2021 Insignia Residential 20.9 Fridge Not getting cooler than about 43*F

[Whippershnapper]

Hi there. I am new to the forum.
We just got a new 2021 Heartland Big Country 3155RLS. We have all the new Insignia Residential Appliances Package. The Fridge which I found is discontinued, which is concerning since we just purchased this RV new. With a discontinued fridge. Needless to say, not happy at all about that.[h=1]Insignia - 20.9 Cu. Ft. French Door Counter-Depth Refrigerator - Stainless steel[/h]Model: NS-RFD21CISS0
We have been traveling a bit over 2 weeks now. We cannot seem to get the temp of the fridge below 43*F according to the fridge thermometer we put in it.
The freezer is no problem whatsoever. The ice cream is hard as a rock.
But the fridge just seems to keep the water and drinks cool, but not cold. I am afraid according to all the readings that I have done, that food 43-45* can spoil much quicker. That just scares the heck out of me. Especially since we eat eggs and natural sandwich meat daily. I surely do not want food poisoning.
The lowest temperature I can set it at is 35*, which would be fine if it actually cooled to that temperature. I have put a glass of water in there, I will check in the AM to see if it also registers 43-45* with a thermometer. If so, any other ideas to be able to cool it down some till we can get back to the dealership in May? Thank you so much!

 

[danemayer]

Hi Whippershnapper,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

I think most residential refrigerators cool the freezer and share some of the air from the freezer with the refrigerator compartment. If the ice cream is hard as a rock, then I would think the compressor and other cooling components are working well. But maybe the cold air from the freezer is not getting to the fridge compartment.

I'd suggest taking a look on the wall of the refrigerator compartment that adjoins the freezer to see where the air passes through. Make sure it's not blocked. If there's a fan on either side of the opening, check that it's working.

Another thing to check is the seal around the refrigerator door. An air leak can look like a cooling problem. If you close the door on a dollar bill and then pull the bill, there should be some drag. Check in several places around the door.

I'm not sure why you'd be bothered by a discontinued model. Refrigerator manufacturers frequently move to new models. TVs are the same way, and washer/dryers, and other appliances. If you've ever looked at Consumer Reports appliance ratings, and then tried to find the recommended model, you'll find they are rarely available. Despite these frequent changes, with the appliances in our homes, parts are available for many years.

 

[Whippershnapper]

Hey Dan,

Thanks. We did the dollar trick. I believe the center piece that is suppose to close and seal the doors, does not close completely all the time. So it loses air from that area. I have emailed Insignia asking for assistance. Hopefully they will get back to me and see about either sending new doors or a replacement center piece if just that can be done. Thanks for your advise! Have a great night.

 

[carl.swoyer]

Like Dan was talking about the pass through air. Check out your filter.
My home fridge has one in top shelf frig side. If you have one remove it and see if your getting colder.


Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[danemayer]

Hey Dan,

Thanks. We did the dollar trick. I believe the center piece that is suppose to close and seal the doors, does not close completely all the time. So it loses air from that area. I have emailed Insignia asking for assistance. Hopefully they will get back to me and see about either sending new doors or a replacement center piece if just that can be done. Thanks for your advise! Have a great night.

With dual-door refrigerators, if there's a flap that rotates into place to seal the center opening, a bit of oil or grease on the pivot points may solve the problem. There was an old problem with Dometic 4 door gas absorption refrigerators where Dometic redesigned the guides for the pin that forced the flap to close. Lubricant isn't a permanent fix, but it might solve the immediate problem for several months.

 

[Flick]

Hi there. I am new to the forum.
We just got a new 2021 Heartland Big Country 3155RLS. We have all the new Insignia Residential Appliances Package. The Fridge which I found is discontinued, which is concerning since we just purchased this RV new. With a discontinued fridge. Needless to say, not happy at all about that.Insignia - 20.9 Cu. Ft. French Door Counter-Depth Refrigerator - Stainless steel

Model: NS-RFD21CISS0
We have been traveling a bit over 2 weeks now. We cannot seem to get the temp of the fridge below 43*F according to the fridge thermometer we put in it.
The freezer is no problem whatsoever. The ice cream is hard as a rock.
But the fridge just seems to keep the water and drinks cool, but not cold. I am afraid according to all the readings that I have done, that food 43-45* can spoil much quicker. That just scares the heck out of me. Especially since we eat eggs and natural sandwich meat daily. I surely do not want food poisoning.
The lowest temperature I can set it at is 35*, which would be fine if it actually cooled to that temperature. I have put a glass of water in there, I will check in the AM to see if it also registers 43-45* with a thermometer. If so, any other ideas to be able to cool it down some till we can get back to the dealership in May? Thank you so much!

Something that may help you out until you can get it serviced is to learn your refrigerator. Every refrigerator has colder and warmer spots that if you know where they are items can be stored accordingly. Set a thermometer in different areas and learn where it’s the coldest. I do this all the time to know where to store my adult beverages.

Good luck and like was mentioned, manufacturers change or upgrade models regularly.

 

[BigZ]

Hi Whippershnapper,
We also have an Insignia french-doored refrigerator and it quickly developed the habit of not engaging and closing the flap between the doors. And yes, it did let a lot of cool air out with the open gap. I quickly and easily fixed the problem by locating the guide at the top center of the doors. That guide has a channel that engages the flap on the left door and moves the flap into the closed position. It turns out that the flap's pin was just missing the guide channel by a small amount. I unscrewed the guide channel, added a couple of washers on the screws (which dropped the guide down slightly) and reinstalled it. Problem fixed. Maybe this will work on yours.
Randy

 

[Micky-D]

Hello fellow campers.
We have a brand new Insignia french-door refrigerator (NS-RFD21CISSO) that came with our new fifth wheel. On our first trip we camped at a park with 50 amp service and the fridge worked great & the ice maker made plenty of ice. We are now on our second trip and are having issues with the unit. The fridge says the temperature is 35 degrees but there's no way that's accurate as the food and drinks are not nearly as cold as should be. The freezer says -8 but that's also inaccurate as ice cream containers have melted and there is water from frost on the bottom of the freezer drawer. The ice maker is not working either. I have turned off the power twice (unplugged and flipped breaker) to see if that would help but still having issues. I have checked the flap between the doors as mentioned in posts above and it engages and closes fine. The fridge and freezer are just not working right. My wife thinks it's caused by the 30 amp service at our site what do you think? Our old 2016 Bighorn never had fridge or freezer issues with 30 amp service. We will get thermometers when we get home to check actual temps.

 

[cookie]

Check the inverter for the refrigerator for a tripped breaker or reset button.
Have you verified 120 volts at the refrigerator receptacle?

Peace
Dave

 

[wdk450]

For any RVers out there having refrigerator problems (or want to keep ahead of refrigerator problems) I would highly recommend getting and installing a 2 wireless sensor refrigerator/freezer EXTERNAL temperature monitor like this:

Wireless Digital Refrigerator Freezer Thermometer Temp Alarm 2 Sensor In/Outdoor | eBay

Specification: Item Type:Thermometer Clock Material: Plastic Color: White Indoor temperature range: -10 ° C ~ +60 ° C. Outdoor temperature range: -40 ° C ~ +60 ° C. Accurate temperature: +/-1.0 Package Size:11.5*9.5*6.5cm/approx. 4.5*3.7*2.5 inch Note: Press INDOOR ALARM or OUTDOOOR ALARM key...

www.ebay.com

You will notice that this monitor records minimum and maximum temperatures for each for the 3 recorded temperatures ( Freezer, refrigerator, and room ambient) that you can reset as often as you like. In previous postings about these some RV users that they have been able to detach the magnet base from the refrig, and the wireless sensors signals reach into the tow vehicle cab to the readout that you have moved there. Since my refrigerator doors are plastic or aluminum, I glued a 4x4 AC electrical box cover plate to my refrigerator door for the magnets to attach to.

 

[AHayter]

Hello fellow campers.
We have a brand new Insignia french-door refrigerator (NS-RFD21CISSO) that came with our new fifth wheel. On our first trip we camped at a park with 50 amp service and the fridge worked great & the ice maker made plenty of ice. We are now on our second trip and are having issues with the unit. The fridge says the temperature is 35 degrees but there's no way that's accurate as the food and drinks are not nearly as cold as should be. The freezer says -8 but that's also inaccurate as ice cream containers have melted and there is water from frost on the bottom of the freezer drawer. The ice maker is not working either. I have turned off the power twice (unplugged and flipped breaker) to see if that would help but still having issues. I have checked the flap between the doors as mentioned in posts above and it engages and closes fine. The fridge and freezer are just not working right. My wife thinks it's caused by the 30 amp service at our site what do you think? Our old 2016 Bighorn never had fridge or freezer issues with 30 amp service. We will get thermometers when we get home to check actual temps.

Hi Micky, I have the same refrigerator with my new Bighorn and it is not cooling below 42 degrees on 30 Amp service. We have adjusted the fridge thermostat to call for 36 degrees and it is not meeting this. Have you had any luck with your unit, thanks Albert

 

[MillerTime802]

I had the exact same problem on my 2017 Insignia refrigerator. There is an original manufacturing issue with an in-line fuse in the freezer behind the service panel. The fuse was placed too close to a heat source, thus blowing it.

This is what you’ll need to do to see if it’s the fuse. 1) remove the freezer trays. 2) remove the freezer door…..it’s super easy. 3) remove the service panel inside the freezer on its back wall. 4 screws I think, maybe 6.
4) when removing the service panel, you’ll need to disconnect a small line (maybe 2) at its male/female connx. Once disconnected, you can remove the panel from the freezer.
5) with all exposed, look for the inline fuse located in the upper left side of the mechanics. It’s in a clear plastic protective cover. The fuse is a wire and you can easily see if it’s blown.
6) if it’s blown, you can get the part number off it and get one via eBay. That’s where I ordered it. However, we were leaving for an RV trip the next morning, so I cut the clear plastic covering to expose the fuse, cut the fuse out, and soldered a regular 2 pole plug-in fuse (same amperage) in its place.
7) then wrapped the new fuze, DIY mode, in Saran Wrap and moved it up and over about 2”…..per mfg’s recommendations.
8) put all back together and worked for about 4 years until the compressor went out……like 3 weeks ago, baaaa.

I bought the new fuse, used the DYI fuse, and kept the new one for a rainy day….still have it but no longer need it because I just bought another refrigerator …….which is a big deal because it takes a special fit to get into the space.

I’m removing the old refrigerator this weekend and can send you photos of the fuse in the freezer. If your fuse is blown, I’d be happy to mail you the new one, and also my DIY fuse since nothing is wrong with it.

Good luck, Brad