121X Series Refrigerator troubles

[Michguez]

Hello -
We have a 2013 Heartland Bighorn purchased just this year. Our refrigerator is a 121X series and is acting up. We are plugged in to electric and the refrigerator is not throwing any codes; however, it is not cooling. It works great when it is on set to LP, but when the electric setting is on, it will not cool. The manual is not giving me any information because the refrigerator is not throwing out any codes. Does anyone know why it is doing this?

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Michguez,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

The control panel and main board runs off of 12v. Have you checked to make sure the fridge is plugged into 120v and that you have power to the plug? Some of the fridge outlets are also on the GFI circuit. So need to make sure that you have power to the plug. If not reset the GFI and also reset the breaker in the panel... off and then back on. Some times they will trip and not look like they are tripped.

Maybe some other members will jump in soon also. Let us know what you find.

Jim M

 

[Michguez]

Hello,
I checked the GFI and plug. They appear to be working just fine. I also flipped the main breaker on and off then on again. It is still doing the same thing. I have it set on the coldest setting, 9, and nothing is freezing. My ice cream turned to soup overnight. Any other suggestions?

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Jacob,

If you have plugged in a light or tested the outlet that the fridge is plugged into and sure you have 120v and have checked the owners manual, I suggest you call the Norcold Customer Support, 800-543-1219.
You will need the serial number and model of your unit and maybe even the VIN of your Heartland unit and purchase date. Sounds like you have a bad control board to me,,, but that's just a guess.

Jim M

 

[DonnyB007]

Jim has a good point on the GFI tripping. I found that a few times, after I finished washing the trailer, the GFI had tripped for whatever reason. Maybe water splashes in the outside fridge vents. But the first time it really threw me off until a fellow camper told me to check the GFI and sure enough, that was it. Now, every time I wash the trailer, I always check the GFI. It could be the hot water tank outside access area that causes the GFI to trip. Oh, one time it tripped with a real bad storm outside too.

 

[boatto5er]

Have you pulled the outside lower vent cover off and made sure the fridge it is plugged into the outlet in there? Like suggested, plug a light into the outlet to make sure the outlet is working.


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[Michguez]

Thank you everyone for your replies and insight. We once washed our rig and the sensors got wet. However, the fridge was throwing a code, LI OP, letting us know something was wrong. We took a hair dryer and dried out the circuit board where the red LED was flashing. It worked fine after that. We washed it again just recently and it was not throwing any codes, which makes me believe that was not the problem. We plugged in a hair dryer and the outlet seems to be functioning correctly. We even re-leveled our rig thinking that was the problem. I switched it back to propane and it appears that is not working anymore either. We are going to do some snooping and see if we have a blockage or can pinpoint the problem. We have been researching potential issues and have found a lot of recalls with these refrigerators. Keeping fingers crossed!

 

[wdk450]

While you are working on the refrig, I would think STRONGLY about investing in some rig fire insurance in the form of a self-deploying Halon fire extinguisher for the outside refrigerator compartment. You can get them from the websites of Mac the Fire Guy or RV Cooling Unit Warehouse. They are a little pricey, but far less than the cost of a refrigerator or whole rig.

BTW, has anyone got insurance discounts for upgrades like this, and maybe the disk brakes I got installed?

 

[Michguez]

Bill,
Good point and we have been considering the self-deploying fire extinguisher for the refridgerator compartment. It does get rather hot and that concerns me. A tech at Camping World stated that the Norcold refridgerators have had many problems and suggested we take it out and install a Dometic. I called Norcold who directed me to a certified technician in the area. He stated that he would not come out for a service call because the rig is on warrenty. However, he had me do some testing, such as disconnecting the thermostat. The fridge has been cooling. He suggested I leave it unplugged overnight and call him back in the morning. Said the temp should be down in the 20's, which would verify to him that it is in need of a new thermostat. I do think it is sad because we have had this brand new rig for only 6 months and are experiencing these issues. We do have to leave for a few days and are planning on leaving our rig. I wonder for safety measures, if I should turn the fridge off?

 

[wdk450]

" We do have to leave for a few days and are planning on leaving our rig. I wonder for safety measures, if I should turn the fridge off?" Turning off the propane supply should eliminate most all of the danger, especially if there is no shore power to the trailer.

 

[danemayer]

A tech at Camping World stated that the Norcold refridgerators have had many problems and suggested we take it out and install a Dometic.

Ironically, it wasn't too long ago that everyone wanted to switch from Dometic to Norcold.

 

[Speedy]

A neighbor here in Campbellsville, KY has the same problem with his brand new Norcold 121X in his Montana Big Sky. He called me over because he has no clue of the operation of his rig. Anyway, his fridge is throwing the same code as yours has "LI OP" and upon looking it up in the owners manual it is the High Temp Cutoff Sensor. He has had a call in to Norcold and Keystone but nothing has happened for the past three weeks.

 

[danemayer]

LiOP diagnostic flowchart attached.

 

[Michguez]

Okay, not sure if the problem is solved, but this is what I did. I unplugged the thermestor in the fridge behind the light in the fridge. The fridge began to finally cool. I left it unplugged overnight and the temp dropped down to 30 degrees. I spent the day going from rv store to rv store and finally located a new thermestor. I installed the new thermestor and the fridge appears to be functioning correctly; however, I will see what happens during the overnight hours. I figured I would rather spend $23 for a part that may be the problem then have to pay a Norcold tech $200 just to tell me the thermestor is bad. The guy at the rv store stated Norcold has many recalls out there and he had a bucket full of thermestors he has had to replace.

 

[jimtoo]

Thanks for the update. Let us know what happens as it will for sure help someone else.

 

[wqmiller]

Hello Michguez,

Could you please confirm that your refer worked fine on LP and wasn't cooling properly on electric (original problem). I am having the same problem and no codes are showing. I am unclear how the thermistor works with the LP and doesn't work with the electric but certainly can't argue with the fact it fixed your problem. Any info would be appreciated.

Quinton Miller

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[TomnSharon]

We have a 2013 Big Country with a Norcold 1210IM refrigerator. Last week we went from Desert Hot Springs to Las Vegas via Yucca Valley and Barstow. There is a steep grade just before Yucca Valley on Highway 62. We made sure that the refrigerator had changed over to propane- the refrigerator was in "Automatic" mode, which automatically changes over to propane when the electric (shore) power is turned off. When we got to las Vegas I noted that we had run out of Propane and so some alarm - possibly "failure to light" - was activated. I didn't consider this to be a problem since the trip had only taken around 5 hours. We hooked up the electricity and noted the refrigerator was working on electricity... Later that evening we found that the refrigerator wasn't very cold and the food in the freezer section was beginning to thaw. We put everything in ice chests and turned the refrigerator off. The next morning, we turned the refrigerator back on and it appeared to be working. I had called a local service tech and he said that, indeed, it did appear to be working. However, the refrigerator would only cool down to about 50 degrees and the freezer section would only cool down to about 37 degrees. The service tech said we might try turning the refrigerator off for a day or so and then try turning it on again. We did that, but the refrigerator would only cool down to a few degrees lower than we had the first time we tried that. Everything was working correctly - the boiler was hot, the cooling fans were working, no alarms were showing, but the refrigeratorwould not cool down to an acceptable temperature, although each time we did a shutdown and restart, the temperature would drop a degree or so. To make a long story short, we left Las Vegas and went to Bakersfield. The refrigerator was on propane - one last try -and I noted that it wasn't cooling. so we turned the refrigerator off when we stopped at Tehachepi. We turned the refrigerator back on when we got to Bakersfield, The freezer promptly cooled to about 4 degrees, the refrigerator cooled to 33 degrees and everything is working great now. So, if this happens to you, turn the refrigerator off, take a road trip, and cross your fingers.

Tom and Sharon

 

[DonnyB007]

Hello -
We have a 2013 Heartland Bighorn purchased just this year. Our refrigerator is a 121X series and is acting up. We are plugged in to electric and the refrigerator is not throwing any codes; however, it is not cooling. It works great when it is on set to LP, but when the electric setting is on, it will not cool. The manual is not giving me any information because the refrigerator is not throwing out any codes. Does anyone know why it is doing this?

If you travel with your fridge on, then you take the risk of air bubbles in your system. If your fridge does screw up as you indicated, you did the right thing; turn it off, travel on the road for an hour or so and then turn it on again and see if it works right. Oh and when you turn your fridge on each time, make sure it is level.

just my thoughts...

 

[SandmanVNVMC]

We have a 2015 Cyclone 3800. We are connected with 50 amp service and had the refrigerator set to AC, we have the same freezer problem ice cubs freeze up everything else not very well. Pot pie boxes are a little bit soggy ice cream too soft and toaster waffles are soft I checked and unit is plugged in. Since it was set on AC only we know it was getting power since controls worked and it was getting cold just not cold enough. I have just switched to propane the flame is going, now we will wait and see if it works. Can we call a Norcold repairman out to our campsite? There is a town about 15 to 20 minutes away.

 

[gwalter]

What controls the 2 fans that blow on the cooling fins? Mine are not running and I can't get it in to CW service for at least another month. I have the fridge cooling fairly well now by placing 2 small 12 v fans blowing on the fins. This is only a temporary solution when it is a brand new camper.