NORCOLD 1210 Stops Cooling

[Seaulayter]

The Norcold 1210 Refrig in our 2013 Bighorn 3010RE has been acting up for several months. We have it running on shore power and it will run & cool perfectly for several weeks and then stop cooling and the TEMP SETTING will start flashing. I have tried what others have been doing by turning the unit off and letting it do a ‘re-boot’ as such. Usually it will begin cooling & the TEMP SETTING stop flashing after being turned off for several hours. Not sure what the 'reboot' does. I've checked to see if the RED LED is lighted and it is not, I make sure that the fans are running & cycling off & on, the unit does not display any error codes – just stops cooling and the TEMP SETTING starts flashing.

I am interested to know if others have been experiencing this issue and what they have done to correct this . . . as I am having a Moblie RV Repairman that we’ve used in the past coming out tommorrow morning to see if he can figure it out before we take off to Virigina for 2-weeks this Friday.

 

[Seaulayter]

As an update the mobile RV Repairman (authorized Norcold Warrantyperson) came out and provided the bad news this morning - “it appears that thereis a blockage in the evaporator system” and his suggestion is to turn off the unitand leave it off until we get to our first overnight stop heading to Virginia. Sometimesthe bumping as you travel will clear the blockage and the unit may fire off andwork perfectly the next time we run the unit. He wants us to call an update himwhat the unit is doing so that he can open a warranty case with Norcold and uponour return in June - go from there. Guess will be using ice & coolers like wedid before we had a RV equipped with a refrigerator.

Still interested to know if/or what issues folks have had withtheir Norcold 1210. If you look on the internet there are a lot of folks havingsome type of an issue with their unit. Sure hope that I am the exception to everyoneelse as we tend to get spoiled with all of the gadgets that we have in our RV’s. . .

 

[mikeandconnie]

Sounds like you have the same problems as we did. Our Norcold would cool great some weeks and then totally no cooling for days, then just started cooling again. The Norcold tech that checked it out said it had a floating clog in the cooling unit. It has been 2 weeks since replacement and it's working wonderful.

 

[Seaulayter]

Thanks for sharing mikeandconnie - Did they replace the entire unit or did they pull the unit out and just replace the evaporator system? My RV Repairman said that they (Norcold) would probably authorize the replacement of that system and not the entire unit.

 

[icechex]

The 'best' fix I know of is have a 'regular residential refrigerator' installed in the RV. That is what we done in our old rig (before buying new one) and now - with the problems we've had since buying it - we are thinking about going that way again. The problems we've been having is pretty straightforward - basically it will run on electric or propane but when on 'electric' it does not get cold enough, i.e. freezer section 17 degrees - rest of refrigerator 40-45 degrees. According to the manual we are supposed to have 0 - 4 degrees in the freezer and 34 degrees in the other. On propane - our freezer section is 3 degrees and the rest of the refrigerator 38 degrees which is still a little warm. According to online trouble-shooting guides this indicates a problem with the electrical parts of the refrigerator. As I said above though - I really do not want to start throwing money into the refrigerator especially with it's track record (Norcold) which is pretty crappy. Basically, I don't think you can buy a "good unit" unless it has a 'compressor.' These things (ammonia units) are basically worthless, in my humble opinion. Btw, I spent my career in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning business. "give me a compressor, please" lol

 

[kemosabe]

My Norcold 12101M in a 2013 Bighorn has been a problem for me since We headed to the Grand Canyon in early June. The freezer just barely works and the refrigerator is hardly cool on either propane or electric. I have had food spoil on me and am not happy at all with this.

 

[cookie]

Hello Kemosabe and welcome to the forum. There is a lot of good information here.
Since you have been on the road for nearly two months, have you contacted Norcold and asked to have someone look at your refrigerator?
They should be able to recommend someone in your are to look at it.
Rather than letting food spoil it would seem like a good idea to get it fixed.
And one more thought, are you running it on the coldest temperature setting?

Peace
Dave

 

[tweber]

Kemosabe, one thing you can do is run the refrig for a day while bypassing the sensors. This will give you a hint as to the problem. Is it the cooling unit or issue or a sensor issue? Inside the refrig on the top of the cooling fins there is a quick connect plug that is easy to get at, disconnect the 2 halves. This will cause the unit to by pass all sensors and run at highest cooling setting. Leave it run for 8 - 10 hours and see if it cools. If the unit gets cold you know the cooling unit is working. Good luck.

 

[kemosabe]

I have had it set on 9 (highest setting) for three weeks. On both propane and A/C. Ice in the ice maker is not dry. It is kind of damp. Food in the freezer is not frozen solid as it should be. I am back in Minnesota now and the fridge seems to work now. I do not know if the outside ambient temperature 65 degrees being a lot cooler makes it work better. I have had to set the frige back to 6 now. It should have worked in the higher temperatures I experienced while travelling across Texas, New Mexico and the other states I was in. Thank you all for your input but I think a visit to the dealer is in order.

 

[divedreamer]

I have the dreaded dead unit. No cooling at all. A mobile repair guy checked and it's the cooling unit. He said the fix is around $4000 and that is the price of a new unit (no labor). He said that this 1210IM has been discontinued. AND he didn't know if the new Dometic unit (that he suggested I get) or the 1210 would fit through the door. He said a conversion to a residential unit would kill the value of my 2013 Bighorn 3610RE. Does any of this ring true? I bought this unit because when I work I put in 60-70 hrs a week, but I love to cook. Now I am living out of coolers in western North Dakota and when I decide what to do, I have a 3 week delivery problem. And no I can't get it to a dealer. Sheesh! Any comments?
Brad

 

[danemayer]

Hi divedreamer,

Replacing the cooling unit is close to the cost of a new refrigerator, although $4000 sound pretty high. You can get replacement cooling units from other sources than Norcold at a somewhat lower price. Here's one. Labor could run close to $1000 unless you do it yourself.

If you visit the Norcold and Dometic websites, I think you'll be able to find replacement models that are the same form factor as your current model. I seem to recall they have tables that show you what will fit in the same space.

As far as residential refrigerators, Heartland recently started offering residential refrigerators as an option on some models - at additional cost. If you go this route, at trade-in or resale time, you'll lose potential buyers who want to boon dock, but you'll gain potential buyers who don't boon dock and just want a good refrigerator. Given that many people would be interested in a BH 3610RE for full-time use, I'd guess it might be a slight advantage to you. Conversion to residential requires an extra battery, an inverter, a transfer switch, and some cabinetry work. Another owner posted the details of his conversion a few months ago.

Before you do anything, I'd see if your servicer wants to sharpen his pencil a bit on his estimate.

On edit: the more I think about the $4000 estimate, the more I think you're talking to someone who either has no experience changing cooling units, or who doesn't want to do it, or who's dealership makes more money selling you a replacement unit. Think about finding a different service facility.

Also, check your warranty. I don't know about Norcold, but Dometic has a 2 or 3 year warranty on many models. You might still be covered by Norcold.

 

[divedreamer]

Thank you Dan. You always come through and I so appreciate it. I agree it sounds expensive, but i am in the Bakken oil boom and am just outside Williston. There is a repair facility in Williston that will not do warranty work. There is a Mobile repair guy that I have been working with who will not do warranty either. The warranty is only a year and ran out a month ago. I do have a extended warranty but they need a written estimate first then talk to the repair guy. In the mean time I am without a fridge and working 60-80 hrs a week. I haven't found out if Norcold has discontinued the 1210 IM. I found the chart for replacement and it didn't list the 1210 Norcold. I took measurements and was going to look up the Dometic line and see if the 1350 or something will work. Is the Dometic a better refer than the Norcold? I had not considered the fact that a full timer would want the good refrigerator. Good point. I did finally get my big generator in and an auto switch that WORKS. So electricity isn't a problem. The battery would be a great thing during travel. Here in North Dakota I would be willing to bet that I could not get anyone to do the work of conversion and my schedule would make it pretty difficult for me to get it done. I hope to get a few months off this winter, but now it seems they have another job they want me on. Someone told of moving the trailer could knock loose blockage in the cooling unit. I did move a month ago to the new location (65 miles) and wondered if that could have triggered the change. I will keep looking and talk to authorized Norcold and Dometic service men and see what more I can learn. Thank you and have a good holiday.
Brad

 

[divedreamer]

Just looked at your link to the Amish cooling Units. I don't have the business address or I would have ordered on with the fans and everything and just took a chance on self installation. How hard could it be?........
Thanks again. Still looking at Dometic replacement.
Brad

 

[danemayer]

You should call Norcold. I think they have a 2 year warranty. Even if their website is wrong and it's 1 year, they might cut you some slack if you're just a month out of warranty.

If you explain the situation in your area, maybe they'll send the cooling unit to you and commit to reimburse mobile service charges up to a specific $ figure. You could try doing so with the extended warranty, but they may refuse to pay if it's still under Norcold warranty, and you probably have a deductible.

Replacing the cooling unit is something that a few people have done. It may take 2 people to move the frig in and out, and you'd need to be careful with the propane hookup. I think the company that sells the Amish Cooling Unit provides detailed installation instructions.

 

[wdk450]

Here's the RV Cooling Warehouse page with the new, better than original, Amish Refrigeration Norcold 1210 cooling unit at the middle of the page for $1065
http://www.rvcoolingunit.net/servle...EW-CU----*************************/Categories

Here's a link to their contact data: http://www.rvcoolingunit.net/servlet/the-template/about/Page

Here is a link to a Norcold 1201 Cooling unit changeout on U tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyCh7aXveow

There are other videos on U tube about this. Use the U tube website search for "RV Cooling Unit Warehouse" .

Good Luck!!!