Norcold Ain't So Cold

DeeDee

Just got back from a 5 day trip to Moab in our 2016 Q. 1st night with shore power and 4 dry camping. Norcold worked fine on shore power, and when we switched to propane on day 2, it started to heat up. Fluctuated between 42 and 52, I kept adjusting the knob, but didn't seem to change anything. I did run aux fan as the temp increased hoping that would make a difference. We did have some fairly hot afternoons and the refrig temp increased during that period, but didn't really cool down much overnight. Is this normal? Is this the best performance I can expect in desert heat? 

Ratkity

I was told running the frig on propane was more efficient and it would cool faster on it. That said, I can't give you any troubleshooting advice. The Norcold is a complicated beast and best left to the professionals to figure out the issues (other than fuses).

Tabaz

That is not normal based on my dry camping experiences in the Southwest.  You may just have a bad thermostat.

source3

I have only camped with fridge running on propane.  I keep the aux. fan going 24/7 and set thermostat to 2.5 to 3 setting (the six o'clock position).

Tabaz

Agree with Source3 - I keep my thermostat set at the 6 o'clock position.  Will notice the fridge cycle more during the hottest part of the day, but the temp in the fridge stays cold.  I have three fans connected to the thermostat (search Noisy Norcold for pics).

ChanW

If your door was propped open, it can block the vent enough to make the fridge struggle. Especially of the wind is wrong.

Photomom

Another thing to check is whether the vent on the floor under the fridge is blocked. And, was your T@B battery charged? The fridge needs 12v to operate on propane.

Although if the fridge cooled on 120v and the conditions were exactly the same on propane (door position, floor vent, cooling fan, etc) then you should probably have the fridge serviced under warranty.

Nomad

Make sure the door seal is in place - Mine kept coming off on the bottom and allowing the cold to escape. Was misaligned just enough to cause a problem but not bad enough to keep the door from appearing closed. Finally rubber cemented it in place.

DeeDee

Sounds like we need to get it checked. Thanks guys.

ChanW

You know you need to have the Tab somewhat level?

I've found it to be important, a couple of times, where others have not. It might depend on the fridge (maybe it depends on how 'charged' it is, with refrigerant). 

DeeDee

Every everything obvious was as it should be. Which leads me to believe the issue isn't.

Nomad

So, your ARE  level? AND, the door seals are properly in place?

Ratkity

DeeDee said:

Every everything obvious was as it should be. Which leads me to believe the issue isn't.

Going into the dealership with a list of all these obvious things you've done will help them isolate the problem faster (maybe). Either way, you can at least say "I told you so" when the repair person says it wasn't x, y, z that were the issues and you already listed them.

DeeDee

Battery was fully charged, propane tank was full, we were level, Norcold was packed properly, seals are fine, vent was not covered, aux fan was working. Taking her in to replace some trim on Wed, I'll get them to check the Norcold for the recall item and the cooling issue too. Thanks guys.

Ratkity

Good you are taking her in, DeeDee! With your list, you can barrage them with your Norcold knowledge and hope they get down to bidness!! Best of luck with your repairs.

ericnliz

DeeDee, could you please let us know what they find the problem to be, Thanks.