Norcold 2118 fridge problem

[Jarhead123]

Our norcold refrigerator is kicking out 5 amp fuse

[KamFlyer]

Our 2118 never did work satisfactorily so we ripped it out and replaced it with a 22 cuft LG residential.
A side benefit is it uses about 10% of the energy the Nocold did.
-Rob-

[Captcolour]

Our 2021 Solitude came with the Norcold 2118. Just completed our first trip and the reefer worked great. Worked on electric the whole time at the RV park. Temps outside were high 80s/low 90s. Fridge was 36 or less, and actually got down to 30-31. Adjusted the setting from 9 down to 6 or 7. Freezer stayed right around zero the whole time. Yes I installed temperature probes with a digital readout that attaches to the front of the door with a magnet.

[wavecruzer79]

Hi All,
We have a 2018 Solitude 310gk with the 18 cubic ft. fridge. Last March we took it into our dealer bcuz it wasn't cooling. Door seal was repaired but that didn't fix it so they ended up replacing the cooling unit. Has worked fine (fridge 32 degrees, freezer 10 degrees) We are nearly home from a 5 wrk trip and the fridge isn't cooling well on setting 9 the fridge is running about 45 and freezer 20. We are very discouraged as our Solitude has been in the shop 12 weeks during the first year for a lot of repairs, not including the repairs my husband has done himself. Our 1 year warranty is up and we are not sure what will happen at this point. We are seasoned rvers, retired, but not full timers, just the two of us. We just don't believe that this beautiful fridge should be having problems like this when it is just over a year old. If you have experience like this we would appreciate any advice as to how we can get this resolved without breaking the bank. TIA

Been having the same issues with my 2021 397th. Apparently it’s normal, you can get a replacement cooling unit that functions as a dual compressor running on 12v from https://jc-refrigeration.com

For a fix that has seem to lower the fridge to 32-34 over night but my freezer is still at 21-24 I installed three fans on the back. I decided to wire a flip switch to have full control, but it could be wired to the existing cooling fans to shut on and off. The goal is to get that hot absorption air out of the back.

I used a 5” hole saw and some screws to hold them up, the final wiring was much cleaner, soldered and heat shrunk.

[xrated]

Been having the same issues with my 2021 397th. Apparently it’s normal, you can get a replacement cooling unit that functions as a dual compressor running on 12v from https://jc-refrigeration.com

For a fix that has seem to lower the fridge to 32-34 over night but my freezer is still at 21-24 I installed three fans on the back. I decided to wire a flip switch to have full control, but it could be wired to the existing cooling fans to shut on and off. The goal is to get that hot absorption air out of the back.

I used a 5” hole saw and some screws to hold them up, the final wiring was much cleaner, soldered and heat shrunk.

I have a Momentum 394M with the same fridge and after looking at your pictures, I'd like to offer a bit of advice, based on what I did and the results. The three fans that you installed is a great idea (I installed two, not three).......but, the location of the fan mounting is not the most efficient place to put them. The fans need to be mounted as high up as possible in that upper vent opening....yours are not. In fact, the three fans you are using are actually pushing air out through the vents BEFORE it has a chance to flow across the heat exchanger....and air flow across the heat exchanger coils is key to making the fan mod work. It's not a matter of just removing air from the compartment behind the fridge, it a matter of forcing the air up and across the heat exchanger. It's really not much different than any other heat exchanger setup....move air across the coils and cooling fins...not just remove the air that they are in. I'm not criticizing....just trying to help you with a better result.

Mine are mounted to the inside of the upper grill itself, as high as I can get them and still be able to put the grill cover back on the trailer. The results......I went from a setting of #9 and mediocre results in the fridge. to a setting of 3 or 4. The original temperature before the fan install were typically upper 30s to lower 40s in the fridge, and mid to high teens in the freezer. After the fan install...AND the setting on either #3 or #4 (depending on how hot it is outside), I am now seeing around 33 degrees in the fridge, and around 3 or 4 degrees in the freezer compartment....even when outside air temperatures are in the low 90s.

[wavecruzer79]

That makes sense, no worries, that’s why these exist to learn from each other. I did think the same thing about location, but I wasn’t quite sure how to mount them. Do you have any grill pictures? I can CA glue another 1/4 ply over these to fill the voids and then try and remount a bit higher. That makes sense since the factory fans are lower and blowing up to the fins.

Another thing I noticed, the popular Acu-Rite sensors have been off by several degrees; higher at that. I'm using my FireBoard smoker box to monitor it over wifi, it has 6 channels and I'm using ambient air sensors hanging in both, I'm placing them closer to the back right next to the Acu-Rite sensors. I trust these a lot more than the wireless ones.

[orbsah]

Good info here - thanks to all who are contributing! Our fridge is going on a year old and up until last weekend's trip it's been flawless. However last weekend I noticed the temps (both freezer and fridge) were higher than usual w/ the setting on 9. Outside temps were ~75'ish degrees and mostly in the shade. We didn't have much food in there and all I did was move stuff off the upper shelf and away from the sides. Seemed to help a lot as the next morning, the temps got back down. However one thing I did notice is fans were running continuously - never shut off unless I lowered the setting to 8. Then it would shut off for a few minutes, then kick on again. I seemed like the temps were where they needed to be but it was working hard to maintain it. Prior to last weekend, the fridge would cycle on/off while maintaining good temperatures on a setting of about 5.

I'll have to check the warranty; It's probably just slightly past the one-year mark. Technically, it is working - I'm just not sure if the events of last weekend signal more problems coming and if I should do anything now to be proactive.

[xrated]

That makes sense, no worries, that’s why these exist to learn from each other. I did think the same thing about location, but I wasn’t quite sure how to mount them. Do you have any grill pictures? I can CA glue another 1/4 ply over these to fill the voids and then try and remount a bit higher. That makes sense since the factory fans are lower and blowing up to the fins.

Another thing I noticed, the popular Acu-Rite sensors have been off by several degrees; higher at that. I'm using my FireBoard smoker box to monitor it over wifi, it has 6 channels and I'm using ambient air sensors hanging in both, I'm placing them closer to the back right next to the Acu-Rite sensors. I trust these a lot more than the wireless ones.

Sorry, I don't have any pics of the install, but the Titan brand fan kit I bought came with some hangers that attach with screws and clips to the back of the black grill cover. I have a set of the Acu-Rite sensors/display for our too and I've found them to always be within a couple degrees of a Taylor brand thermometer that we have.

And I have one other question for you. It looks to me like the fans you have mounted maybe need to be put on the other side of the plywood piece. Are they trying "suck air out".....or "push air out"? The curvature of the fan blades leaves me to thing that you are trying to "suck air out" instead of pushing it out.