Fridge Broke?

usmc2 · 10-02-2011, 05:15 PM

On our way home over the mountains last night I noticed our Norcold Fridge kept running and never stopped. I shut it off for the night and tried again this morning. Well, it keeps running and doesn't get as cold as it use too. It's in a 2008 SMB, I sure hope it should last longer than this. Pass along what ya know. Thanks

BACKRDS · 10-02-2011, 05:36 PM

How hot did it get? If you get behind the curve, the constant running makes is very warm behind the fridge, and it can't dump enough heat to cool the interior. You can read the following for some more information, and a solution that took care of my problem. That is to say, so far so good, for the last year.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5364

scatter · 10-02-2011, 07:03 PM

Same thing happened to my '07. Seems it was a little less then years old when it happened. I got a new fridge under warranty. Don't know if it lost its charge or what. Never got a Freon odor. It just ran and ran and didn't cool. Might be time to look into one of the better ones discussed here if you're out of warranty.
Good luck!

Ford_6L_E350 · 10-02-2011, 07:24 PM

The Norcold has limited reserve capacity. If you load warm stuff (sodas, beers) into it sometimes it can't recover. Don't know if this is what happened to you, but it can happen with a normal Norcold.

Or, it may be dying.

Mike

**BroncoHauler** · 10-02-2011, 08:28 PM

One of my posts on a previous, Norcold-related thread. Norcold has been running great ever since I redid all my electrical connections for the fridge, just about two [s:24a3l3l6]months[/s:24a3l3l6] [EDIT] years ago

"There was a time when my Norcold would run and not cool. That's when I was actively looking for an Isotherm to replace it.

As a last ditch effort, I pulled out the Norcold and re-did all the electrical connections. My Norcold has worked fine ever since. The fridge seems like it was getting enough electricity to "run" the compressor (I could hear it turn on), but there was an issue where the fridge wasn't getting enough juice, or enough clean juice, to run the controller.

At least one of my electrical blade terminations was a little loose.

Herb"

usmc2 · 10-03-2011, 08:52 AM

I'll spend the day on all the advice and see what turns up. Thanks

usmc2 · 10-03-2011, 07:16 PM

Well, it seems that putting too many warm drinks (8) in Friday night must have been the cause. I turned it on this morning, let it cool for 1/2 an hour, put some cold drinks in and it's been working great. Lesson learned and it didn't cost me a new fridge, thanks for all the info here it sure saves a lot of grief.

jage · 10-03-2011, 07:35 PM

Yes, have to feed the warm drinks slowly in the N'rcold. Have to start it in the cool and stock it with cold stuff, and then hope it stays below 50º inside... Don't remember it ever being quite this bad before. Going to follow Herb's recommendation and pull it (again) and go over my electricals.

Stephen · 10-12-2011, 04:40 PM

I bought my 2007 Sportsmobile in 2009 with less than 20,000 miles on it , the Norcold fridge worked great for 12 months getting cold & turning on & off , then it would run constantly & not cool down , I was told it would be better to buy a new fridge than repair the old one , so I bought a new fridge at a cost of over $700.00 in July 2010 & it worked o.k ,but never as good as the original ,it now runs all the time & never really cools down enough , are these Norcold fridges just crap ? , this truck has been absolutely brilliant ,except this re, occuring problem , any suggestions for repair or upgrade would be appreciated ( Ive checked all the wiring )

B.T.W. check out youtube videos posted by Mike Reidy of this truck if interested

rallypanam · 09-24-2015, 09:39 PM

Bumping this thread back up!

I'm having this issue... Norcold is running a LOT, but just barely staying cold. I haven't pulled it and mucked around yet, but what should I look for? Wiring as mentioned above? Dirty condensor?

Or should I just get a new one, as this thing is almost 15 years old?