Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Norcold Refrigerator Not Cooling Properly

I have a Norcold model 1211 refrigerator. The unit was shut down last spring and powered up again in early fall. Upon start up, the fridge took a long time to get cold and the ice maker water valve would not allow water to the ice maker. I replaced the water valve with a new one and it is now making ice but the refrigerator does not seem to be cooling. I am getting a lot of condensation on the inside of the refrigerator top and on the cooling fins. I believe that the minimum cooling that I am getting is coming from the freezer. Any help would be great as I am full-time user at this point. The unit has a Norcold designed high temperature shut off relay that is tripping and cutting power to the unit. I had this problem twice last year while traveling with my family. The relay was replaced by an RV service center at no cost to me either time, as the relay had failed. At that time I was told of a reset procedure for the relay using a magnet but I don't remember the procedure. Any idea? (no name provided) 

As for your Norcold unit not cooling properly, and that condensation is forming, I’d suggest looking at the integrity of the door seals. It's rather typical that the freezer section seems to cool first since that is the first evaporator the condensed contents flows into. But also, considering the issues with this model and the fact that moisture has apparently intruded into the controls somehow creates additional operational concerns. One of the easiest to understand websites I’ve researched, as well as the magnet procedure (and alternate methods) can be found here. This page addresses the recall situation also. Slide a few inches down the page and look for  "What to do first if Norcold recall or ARP Trips." I certainly hope this helps!