Last week in Havasu City I was looking out the front window and saw Dave Hiatt poking around inside his fridge bay with a voltmeter. I casually walked over and said, "What's the matter, Dave?" He said, "It is running on propane and says 'NO AC' on the door."
Having had that condition several times, I confidently told him about the fuse hidden behind the, nearly impossible to remove, black plastic cover. His fuse was fine! I was not the hero I had hoped to be.
Having downloaded the repair and troubleshooting guide awhile back, I started reading and printing pages if they were appropriate. One page said if you had the "NO AC" fault to check the fuse and if the fuse was OK to replace the circuit board. That did not make Dave happy. Another page explained how to re-boot the board by shorting two specific spots with a jumper. Dave tried it and it didn't work.
The last time I had the "NO AC" condition and tried to replace the fuse I found the circuit board had a black burn spot on it about the size of a half dollar (if you remember those!). I told Dave about that and how I replaced the board with an aftermarket version from a company called "Dinosaur". That did not make Dave happy either!
Dave ordered the board. When he removed his old board there was a charred burn the size of a half dollar. His was on the back where mine was on the front, but in the same spot. He put in the new board and the fridge is working fine.
Both Dave and I have the Norcold recall modification with the temperature sensor on the burner tube. Our electrical burns were not near that sensor, so the mod did nothing.
I'm not posting this to throw and fuel on the Norcold fire stories. I'm posting only because knowledge of various repairs can be helpful. This one is actually easy and, at $250 for the board, fairly cheap by Beaver standards. I don't know if our failure is rare or common. I don't think this failure would lead to a full fridge fire because there does not appear to be anything combustible in the circuit board area. And, when the board fails, it seems to quit.
Except for the circuit board, the Norcold has only been off only twice in 8 years. It gives us good service. I do keep a closer eye on the fridge, keep it clean in there and do the burner inspections.
