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Old 04-27-2015, 06:48 PM   #1
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Norcold DE441 I Finally WON! (I *think*)

I think I have FINALLY WON the battle to fix my Norcold DE441 fridge in our Sportsmobile! Last year I discovered that the fridge was working, but would not begin cycling until the box got to 25°F inside and froze everything. I tried several different thermistors, no luck, factory parts are discontinued, etc.

So I got a $13 Chinese 12VDC PID controller off ebay, cut the traces on the circuit so instead of switching on and off 12VDC to it's output, I made it into just a simple switch, open/closed, temperature controlled by the controller. I wired it across the terminals of the On/Off switch for the fridge, and it is cycling the compressor properly and has about a 6° to 8° swing between cycles. The fridge still has it's dual voltage capabilities, it just uses the PID controller as a thermostat now which seems to be working great! I will install the fridge back in the van tomorrow!

This has been a major PITA but I didn't want to give up on the fridge, the compressors for these are ingenious in their operation, all it took was some efficient method of controlling the compressor. This photo shows the PID controller installed in the grille at the bottom of the unit, the knob to the right is a variable speed controller for a fan that I mounted inside the fridge to hopefully circulate air and keep temps more even instead of colder at the top and warmer at the bottom by 15° or so.



Red arrows show the terminals for the On/Off side of the factory rotary switch/temperature control. This is where I connected the switching part of the PID controller, and it simply turns the unit on and off via a termperature controlled relay.


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Old 04-27-2015, 06:50 PM   #2
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Re: Norcold DE441 I Finally WON! (I *think*)

The 23.6°C that the display is showing was the ambient temp when I turned the unit on after assembly, it hasn't had time to cool down yet. The readout is in Celsius, but it's easy enough to figure out.
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Old 04-27-2015, 07:21 PM   #3
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Re: Norcold DE441 I Finally WON! (I *think*)

Let me be the first to congratulate you! The Engel Combi I have has a similar problem. The cooling jackets are in the freezer. There is a fan from the freezer compartment to the refrigerator compartment. The (also ingenious) compressor is controlled by a 1-5 dial with a Celcius freezer readout.

So the freezer freezes the frig when the compressor is cranked up to 5 to keep things frozen in the freezer. My solution was to install a small slider switch on the fan between the compartments and only turn on the fan when the fridge needed it.

Your solution would be much better. I could control the freezer to fridge fan with its own temperature control. And there are likely other things in your post which I haven't fully appreciated yet which could also apply to my situation. Thanks for posting.
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Old 04-27-2015, 08:05 PM   #4
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Re: Norcold DE441 I Finally WON! (I *think*)

TYVM! If your fan is a 12VDC fan, the 12VDC PID controller will switch the fan on/off without any modifications. Just connect it to a 12VDC source and connect the fan leads to the output.
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Old 04-27-2015, 08:28 PM   #5
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Re: Norcold DE441 I Finally WON! (I *think*)

Fan is 12v-24v. But don't I need a thermostat to input to the PID? Or does the PID have an adjustable thermostat built into it?
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Old 04-27-2015, 08:31 PM   #6
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Re: Norcold DE441 I Finally WON! (I *think*)

The PID sold as a temperature controller have their own bulb which goes in the cooling compartment and registers temperature. It is in fact a thermostat. A programmable digital thermostat.
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Old 04-27-2015, 09:10 PM   #7
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Re: Norcold DE441 I Finally WON! (I *think*)

Dude! OK double mega ditto thanks are in order!!!

The only thing that is missing from your thread is the link to the ebay item!
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Old 04-27-2015, 10:27 PM   #8
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Re: Norcold DE441 I Finally WON! (I *think*)

Go to ebay and search for 12v digital temperature controller and you will have hundreds to choose from.
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Old 05-01-2015, 10:51 PM   #9
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Re: Norcold DE441 I Finally WON! (I *think*)

Nice mod, I just wish my fridge stayed cold and wasn't stuck on 100% duty cycle all the time.
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Old 05-02-2015, 08:23 AM   #10
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Re: Norcold DE441 I Finally WON! (I *think*)

I noticed that SMB West is installing a newer version of the 2.7 cu ft fridge. Exterior dimensions are identical so it's a direct replacement. Interior layout is a little different. It's more square inside, does not have the bevel on the left hand side. Freezer is bigger and has a door. New compressor is supposed to be better. $720 on Amazon.

http://www.thetford.com/HOME/PRODUCT...2/Default.aspx
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