RayChez
Barstow, Ca. USA
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Joined: 09/13/2003
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MrDoneIt65 wrote:Ray Chez, the chinese sensor with the little red light was suppose to blow if the refrigerator got to hot. I don't know how hot that is. I don't know if it got so hot that the coils blew and then the red light came on or what. I just know that the so called "recall fix" is not a fix, but a removal of liability. If your chinese sensor comes on with a little red light, your refrigerator WILL NOT WORK. No matter where you are in your journey. Why didn't Norcold come up with a Fix that prevented a fire, or prevented the coils from getting so hot that they would cause a fire in your unit? It would be like Toyota, instead of fixing the accelerator problem they had, putting in a sensor that shut off the brakes and shutting down the engine if the car suddenly started to accelerate. Leaving you parked along the side of busy highway at rush hour. I won't buy another rig with a Norcold anything in it.
I agree with you completely that Norcold should have recalled all those refrigerators that could give problems and replace the coils or what ever it needed to be safe. The sensor is a cheap way of getting out of replacing the real problem. Reminds me of Cummins with the problem they had with the ISL engines with wrist pins that were not machined properly. They just installed a light to warn you that the engine was about to blow up. Cheapest way to getting out of a big problem with their product.
2002 Gulf Stream Scenic Cruiser
330 HP Caterpillar 3126-E
3000 Allison Transmission
Neway Freightliner chassis
2017 Buick Envision
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bigblockronni
home
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Joined: 03/27/2012
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My problem is getting a dealer to do the stupid RECALL !!!! Is it just in NC or is every RV Dealer in the country a million dollar sales department with a $.10 service department....It seems to me that with sooo many people without jobs someone should get hired as an RV Tech. They seem to have more work than they can get done. We have only had to take it in for a repair one time and it took them two months to get it repaired and guess what one of the repairs was the refrigerator...
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MrDoneIt65
Golf Country NC
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Joined: 05/08/2010
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Bigblockronni, contact the manufacturer online. They usually have a list of repair shops they recommend. Then make sure you join Good Sam, they are a lifesaver in many instances. Also get the Good Sam Emergency Road Service, they are there when you need them on the road.
My problem with the RV industry is how they seem to avoid problems after the sale. When I bought my new Chevy and the alternator went bad I took it to the Chevy Dealer and they repaired it. They didn't tell me to get in touch with Delco. If you buy an RV and the airconditioner quits working they tell you to get in touch with Dometic or Norcold. I had to take my Workhorse Chassis to a Workhorse Service Center. I think that is the reason the dealer I bought my motorhome from is now out of business.
'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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MrDoneIt65
Golf Country NC
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It says you are a new member. I am going to make an assumption. If this is your first RV then you must know that you will have to be a handy man.
On the refrigerator recall. If the refrigerator quits working, do not throw it away and buy a new one. There is a company in Indiana that makes coils for your refrigerator. They are not cheap, cost me $1,075.00 for mine, but that is a heck of a lot cheaper than a new refrigerator. They come with complete instructions to change them. No recall necessary after their changed.
See if there is a manufacturers service manual available for your rig. It cost me $90.00 for the Workhorse Manual for my Southwind. But I had a serpinetime belt that shredded because a mechanic left a wiring harness bracket off the mounting bolt and it came in contact with the belt. The mechanic didn't have a diagram on how to replace the belt. He about fell out when I pulled out the service manual which showed the belt. Better safe than sorry.
Good Luck, enjoy the lifestyle, especially the people you will meet. And enjoy the things you will learn about fixing an RV. (I even had to put my mufflers back on after the trip home from the dealer and repair a gasoline leak because they missed the hose when putting on the clamp). Go figure!
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bigblockronni
home
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This is actually our second A class and we've had 2 tag alongs.Thank goodness my husband is an excellant mechanic...he does all of our service work and repairs all of the things that go wrong..hot water valve went bad...sunshade broke he took it apart and repaired...electric awning went out he had to repair (no more electric when this one's gone)....hose blew out on hydrolic jacks...so as you can see we have had our share of problems with this unit that would have been very expensive at a dealer..but warranty work (AC unit and fridge ($$$$) went out under warranty)and recalls we have to go back to the dealer and I would just about soon take a beaten than to call in for these problems so if it's not under warranty or just not that expensive to take care of ourselves we just take care of it but it should not be this way...the dealer called me day after day to buy this unit and when tail lights were out of sight I think they just put the papers in the back of the file cabinet and said we're done with that one....laughing all the way to the bank!!
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MrDoneIt65
Golf Country NC
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There are good dealerships out there though. I didn't mean to make it sound like I lumped them all together because of my experience. I called the dealership where I bought my Southwind and the only person I ever talked to was the operator. The salesman got fired the day after I bought my rig. Don't know if that is a good or bad sign.
Glad to hear you are capable and have the experience needed to enjoy the RV. Good Sam has a program where Members can assist others who are in need of the services of a handiman.
I hope you don't have any problems with your fridge. Good Luck and Happy Camping.
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RayChez
Barstow, Ca. USA
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Joined: 09/13/2003
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I have never had any problem finding a place that does the recall. Even when I was on the road in Northern California, up at Lake of the Springs RV Resort. I called Norcold and they told me the two places close to where I was. One was DeMartini and I can't remember the name of the one I took it to, but they done an excellent job removing the fridge out, applying the recall and putting the fridge back in place. They covered all the carpet with plastic before starting the recall. Never have had any problems. But that is about the third recall that has been done on my Norcold 1200. So far it has been good thru nine years. Can not complain about that.
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MrDoneIt65
Golf Country NC
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My main issue with the recall, beside the fact that my refrigerator which was working perfect before they started doing recalls on it, was that the recall didn't fix the problem. It just stopped a problem from occurring which could come back to bite Norcold. If you are on a trip, pull into a campground and you notice a little red glow from the access door on the back of the refrigerator, your refrigerator isn't working. You have a refrigerator full of food that is suppose to be there for you to eat. It is now getting warm and will not be fit to eat. The recall did not fix the problem of the refrigerator supposedly overheating and causing a fire. It set you up for a refrigerator full of spoiled food.
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rvrepairnut
bc
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Joined: 11/11/2011
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MrDoneIt65 wrote:My main issue with the recall, beside the fact that my refrigerator which was working perfect before they started doing recalls on it, was that the recall didn't fix the problem. It just stopped a problem from occurring which could come back to bite Norcold. If you are on a trip, pull into a campground and you notice a little red glow from the access door on the back of the refrigerator, your refrigerator isn't working. You have a refrigerator full of food that is suppose to be there for you to eat. It is now getting warm and will not be fit to eat. The recall did not fix the problem of the refrigerator supposedly overheating and causing a fire. It set you up for a refrigerator full of spoiled food.
It was never designed to fix the problem? where or why did u think that.It was designed to shut off your fridge if the cooling coil were to crack and your fridge would then start to overheat.Its designed to
shut the fridge off in this very very very unlikely situation
Also your fridge will work EXACTLY the same before and after the recall temp sensor is installed.EXACTLY the same.There unfortuneatly some REV C and the very odd REVD recall sensor failures.Its very easy to bypass the reacll in this situation and save this perceived food ruinage
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MrDoneIt65
Golf Country NC
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Sorry, but you are only half right. The sensor was designed to keep the cooling coils from overheating, that's right. If the cooling coils overheat and the red light comes on with the sensor your refrigerator shuts down, it does not cool, and if you bypass it then you are risking the liability occuring that it was design to avoid for Norcold. In other words, if your refrigerator overheats and catches fire you are on your own. If the sensor trips your food will spoil unless you can get to a repair shop and have another sensor installed. That is a fact! Now, my coils blew after they installed the sensor. The red light came on like it was suppose to come on. Did the coils blow before the red light came on or after it came on? Who knows? I fixed it, I put in new coils, my food doesn't spoil.
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