install myself. Hopefully, that's all the problems for a while.

Nomad

Those temps/settings may vary - mine do. One week it's those, the next week they differ.

Mr_Mrs_Gnome

@R_CUP_A_Tab, we thought we had a pump failure. Pump was running but no water. Discovered that pump was dry and needed primed.

Ratkity

Just FYI, the fan runs constantly on DC power (from what I've been told), so the lower temps in the DC mode might be explained by that. You want to keep your food at or slightly below 40F. There is a battery operated fan you can purchase on Amazon or RV parts store that can keep the temps inside more consistent throughout the little space. It works wonders for me and I even used it in my trusty old AC/DC hot/cold Coleman cooler (it's very old).

ChanW

Is your Tab level?

HappyCamper

Quick question for all.... After reading and searching just need to know :  CAN I RUN MY NORCOLD ON PROPANE WITH EITHER DC OR AC AFTER LIGHTING?  Specifically, does DC have to be on for propane to work properly? Or can I use either?  Sidebar:    Do you leave the battery turned on while you are hooked into shore?  Thanks to all for the wonderful info I continue to gather here!

Photomom

The fridge needs 12v when running on propane. 

I leave the battery cutoff switch on when plugged into 120v so the converter can keep the battery charged. 

HappyCamper

Thanks for the quick response!  Interesting thing....  I had the battery to OFF and lighted the NORCOLD.  Then left it on for over 24 hours using only AC and it was very cold.   Do you think I am "messing" up something by running without DC power?   Manual is vague.    #2 question:  so basically you cannot boondock without turning your car on at some point to recharge battery if you don't have other source (I have read that it uses very low amount of power but if I am using other stuff.... Or is it just not that big of a deal!    THANK YOU!!!

HappyCamper

I just found this great NORCOLD manual online which gives step by step analysis for every problem discussed in this topic!  I have a 2016 T@b Max S and NORCOLD 3163.   But I feel confident this works for many models ( I am printing and putting with my other manual that came with the T@b!) http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/3163.pdf.  Hope this helps!

Photomom

You can run the fridge
- on 120v
- on 12v using the trailer battery
- on propane plus 12v from the trailer battery

Hope that is clear.

HappyCamper

Thanks, Photomom!   The reason I am asking is my NORCOLD doesn't currently work on 15 amp ... So I will keep battery on with propane and hooked to 15 amp to keep battery charged.