Norcold reports "no AC"

[Jim Chambers]

2001 Patriot, Norcold refer, connected to 50 amps in my garage, monitor shows 120 volts on both legs. I usually leave refer on when the coach is idle. After our last trip it remained cold for a few days, then lost AC power (I keep it set to AC, not Auto when in the garage). I tripped and reset the kitchen GFI a few days ago and thought that solved the problem. It did not. I have checked the AC plug behind the refer and it is tight. For some reason the refer is not getting AC power.
I hope I can solve the problem myself with your suggestions. Unlikely I can get the coach in for service next week before our scheduled Tahoe rally. With all the coaches in town for the FMCA Convention, I think Beaver Coach Sales will be slammed.

[Joel Ashley]

Jim-

I assume you checked the refer's breaker in the breaker box?  Some coaches today have breakers with built-in GFCI's that can trip seperately from the breaker itself and need resetting.  An AC probe-lamp or meter in the refer's plug outlet would be my next move, to see if it's really live or not.  At least you'd know for sure whether to look at the refer or your coach electrical system for the problem.

If you can't find the problem yourself, give Loren a call Monday anyway;  BCS often makes room for "emergency" fixes where the customer has to be somewhere soon, and this problem probably won't take much of their service tech's time to diagnose.

-Joel

[Edward Buker]

Not sure of your coaches wiring configuration but the GFI that feeds the frig may be in the storage bay. It would be wise to check all outlets with a meter/light and see what outlets are working and which are not. From that outlet mapping information of what is working and what is not and reseting all the GFIs that you can find should either fix the problem or provide adequate information for the crew at Bend to work from.

Regards Ed

[Ken Kruse]

Norcold has an 8 Amp AC glass cartridge fuse on the power board on the back of the refrigerator.  Refer to the operators guide for instructions on safely changing the fuse or let a Norcold Service Center handle the job for you.  A blown fuse here would give you the “NO AC” you are getting.  Good luck on getting it to work the way it should.

[Bill Sprague]

I had the same symptoms several times for the first couple of years with our Monterey.  The Norcold may be operating normally.  If set on "Auto", it will sense certain electronic failures and switch to propane as a backup.

As Ken said above, it was the fuse under the black cover inside the panel on the outside of the rig that caused my problem.  Each time it failed, the fuse looked fine.  The wire inside the fuse was intact.  But, if tested for continuity, it was dead.  I probably changed that fuse a half dozen times.  Finally, I figured out that the fuse was not blowing, it was getting hot and the solder in the metal fuse ends was melting!  I squeezed the fuse holder clips a little tighter to make a more reliable connection.  The fuse in there now is about 3 years old.  

The cover is a little tricky to remove because the screws are hard to reach.  You have to remove a couple of things to get to the screws.

[Jim Chambers]

Thank you for the suggestions. I pulled the plug and used a meter to find 120V present. Considered removing board cover to check fuse but decided to try it again. Fridge has run on AC for 24 hours to this point.  The AC cord seemed a bit loose at the power board. Maybe I tweaked something. Time will tell. Thanks again.

[Edward Buker]

Jim,

The outlet that supplies the AC is actually in an environment that sees humidity, condensation, and temperature variation. You may have improved the brass contact surfaces by removing and replugging in the AC plug. It may be that that coach outlet in the frig vent area may benefit from being changed and replaced with a high quality brand outlet. The other possibility is that you reset the board logic by droping the AC altogether. If that is the source of your problem it will probably repeat at some point and you can test that by unplugging waiting 30 seconds and plugging in again. If that repeatedly solves your problem then a new control board may be your next step. Hope this helps.

later Ed

[Joel Ashley]

Ed's certainly right about the brass contacts, Jim.  Simply unplugging and replugging from the outlet regularly can keep micro-corrosion at bay;  but even though Bend is a high desert, relatively dry environment, I'd consider his suggestion of a new high quality outlet.  He is also right about your having probably reset the board.  But you mentioned the cord at the board seemed loose, and that you may have "tweaked something".  Bear in mind if that's the problem point, that just driving down the road could easily "untweak" things.  Another reason to unplug the refer, remove the board and check or have checked its connections.

-Joel

[Jim Chambers]

I am away until Wednesday. Assuming it is working when I get home, I will then test it on the Rally to Tahoe beginning Sunday.
Maybe the "reset" trick will get me through the trip. Or I can use propane for the duration.
Please name a brand or two of high quality outlets. I have replaced/installed many over the years but usually buy whatever is on the shelf at Home Depot.

[Edward Buker]

Jim,

Buy a 20Amp outlet, it has beefier contacts. They may have some outside rated outlets with better metallurgy at Home Depot or Lowes. I know they make outside rated GFI outlets. Eagle or Lutron are some of the mainstays. I would buy the most expensive 20A outlet available of a major brand. That strategy may not get you the best candidate for the job but it should not hurt your chances of getting a higher quality metal contact set in the outlet. The expense will still be trivial.

Later Ed

[David Rudisill]

I assume you have a Norcold 1200 LRIM fridge. If so, the service manual has an excellent troubleshooting section. You can download it from the Files section of the Diesel-RV forum: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Diesel-RV/

[Jim Chambers]

Thank you David. Great resource.

[Keith Oliver]

This problem has surfaced again.  I was unable to get at the service manual, as the site is no longer up.  The last post on this thread was over a year ago, so no big surprise there.  Does anyone have the service manual?  My fridge has been off for a couple of months, while we were not using the Beaver.  Now we are going to use it, leaving on Monday for a 4 day jaunt to California, so brought it home to Coquitlam yesterday and started the fridge, with the "No AC" message.
There is AC to the circuit board.  The 3 amp fuse in the board looks good.  Some of the connectors to the board were very loose, but tightening them hasn't helped.  The fridge is working fine on Propane.

[Keith Oliver]

There is a fuse under the black cover, 8 amps AFE.  It was blown.  The fridge is working fine now.

[Keith Oliver]

Spoke too soon.  I checked about an hour after it started working, and it was back on propane, flashing "HI dc".  So I put a voltmeter across the dc into the board, 13.58v.  I don't think that is high, but the fridge doesn't like it?  a couple of hours later, I checked it again, to find it is still on propane, with no codes showing.  I forced it onto AC, and now it beeps and flashed "NO".  That isn't one of the codes for which the operating manual has an explanation.
Anyone?