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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / September 2006Help with my new old fridge
Hi, I have a 1999 Coleman Westlake that has a NorCold 323T fridge. When I first tried it I ad not precooled it and started with LP at first then switched to AC after several hours. The Temp was 100+(InTexas) with a low of about 78 at night. The PU was in the shade with the AC on. The cool items I put in just stayed cool but not cold. When I got home I took the PU to the dealer who said that they tried it on AC for over two hours and it never got cooler. They say I may need a new one. I went home and started googleing about this and other fridges. So after seeing that a new one was anywhere from $430 to $499 I desided to test sone more. I sent up the PU and turned on th LP. I added a thremo and the 3VDC fan that I bought at Camper World. As I was messing around with some other things I checked back and saw that the temp was moving down from 100 (still hot here) and no shade. I added some ice blocks and the temp really started down. When I had to close up the temp was either 48 or 50. I have had to work late the next two days and today I cranked the PU up and checked the temp andit was 60 or 62. I added a frozen 1/2 of a beef brisket and the temp moved done to 48 after about one hour. So my questions are what kind of cooling can I expect running LP colding setting in 100+ temp in the sun with a few cold items. Is it normal for AC to not work when the PU is closed up? My guess us the AC heater may be shot but the cooling flow system us working somewhat and not pluged up too bad. I have a fan for the outside but have not found a easy way to mount it yet. Would unscrewing the fridge and laying it on its left side help? IF the AC heater is bad is it worth the bucks to repair? BTW I have not tried DC for very long. Any thing else I should look at? Thanks in advance Kevin > I have a 1999 Coleman Westlake that has a NorCold 323T fridge. > [tried everything, still won't cool properly] > Any thing else I should look at? I think you have it pretty well covered. Your refrigerator is probably toast. Sorry. :( As you have discovered, professional replacement is quite expensive, especially considering the diminutive size of the unit. All do-it-yourself efforts toward and EFFECTIVE repair are probably wasted at this point. If you decide to NOT replace the refrigerator, just ask and I'll describe what we did the the vacant space after having our dead one removed. Good luck!  Signature:) JR > If you decide to NOT replace the refrigerator, just ask and I'll describe what > we did the the vacant space after having our dead one removed. Good luck! > -- > :) > JR Sure as a backup what did you add a AC unit? KP >> If you decide to NOT replace the refrigerator, just ask and I'll >> describe what we did the the vacant space after having our dead >> one removed. > Sure as a backup what did you add a AC unit? Heh! That's funny. :) (I am one of probably TWO here that don't believe in AC in/on a popup.) Our little Dometic RM2190 (1.9 cu.ft.) lasted 8 or 9 years. When it died, I heard all (and considered most) of the options and home remedies recently mentioned here, i.e. place it on its side or up-side-down, yadda yadda). I'm sure it was self-serving that the dealer that sells and installs replacment RV refrigerators cautioned that, removing the unit and trying the [place it on its side overnight/whatever] fix was only temporary. He quoted me an installed replacement price that was close to half the value of the camper! Since we always brought along a larger ice chest/cooler ANYWAY, even when the refrigerator was running great, we just had the repair place tear out the old hulk and build a storage cabinet in its place. They kept the grillwork outside but covered it from the inside. It was a GREAT addition the camper and we didn't really miss the fridge at all. After all, the teeny, tiny refrigerator required crawling on hands-and-knees on the floor to look into the back of the thing for the ketchup while you can STAND and look down into an ice chest. Gone. Huge compartment w/single shelf for BIG pots and pans and other bulky items. Never looked back. Signature:) JR > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > Thanks in advance > Kevin First in answer to the question about AC. Since it uses a different heater than LP, the AC heater could well fail. You should be able to check the resistance with an ohm meter. When plugged in you should be able to feel the boiler housing getting hot. However, you should be able to get the box a lot colder with LP. If the system is plugged it is a different story. Plugging often happens after being operated for long periods with the refrigerator not being level. The liquid ammonia puddles along the way down the tubes and crystallizes. Sometimes turning the unit over will dislodge those crystals but the fix is usually temporary. If you have an Amish community nearby you might check to see if they have an ammonia absorption gas refrigerator repair facility. They don't use electric refrigerators. I suppose you have looked at the web sites such as: http://www.rverscorner.com/articles/refer.html > Any thing else I should look at? Before replacing the unit, you might check into the "baffle mod." Seems the stock design does not allow heat to efficiently dissapate from the external cooling fins. Many PUP'ers have added baffleing to improve the convection and some have even added fans. This is accessilble thru the outside access panel (usually there are two, and the cooling fins are behind the upper panel.) If i can find a link to the baffle mod, I will post it. You could try a fan just to see if this helps the fridge get cooler. Good Luck. Tom > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > Thanks in advance > Kevin I have herd of removing the refrig and turn it upside down for a couple for a while then reinstall and try it again. Update I used the setup with added cooling fans improved air ducting for four days/three nights and and got the temp to go from 93 down to 26!!! During the day it held at about 33-36. This was on LP. The AC looks to be dead with DC working but just to hold temp. Thanks for the input. KP > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > Thanks in advance > Kevin Did you try an ohm meter on the AC line? Replacement of the heater should not be a major job. > Update I used the setup with added cooling fans improved air ducting > for four days/three nights and and got the temp to go from 93 down to [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] >> Thanks in advance >> Kevin > Did you try an ohm meter on the AC line? Replacement of the heater should > not be a major job. [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] >>> Thanks in advance >>> Kevin On my motor home in the 1980's, the AC stopped working and was a bad connection in the wires in the back of the fridge. Then the Thermocouple went out later. Do not know how to check the Thermocouple, but the wire connection was the spade connector was slid in next to the female part, and only worked part of the time. Was it when I pulled the unit apart to troubleshoot. |
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