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Fire Hazard Appliance Recalls UPDATED NORCOLD INFO 11-20-2010

JohnnyT
Explorer II
Explorer II
182 REPLIES 182

FrayJo
Explorer
Explorer
the same

MSU_Dog_Hauler
Explorer
Explorer
FYI: Had the recall done on my 2000 Monaco Knight. Things worked fine for over a year then the fridge stopped working and gave a low DC message. I checked all that I could and found nothing wrong. I even replaced the circuit board because trying that would be less expensive than the service charge at the shop. When I took it back to the shop to have them fix it they took off the recall component that they added the year before and the fridge started working again. I was very cautious and was thinking the recall component did it's job and I don't want to burn my rig down. They ordered a new recall component and my fridge has been working fine for a few weeks now.

HighwayJunky
Explorer
Explorer
Seems like Norcold is always having recalls. I had a 2001 Monaco Dynasty that burned to the ground back in 2012. Actually, after being checked for repair of the recall and confirmed "OK".....Scary.. Now have and will go with all electric residential fridge.
2015 Itasca Ellipse 42QD
2012 Fiat Pop Toad
One wife
No pets
No complaints
No Worries (except keeping wife happy!!)
Fulltime jobhttps://www.rv.net/SharedContent/cfb/images/rolleyes.gif

MrDoneIt65
Explorer
Explorer
I drive a 2002 Fleetwood Southwind on a Workhorse chassis. That explains part of the problem. When it comes to RV's you have to remember, they are not like buying a car or a truck. If something goes wrong you don't just take them back to the dealer. Mine never saw the inside of a dealer service center. The only person I ever talked to at Walt Michael's, now out of business, was the operator.

I wound up having to fix everything that went wrong on the motorhome as far as the coach. All I ever heard was, "You have to contact Norcold about that". Or, "You have to contact Dometic about that". Or, "You have to contact Power Gear about that". The dealer never fixed a **** thing on my motorhome. And I have never talked to one person who bought a "perfect" RV. They tend to slap them together with the same old slogan the Big 3 Automakers use to have. "Let the Dealer Fix it!" And the dealers don't make much money off Warranty Service as near as I can figure.

So I got fed up with Norcold. My fridge worked just fine, even though it would never freeze ice cream and the ice maker was a joke, until they did those "recalls" and the 2nd one blew out the coils. When I called Norcold they said they had fulfilled their obligations under the recall. Then I found that to replace the 1200LRM would cost me $4,300.00. SCREW THAT! Through RV.net I found out about the Amish replacement coils. That cost me over a $1,000.00. So I replaced the coils. They worked fine for over 5 years. And they would freeze ice cream. I ditched the ice maker that never worked anyway. CLICK, CLICK, CLICK!

When the Amish coils went bad, and I had 3 pancake cooling fans on them, I decided it was time to investigate something different. So I bought a "Made in the USA" GE refrigerator, modified the opening, and did away with the propane and the problems. And it freezes ice cream. I drive down the road and reach over and start the generator and let it run for a half hour. So far, no problems.

When I did the YouTube investigations, and the Google of installing a residential refrigerator in the motorhome, they talked about a Samsung. Mine is a 17.3 cu. ft. GE model. Works great!

Good luck and happy camping.
'02 Southwind 37U towing '05 Chevy Colorado with Blue Ox tow bar and Brake Buddy. 8100 GM/Workhorse Chassis. Retired UAW-GM.

MamaGoose
Explorer
Explorer
hostage wrote:
MamaGoose wrote:
MrDoneIt65 wrote:
I replaced the coils in my 1200LRM with the Amish coils. Lasted about 5 years. Then they sprung a leak and my Norcold turned into a warming oven. I did every test suggested, nothing worked. I did a YOUTUBE and there was a number of video's of people removing their Norcolds and replacing them with residential refrigerators. I went to Lowes and got a GE 18cuft fridge.

I took the window out of the motorhome, slid the fridge through the opening, reinstalled the window, modified the fridge opening slightly, plugged it in and I can now freeze ice cream. And I have an on board generator. The fridge also uses so few amps that I can install roof top solar and run it that way. That is a future project after the camping season ends. All I lost was a propane hook-up.


What year is your motorhome? We may end up going the same route. Our Norcold is set to maximum and on warm days I still have to 'help' it with blocks of ice inside. We know it's kind of an impending disaster...Our motorhome is a 2003 with a 4 battery bank. Not sure off the top of my head what size of refrigerator we would be able to fit in there, but it would be a lot smaller than what you have.

why could u not put in the same size 18CF fridge? you have the same 1200 series fridge as this guy had?
call john (in sales) at Mike Rosman RV sales Vernon BC as he has a 2003 revolution and he installed a 18 in his and ask him the model he used and what mods are required


I was going by what I found for outside measurements for such an 18 CF fridge online. I'll make a note of this fellow you've mentioned in case we need the information. Thanks!

hostage
Explorer
Explorer
MamaGoose wrote:
MrDoneIt65 wrote:
I replaced the coils in my 1200LRM with the Amish coils. Lasted about 5 years. Then they sprung a leak and my Norcold turned into a warming oven. I did every test suggested, nothing worked. I did a YOUTUBE and there was a number of video's of people removing their Norcolds and replacing them with residential refrigerators. I went to Lowes and got a GE 18cuft fridge.

I took the window out of the motorhome, slid the fridge through the opening, reinstalled the window, modified the fridge opening slightly, plugged it in and I can now freeze ice cream. And I have an on board generator. The fridge also uses so few amps that I can install roof top solar and run it that way. That is a future project after the camping season ends. All I lost was a propane hook-up.


What year is your motorhome? We may end up going the same route. Our Norcold is set to maximum and on warm days I still have to 'help' it with blocks of ice inside. We know it's kind of an impending disaster...Our motorhome is a 2003 with a 4 battery bank. Not sure off the top of my head what size of refrigerator we would be able to fit in there, but it would be a lot smaller than what you have.

why could u not put in the same size 18CF fridge? you have the same 1200 series fridge as this guy had?
call john (in sales) at Mike Rosman RV sales Vernon BC as he has a 2003 revolution and he installed a 18 in his and ask him the model he used and what mods are required

MamaGoose
Explorer
Explorer
MrDoneIt65 wrote:
I replaced the coils in my 1200LRM with the Amish coils. Lasted about 5 years. Then they sprung a leak and my Norcold turned into a warming oven. I did every test suggested, nothing worked. I did a YOUTUBE and there was a number of video's of people removing their Norcolds and replacing them with residential refrigerators. I went to Lowes and got a GE 18cuft fridge.

I took the window out of the motorhome, slid the fridge through the opening, reinstalled the window, modified the fridge opening slightly, plugged it in and I can now freeze ice cream. And I have an on board generator. The fridge also uses so few amps that I can install roof top solar and run it that way. That is a future project after the camping season ends. All I lost was a propane hook-up.


What year is your motorhome? We may end up going the same route. Our Norcold is set to maximum and on warm days I still have to 'help' it with blocks of ice inside. We know it's kind of an impending disaster...Our motorhome is a 2003 with a 4 battery bank. Not sure off the top of my head what size of refrigerator we would be able to fit in there, but it would be a lot smaller than what you have.

MrDoneIt65
Explorer
Explorer
I got a check for a little over $147.00. Said I would receive 3 more for a total of over $500.00. Paid for the GE fridge I put in my motorhome to replace the Norcold that never worked right.
'02 Southwind 37U towing '05 Chevy Colorado with Blue Ox tow bar and Brake Buddy. 8100 GM/Workhorse Chassis. Retired UAW-GM.

MrDoneIt65
Explorer
Explorer
I replaced the coils in my 1200LRM with the Amish coils. Lasted about 5 years. Then they sprung a leak and my Norcold turned into a warming oven. I did every test suggested, nothing worked. I did a YOUTUBE and there was a number of video's of people removing their Norcolds and replacing them with residential refrigerators. I went to Lowes and got a GE 18cuft fridge.

I took the window out of the motorhome, slid the fridge through the opening, reinstalled the window, modified the fridge opening slightly, plugged it in and I can now freeze ice cream. And I have an on board generator. The fridge also uses so few amps that I can install roof top solar and run it that way. That is a future project after the camping season ends. All I lost was a propane hook-up.
'02 Southwind 37U towing '05 Chevy Colorado with Blue Ox tow bar and Brake Buddy. 8100 GM/Workhorse Chassis. Retired UAW-GM.

noleakman
Explorer
Explorer
For how much?

kdk
Explorer
Explorer
Got a check yesterday. Whoopi
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2016 Ford Explorer twin turbo

Rorence
Explorer
Explorer
This is a happy tour for me to read on this post. After reading the whole post, we can get solutions to deal with the trouble quickly and safely. Thanks for your nice sharing.

RamonaJ
Explorer
Explorer
Well, it finally happened my Norcold refrigerator overheated and caught fire while we were returning from a trip. Fortunately I had the water pump on and the water line to the icemaker extinguished the fire after being burned through. The unit was on the recall list and fix had been installed but failed to shut down unit to protect against fire hazard. Refrigerator is not salvageable and will need to be replaced. Am now awaiting costs and disposition of damage reimbursements.

RayChez
Explorer
Explorer
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.

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