Norcold cooling problem

[Thumper13]

I have a 2019 Norcold NA8LX that after 12-24 hours cools great on gas, freezer and refrigerator. On electric power, after
24 hours the freezer works great but the
refrigerator will only get down to about 65F. Whats's going on?

[Thumper13]

Doug
I tried wiring the new heating element directly to 120v for 24 hrs. Temps were from 78-95 that day outside. After 24 hrs the freezer was 2 degress and the fridge was 48. The expense was mobile tech fee to my house $145 and 1 hour labor to diagnose at $135 then $60 for the heating element and 1.5 hr to install and 1/2 the mobile fee to come back. Total $615 and I dont think he fixed anything.

[dougrainer]

Thumper13 wrote:
Thanks Doug.
I get it. I have also had a probe in the freezer at the same time I had a probe in the fridge. It shows the temp to be 0-3 degrees.
How would I check to see that the AC heating element is seated properly?
I had a "technician" change it at great expense but it didn't improve performance. I do have a control board ordered.

You have to pull the refer to release the clips that hold the round metal tube that holds the insulation. Sometimes if the OEM gave enough room you can release the clips without removing the refer. You will see the tubes and if you can move the heat element and it moves inward and outward from the flue, it is loose. Do not confuse movement with up and down. Before you do this, wire the 120 element direct to 120 volts for 24 hours and see what the refer does. Doug

BTW, what was the great expense? It takes less than 1 hour to replace the 120 element. The only problem is, IF the old element is rusted/gauled and cannot be removed. Then you just insert a new element in the 2nd 120 element tube.

[Thumper13]

Thanks Doug.
I get it. I have also had a probe in the freezer at the same time I had a probe in the fridge. It shows the temp to be 0-3 degrees.
How would I check to see that the AC heating element is seated properly?
I had a "technician" change it at great expense but it didn't improve performance. I do have a control board ordered.

[dougrainer]

The freezer cools great and usually to 0 to 10 degrees because IT is the first evap plate the CU tubes run thru. Then it goes down to the lower evap plate. The Lower evap plate is where the tstat regulates lower cooling. There is NO regulation of the freezer cooling. AND, any CU blockage is AFTER the Freezer coils. That is why people think they have a good refer, because the freezer does so great. BUT!!!!! Freezing is anything below 32 degrees. Unless you get an accurate Thermometer reading on the freezer, then HOW would you be able to tell 15 degrees as opposed to 22 or 10 or 26 degrees> It ALL seems cold. AND, Frozen items in the freezer will KEEP the freezer temp a long time, even if you have a control problem. Doug

[Thumper13]

Doug
No offense intended. Perhaps I should have said "method" instead of "trick". I'll definitely use this method in the future and thanks for your input. I have a control board ordered and I'll get that cup of water ready. Thanks again.

[wa8yxm]

Thumper13 wrote:
So Why does the freezer work perfectly on electric power?

It may have to do with how often you open ye old door. That said.... I will be following this thread

While I'm not sure the way I understand it is the manufacturer decides the ratio of Freezer to Fridge cooling..

BUT.. There may be other factors (like cool freezer first THEN cool fridge) I am shooting in the dark here so if someone knows.. PLEASE POST.

[dougrainer]

The glass of water is NO TRICK. It is the ONLY way to verify lower refer temps. In EXTREME cases(I have only seen one in 43 years) the 120 element sleeve is partially detached. BUT, on a Norcold there are 2 sleeves and you just insert the element in the other sleeve if this is the case. Your Line voltage is great. Doug

[Thumper13]

OK let me try to answer all your questions. I have 123 volts to the control board.
I have changed the heating element. I wired it direct for 24 hours bypassing the control board and using a probe thermometer with one probe in the freezer and one in the refrigerator. The receiver for the probes is outside the refrigerator. After 24 hours the temp in the freezer was 0 and the fridge was 48 degrees. I'm in south Texas so the temps are high and throughout this have peaked over 100 but the RV is in a covered storage with no direct sun and plenty of ventilation. The whole unit works perfectly on LP and responds well to temp controls on fridge. The heating element ohms out at 43.5.
I'll try the glass of water trick with the probe in the fridge. I have also tried boosting ventilation with a fan blowing directly into the back of the cooling unit. There was no change.

[dougrainer]

How and what are you using to monitor the Temp? The ONLY correct way to monitor the lower refer temp is to take a digital thermometer and insert in a small glass of water after 24 hours. The freezer should be 0 to 10 degrees and the refer below 38 degrees. Doug

You cannot use a IR thermometer.

[pianotuna]

First come first serve on cooling. The Freezer is first in line.

[StirCrazy]

what temprature is the freezer getting to and how hot is it outside?

[dougrainer]

The reason may be as simple as the 120 is INOP. The freezer will NOT really lose cooling but the lower section will after you stated time frame. Doug

[dougrainer]

The BTU's for both 120 and LP are the SAME. 120 will cool just as good as LP. BUT, if the LINE VOLTAGE is below 114 volts, then the 120 element(also BTU) will be less to cool correctly. When you have marginal 120 line voltage then go to LP until the line voltage is above 115 volts. Doug

[paulfmco]

I was having similar issues with my Norcold NA10..freezer worked great on AC and gas, but no fridge cooling. I replaced the control board. It worked perfectly for three days, now it won't do anything on AC. I'm going to replace the control board again.