MrDoneIt65
Golf Country NC
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When I did my Norcold recall Amish coils replacement I put electrical tape around the wheels on my motorcycle jack. I pushed the fridge out from the back of the compartment after disconnecting everything. When I got the fridge on the jack I rolled it to the middle of the kitchen, put a piece of cardboard on the top and then jacked it up so it was against the ceiling. Read the instructions. You have to clean all of the old caulking off the fins that are in the back of the fridge. There were 4 bolts in the coils. Note what it says about the cooling fans. Even though they are 12 volt they can be hooked up backwards and will not work if they are. I found out that my cooling fans were hooked up backwards. No one had ever touched the refrigerator except those who originally installed it and the technicians who did the recalls. My original coils blew out at the point where the heating tubes and the recall mechanism were attached. As the other writer said, I run my Norcold on 5 and it will even freeze ice cream now . Which it never would before. I couldn't even keep popsicles for the grandkids because they would melt in the freezer when the fridge was on 9. Do not be afraid to do this real fix. The Amish coils are heavier, they are double coiled and they work a whole lot better. And they are MADE IN THE USA! Good Luck!
'02 Southwind 37U towing '05 Chevy Colorado with Blue Ox tow bar and Brake Buddy. 8100 GM/Workhorse Chassis. Retired UAW-GM.
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plumgrubby
Florida
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Every single person who had their fridge out has had the same problem with the cooling fans... including me... in that they are hooked up backwards and 12v fans can NOT be hooked up like that. They flat will not work. The first time I had my Norcold looked at the tech took it out of the compartment and noticed that they were hooked up backwards. Even he thought they would reverse like that. I got a spare 12v battery and tried them BOTH ways and they would only worked when they were connected the proper way. So if you have one of the "Never Cold" fridges... check the polarity on the fans.
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MrDoneIt65
Golf Country NC
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Plumgrubby, my Norcold 1200 came with an ice maker that never worked. I would hook up the water line, the tray would fill with water and then it would click, click, click, click until I unplugged it.
So when I put the new coils in the fridge I removed the ice maker and replaced it with ice trays that now freeze. But I read in an rv post about putting additional cooling in the compartment. When I looked in the back there didn't seem to be much room for additional cooling fans. I went to Radio Shack and Lowe's. I bought two 4" pancake fans and some threaded rod and nuts. I fastened the two pancake fans together side by side and then used the threaded rod to make legs for them that raised them up off the floor of the cabinet. I placed them in the corner opposite of the heating tube and exhaust and wired them into the 12v wires left from the broken ice maker. They work perfectly and I have a constant flow of air across the coils.
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MamaGoose
Canada
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Joined: 08/15/2014
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@Williamh:
Water definitely trips the sensor. We have a piece of plastic we just cover the sensor with when we wash the motorhome, but if we forget and water gets in there, the sensor trips.
We've been looking at the Amish unit as well, and I think that's what we'll end up going with. As it is, our fridge has to be set on 9 and it's still not satisfactory. We had a 2 door Norcold refrigerator in our 5th wheel, and we had to keep the setting below 3 or the produce would freeze. With this one, we put a block of ice in the bottom compartment to help the fridge along. Not satisfied with that. The freezer compartments work fine, but I think the cooling method itself in a large fridge such as this one is just inefficient.
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RayChez
Barstow, Ca. USA
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Joined: 09/13/2003
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MamaGoose wrote:@Williamh:
Water definitely trips the sensor. We have a piece of plastic we just cover the sensor with when we wash the motorhome, but if we forget and water gets in there, the sensor trips.
We've been looking at the Amish unit as well, and I think that's what we'll end up going with. As it is, our fridge has to be set on 9 and it's still not satisfactory. We had a 2 door Norcold refrigerator in our 5th wheel, and we had to keep the setting below 3 or the produce would freeze. With this one, we put a block of ice in the bottom compartment to help the fridge along. Not satisfied with that. The freezer compartments work fine, but I think the cooling method itself in a large fridge such as this one is just inefficient.
Move the thermistor up about half an inch and you will see a big difference. I done that to my 1200 LRIM and now I just set it on 6 and it keeps the refrigerator nice and cold. Freezer has always froze everything solid, so I never have had a problem with the two freezers, but I did with the refrigerator. NO More!
2002 Gulf Stream Scenic Cruiser
330 HP Caterpillar 3126-E
3000 Allison Transmission
Neway Freightliner chassis
2017 Buick Envision
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MrDoneIt65
Golf Country NC
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Make sure your cooling fans are working and wired properly. There is a white and a black wire. If they are backwards they don't work. Our freezer would work but not our fridge until we replaced the coils. I actually put gallon jugs of water in the freezer and then put them in the fridge compartment. Then they did the 2nd recall and the coils blew.
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BennieH
Johnson Creek, WI, USA
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Joined: 03/06/2003
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No more recalls for us.
We replaced our cooling unit with the Amish(Dutch Aire)cooling unit. We opted for the unit with the Helium fill gas instead of the Hydrogen that is normally used (extra $200- good piece of mind).
When we bought this rig, I knew the cooling unit was getting close to replacement time since the coils were rusting pretty badly. Had JC Refrigeration in Shipshewana, Indiana do the change out.
At a setting of 5 the Refer is at 35 degrees and the freezer is at -1.
PLUS - No More safety switch to act up, Their unit does not need it.
Edit - Forgot to add, on the way to have the unit replaced we got the Red Light of doom from the stupid recall box. Glad to be rid if it.
Bob & Pam
2003 Monaco Camelot 40PBDD
Ford Edge or Chevy Silverado toad.
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MrDoneIt65
Golf Country NC
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BennieH...If you family should suddenly start to talk funny, like with a high pitched voice, and they giggle a lot, check for a leak in your fridge. LOL (Just Kidding) They didn't have the helium filled coils when I got mine about 5 years ago. Or the salesman didn't mention them. But my fridge wouldn't freeze ice cream before. Now it does.
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MamaGoose
Canada
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RayChez wrote:
Move the thermistor up about half an inch and you will see a big difference. I done that to my 1200 LRIM and now I just set it on 6 and it keeps the refrigerator nice and cold. Freezer has always froze everything solid, so I never have had a problem with the two freezers, but I did with the refrigerator. NO More!
What's a thermistor?
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RayChez
Barstow, Ca. USA
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Joined: 09/13/2003
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MamaGoose wrote:RayChez wrote:
Move the thermistor up about half an inch and you will see a big difference. I done that to my 1200 LRIM and now I just set it on 6 and it keeps the refrigerator nice and cold. Freezer has always froze everything solid, so I never have had a problem with the two freezers, but I did with the refrigerator. NO More!
What's a thermistor?
If you have a Norcold 1200 LRIM, on the inside of the fridge there are some fins on the back wall. On the far right is a sensor attached to the fins. That is called a thermistor. Slide it up about half an inch and your fridge will cool more.
Tried to send you a private message, but you have it to your buddy list only.
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