Odd smell in refrigerator

[Frank Colligan]

Our 9 year old Norcold has an odor in refrigerator and freezer sections.  It isn't mildew or mold and definitely not ammonia. My wife calls it a dusty smell.  Not strong but still present after cleaning with vinegar and water.

Fridge functions ok, but getting up to 46 on hot afternoons in desert.  It is on coldest setting.  It does drop down to mid 30's by morning.  Fridge is on sunny side of coach too.

We have only had coach 6 months and been living in it for 3 months.

Ideas?  And thanks.

[Dennis Crawford]

Frank,
Remove the vent cover on the outside.  If you see yellow powder substance, you do have a leak.  Could be a critter behind it that is starting to .......

Dennis

[Frank Colligan]

Nothing obvious in back...just dusty.  No smell either.  We are now more concerned about the fridge operating.  As it got warmer here in the desert, it is not doing the job.  Still making ice so we are adding ice to the fridge every morning to help.  Since it is under warranty, we plan to limp along until we get up to Indio area and call out a tech for a service call and start the process with the warranty.  Ugh.

[Steve Huber]

Frank,
Verify that the fans above the coils are running. You may need to use a mirror and flashlight to see them after you remove the outside access panel.  If air isn't moving across the coils the efficiency drops significantly. They suck air in through the access panel across the coils and exhaust it out the roof port.
Steve

[Glenn Perkins]

Frank,

When you get to Indio, contact Mike Flowerday ((541) 410-5555) ... he should be able to assist.  Also, if you are near Yuma ... SunBum RV (541-948-4544) is great with fridge issues.

Good luck
Glenn

[Frank Colligan]

Thanks all.  

Steve,

I found the fans are NOT running.  I will try to trace the wires, but you may have more information.  This might be all that is wrong.

Frank

[Gerald Farris]

Frank,
The fans are thermostatically controlled. Therefore, if the refrigerator is not working and adding heat to the are at the back of the refrigerator, they will not run.

Gerald

[John Hennessey]

You need to apply some heat to the thermostat to see if they will come on. We had the same problem and. BCS replaced both fans and now the frig works perfectly

[Frank Colligan]

Thanks Gerald.  It SHOULD be running as it is only 42 degrees in box.  When I switched it to propane I can hear the flame but it isn't getting any cooler.  Looking more like a cooling unit failure to me now.  
The ice maker is also frozen and won't discharge the cubes.  I am going to unplug it until we can defrost as I can see where that could cause damage to the unit.

[Frank Colligan]

John,  where is the thermostat for the fans?  I'll put a hair dryer on it.

[John Hennessey]

We had BCS do just a regular cleaning and they discovered it. Just take the outside panel off the and I'm sure you'll find it.

[Frank Colligan]

Thanks all for suggestions.  The fridge is only holding around 40 so we will be replacing cooling unit next week. Thankfully, the freezer will still freeze blocks of ice which we place in refrigerator to help cool.  

We will deal withe odd smell once we get a properly operating fridge back.

[Steve Huber]

Frank,
Might want to check into the Amish cooling units. Folks on the forum that have used them seem to be very happy with the performance compared to the OEM unit.
Good Luck
Steve

[Bill Stireman]

We just replaced our cooling unit with the Amish cooling unit and it is working great.  It appears to be constructed much better than OEM.  You might try blocking the two contacts on the left side of the fridge with elec tape which will keep the heating unit between the two doors from getting warm. This should reduce the temp by 2-3 deg.

Bill Stireman
'04 Monterey Laguna
400 HP Cat

[Dennis Crawford]

Frank,

I am still a very strong proponent for replacing unit with a residental refridgerator and be done with the problems.

Dennis