Fridge Assistance and Troubleshooting

[HydrogenCyanide]

I have my 2020 travel trailer parked at a site for a few weeks. Went back to the site yesterday to a warm fridge and spoiled food.

Fridge is a Norcold N8X. Trailer is level

I powered the fridge off, turned off all power and disconnected battery. Turned everything back on in an attempt to reset.

- Turned fridge back on
- Turned to propane. Fridge lit and was getting warm behind the panel.
- Left it all night and the fridge was still warm in the morning.
- Light on fridge is green and no error codes.

If it weren't for the fridge being warm, you'd have no idea there was a problem. Gas is lighting and running fine, electric element is running fine. Green light on fridge but fridge/freezer will not get cold at all. In fact, it feels a little warmer than ambient air.

Any ideas what to check next?

[midnightsadie]

some mobil techs can do warranty work.

[Old-Biscuit]

You posted "....2020 travel trailer parked at a site for a few weeks."

During that few weeks was trailer plugged into AC Shore power and had good 12VDC Power?

Was fridge being operated in 'AUTO' mode?

Norcold N8X......part of the Polar Series

BOS (Backup Operating System) allows fridge to continue to cool if temp sensing is lost. But it uses a 'timed base' heating cycle vs a 'temperature based' cycle
Time based can be changed by increasing (colder) or decreasing (less colder) Temp Set point

Bad thermistor/unplugged thermistor results in BOS but fridge should have still being functioning

External Thermostat/Fan is 'OPTIONAL'
It is a must need if fridge is in a slideout
It is a nice to have if fridge uses a roof vent
Thermostat is attached to condenser fin...closes at 130*F FIN Temp (starts fan) and opens at 115*F FIN Temp (stops fan)
In order to see if you have Fan Option check wiring on lower circuit board P1 8 pin connector (bottom of board)
Pin #1 ----- 12VDC Ground
Pin #6 ----- 12VDC POS
*Pin Numbers go right to left


No Error Code?
W/O it flashing any codes it is hard to guess what is going on
Could be circuit board, could be upper display, could be harness between the two etc
Troubleshooting starts on pg 29 thru 34 for 'X' models
Go thru those checks and see if something turns up

Norcold 7/8 Polar Series

[lap527]

Try a mobile rv tech. Might be worth the extra money for them to come to you.

[HydrogenCyanide]

Yes. Everything is level. Anyway to test the thermostat? I have called RV dealer, but this likely involves tearing campsite down, bring trailer to them, potentially leaving it with them for days/weeks/months, etc.

Hoping it is something I can resolve on my own

[dougrainer]

Trailer/Site IS level? Doug

[ferndaleflyer]

Fans in the chimney or the thermostat that controls them. If they don't work it won't cool even if everything else is working.

[RoyF]

If it's a 2020 on warrenty then I would contact Norcold about a replacement.

[HydrogenCyanide]

midnightsadie wrote:
are you plugged into shore power? and you need a good 12v source even plugged in .

Yes. Plugged in and have 2 strong batteries. Power definitely not the issue. I even tested the 110v plug installed behind and it has no power issues either.

[midnightsadie]

are you plugged into shore power? and you need a good 12v source even plugged in .