Just came off boondocking for ten days, no problems. Pulled into park with electric, frig died. Checked fuses, GFI. Load meter says frig getting electric. Nothing on the frig is on, unable to get it back to propane. Pulled cover off outside back of frig, wet (from heavy rain while driving) could that shut it down? Try waiting for it to dry? Wouldn't water just blow the fuse or GFI?
Any ideas?
Laura
Bill and Linda said
11:41 PM May 4, 2012
Laura and Bunk wrote:
Just came off boondocking for ten days, no problems. Pulled into park with electric, frig died. Checked fuses, GFI. Load meter says frig getting electric. Nothing on the frig is on, unable to get it back to propane. Pulled cover off outside back of frig, wet (from heavy rain while driving) could that shut it down? Try waiting for it to dry? Wouldn't water just blow the fuse or GFI?
Any ideas?
Laura
Are any of the fridge's control panel lights / indicators / Led’s lit?First thought is the 12 volts that feeds the control computer in the fridge is not there.If there are lights / indicators, etc. then it probably is not the 12 volts that feeds the fridge, but still could be.
All of the control systems in the RV fridges run on 12 volts.No 12 volts, no fridge regardless of 120 volts or propane. Start there.
Bill
Laura and Bunk said
01:03 AM May 5, 2012
Are any of the fridge's control panel lights / indicators / Led’s lit?First thought is the 12 volts that feeds the control computer in the fridge is not there.If there are lights / indicators, etc. then it probably is not the 12 volts that feeds the fridge, but still could be.
All of the control systems in the RV fridges run on 12 volts.No 12 volts, no fridge regardless of 120 volts or propane. Start there.
Bill
The lights on the front door, leds ect and the interior light bulb are all out. There is a small red light inside the back/outside acess panel. Don't know what that is.
Laura
Bill and Linda said
01:54 AM May 5, 2012
Laura and Bunk wrote:
The lights on the front door, leds ect and the interior light bulb are all out. There is a small red light inside the back/outside acess panel. Don't know what that is.
Laura
Assuming then that you can’t “turn it on,” and you have no blown 12 volt fuses in your rig’s 12 volt distribution panel, then I have to assume it is indeed a more serious condition.
Check you 12 volt distribution panel and look for a blown fuse.Depending on the type of panel it might be indicated by a red LED light beside it. (Red means blown.)
Is it a Norcold?If so it may need the reset procedure and I doubt you have the information to do that. It is not “just a button.”Much more complicated and you only get one try at resetting them before more detailed repairs are required.
If you can’t find a blown fuse then I would be looking for a repair guy.I could guess about a number of things but they would be guessing without being able to put a volt meter on the unit itself.
Let’s hope for a blown 12 volt fuse based on what you are saying.
Bill
Laura and Bunk said
02:00 AM May 5, 2012
Thanks Bill. Just about came to the same conclusion. Appriciate your time and insight.
Laura
RobertandShelly said
03:12 PM May 11, 2012
My response may be a little too late but the red light in back/outside access panel if ON, is likely the Norcold Recall "black box" has kicked and has cut off all 12volt power. If it is, they cannot be reset and must be replaced or by-passed). Although this black box safety kit is to prevent a fire, many times get set off without merit (I think they are on Recall part version #5 or 6 now!). I don't see how they stay in business.
-- Edited by RobertandShelly on Friday 11th of May 2012 03:15:01 PM
Laura and Bunk said
10:39 PM May 11, 2012
Thank You Robert and Shelly!
Although at this time the frig is the least of out problems your input will help us with our decisions.
The morning after I posted the frig poblem we were nailed with golf ball size hail and the roof and all the stuff on it was busted up pretty bad and we are hoping they do not total our car. Is not a pretty sight.
Since we were heading for Bighorn Canyon in Wyoming for a 4 month stay the insurance company is doing our appraisals there.
Hoping to get everything fixed at the same time.
Thanks again for your input!
Laura and Bunk
plabsort said
03:29 AM May 12, 2012
we recently lost our refrigerator (heater worked - no cooling). we replaced it with a household refrigerator (aprox. 9 cu ft ). it was fairly easy to do the switch. the refrigerator cost about $400 and operates using half the electricity. we are very happy all the way around. one other consideration --- no fire concerns.
bjoyce said
08:16 PM May 12, 2012
plabsort wrote:
we recently lost our refrigerator (heater worked - no cooling). we replaced it with a household refrigerator (aprox. 9 cu ft ). it was fairly easy to do the switch. the refrigerator cost about $400 and operates using half the electricity. we are very happy all the way around. one other consideration --- no fire concerns.
You still have fire concerns. Electric fires, both 12 volt and 110, have caused RV fires and was a concern of Mac the Fire Guy when people said they hooked their fridges to inverters while traveling. Plus fires get started by brakes looking up, blowouts causing LP lines to open close to heat sources, hot water heater and other appliance issues, not just fridges. A defect or break in your electric fridge could even cause a fire, a friend's house had a fire due to a short circuit in a dishwasher. With the last set of Norcold recalls and Dometic recalls I have heard of no RV fires from fridges. Don't think you can't have a fire just because you put in an electric fridge. You might feel you have reduced your risk of a fire, but it is not gone.
The original message also talked of coming off boondocking. Not all RVs are ready to power an electric fridge while boondocking. For our usage I would need to find a way to add more batteries and maybe a second inverter as part of the cost of changing to an electric fridge since we do boondock. That definitely adds cost and hassle.
melvonnar said
11:32 PM May 18, 2012
Circut board wet??? mine quite when it got wet; used a hair drier to dry things out; everything works fine now.
Speedhitch said
01:36 AM May 19, 2012
Some things just have to be fixed by a Tech. I wish I had gone to school when I had the chance and got my certification...Now I just have to depend on my warranties....for what that is worth.
Just came off boondocking for ten days, no problems. Pulled into park with electric, frig died. Checked fuses, GFI. Load meter says frig getting electric. Nothing on the frig is on, unable to get it back to propane. Pulled cover off outside back of frig, wet (from heavy rain while driving) could that shut it down? Try waiting for it to dry? Wouldn't water just blow the fuse or GFI?
Any ideas?
Laura
Are any of the fridge's control panel lights / indicators / Led’s lit? First thought is the 12 volts that feeds the control computer in the fridge is not there. If there are lights / indicators, etc. then it probably is not the 12 volts that feeds the fridge, but still could be.
All of the control systems in the RV fridges run on 12 volts. No 12 volts, no fridge regardless of 120 volts or propane. Start there.
Bill
Are any of the fridge's control panel lights / indicators / Led’s lit? First thought is the 12 volts that feeds the control computer in the fridge is not there. If there are lights / indicators, etc. then it probably is not the 12 volts that feeds the fridge, but still could be.
All of the control systems in the RV fridges run on 12 volts. No 12 volts, no fridge regardless of 120 volts or propane. Start there.
Bill
Assuming then that you can’t “turn it on,” and you have no blown 12 volt fuses in your rig’s 12 volt distribution panel, then I have to assume it is indeed a more serious condition.
Check you 12 volt distribution panel and look for a blown fuse. Depending on the type of panel it might be indicated by a red LED light beside it. (Red means blown.)
Is it a Norcold? If so it may need the reset procedure and I doubt you have the information to do that. It is not “just a button.” Much more complicated and you only get one try at resetting them before more detailed repairs are required.
If you can’t find a blown fuse then I would be looking for a repair guy. I could guess about a number of things but they would be guessing without being able to put a volt meter on the unit itself.
Let’s hope for a blown 12 volt fuse based on what you are saying.
Bill
Thanks Bill. Just about came to the same conclusion. Appriciate your time and insight.
Laura
My response may be a little too late but the red light in back/outside access panel if ON, is likely the Norcold Recall "black box" has kicked and has cut off all 12volt power. If it is, they cannot be reset and must be replaced or by-passed). Although this black box safety kit is to prevent a fire, many times get set off without merit (I think they are on Recall part version #5 or 6 now!). I don't see how they stay in business.
Check out our YouTube video: Our Norcold to Amish Built Cooling Unit Change-out
Hope this helps,
-- Edited by RobertandShelly on Friday 11th of May 2012 03:15:01 PM
Thank You Robert and Shelly!
Although at this time the frig is the least of out problems your input will help us with our decisions.
The morning after I posted the frig poblem we were nailed with golf ball size hail and the roof and all the stuff on it was busted up pretty bad and we are hoping they do not total our car. Is not a pretty sight.
Since we were heading for Bighorn Canyon in Wyoming for a 4 month stay the insurance company is doing our appraisals there.
Hoping to get everything fixed at the same time.
Thanks again for your input!
Laura and Bunk
we recently lost our refrigerator (heater worked - no cooling). we replaced it with a household refrigerator (aprox. 9 cu ft ). it was fairly easy to do the switch. the refrigerator cost about $400 and operates using half the electricity. we are very happy all the way around. one other consideration --- no fire concerns.
You still have fire concerns. Electric fires, both 12 volt and 110, have caused RV fires and was a concern of Mac the Fire Guy when people said they hooked their fridges to inverters while traveling. Plus fires get started by brakes looking up, blowouts causing LP lines to open close to heat sources, hot water heater and other appliance issues, not just fridges. A defect or break in your electric fridge could even cause a fire, a friend's house had a fire due to a short circuit in a dishwasher. With the last set of Norcold recalls and Dometic recalls I have heard of no RV fires from fridges. Don't think you can't have a fire just because you put in an electric fridge. You might feel you have reduced your risk of a fire, but it is not gone.
The original message also talked of coming off boondocking. Not all RVs are ready to power an electric fridge while boondocking. For our usage I would need to find a way to add more batteries and maybe a second inverter as part of the cost of changing to an electric fridge since we do boondock. That definitely adds cost and hassle.
Joe and Sherri