Norcold 2118SsT Keeps blowing fuse

Lewber

New Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2020
Messages
4
Location
Michigan is home.
We have a 2021 Momentum 397 with the dreaded Norcold 2118sst refrigerator.

We were boon docking for the last 2 weeks and running the fridge off of propane. The day before we left the fridge wasn't working, long story short.... the burner would ignite and run for about 10-15 minutes. The compartment would get hot and when the fans kicked on, the 5a fuse on the control panel (back of the fridge) would blow. After going through several fuses, we gave up on it.
We are now back on a full hookup site. Thew fridge ran fine on AC power for 3 days until yesterday....the same 5a fuse started blowing again.
Im wondering, bad control board AND bad fans??
Anyways, I switched the 5a fuse to a 7.5a fuse and it has been 24 hours (knock on wood) without the fuse blowing.

We are in the Northern upper peninsula of Michigan, on our way to Montana next week.
The closest RV tech is 2.5 hours away, so I am wondering what my fellow Grand Designers think?!

Thanks!
 
There have been previous discussions on this. My Norcold 1210 recently blew the 5A fuse and while troubleshooting I found one of my fans died. I replaced the fuse and all is well. I do plan to replace the broken fan and am considering the Titan fan fridge kit for the back which has a thermostat control for fan operation. I dont think you have a bad control board, I'd focus more on the fans first.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
There have been previous discussions on this. My Norcold 1210 recently blew the 5A fuse and while troubleshooting I found one of my fans died. I replaced the fuse and all is well. I do plan to replace the broken fan and am considering the Titan fan fridge kit for the back which has a thermostat control for fan operation. I dont think you have a bad control board, I'd focus more on the fans first.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Same here. Last summer had the same thing happen. Disconnect one of the fans to determine which is bad to get thru trip then replace both when you can. Knock on wood, no issues since!! only other added fan to fridge is the interior units and what a difference that made!!
 
Thanks for the good intel, I am going to look into that fan kit!

Titan fan kit is the way to go. You won't regret it. Wire them to the 12v supply direct. They have their own controller, and it is set to come on at 113 degrees F. Turns off at 68 degrees. I actually installed 2 sets. I don't know that my OEM fans ever come on at all anymore - and I really don't care. Have been trouble free for 9 months straight and the fridge cools to low 30s routinely.
 
Can you post a picture of how you wired them in?

3 pics attached. One showing two Titan controllers mounted on back of fridge. Each has its leads coiled and zip tied.
Distant pic shows the black-shielded leads exposed to show a small red and a red/black wire. The red wires are connected to 12v hot (white / orange) and /black are connected to 12v common (white) with automotive fusible links. Each fuse holder has a separate 2A fuse for each Titan controller (controls a pair of fans). Close-up pic shows connections in better detail. Pulled leads to top behind fridge, and BOTH sets of Titan fans mounted to my TOP fridge compartment vent. I reasoned that the Titans will pull hot air up the chase. But I know some have mounted dual sets one below a one above...
IMG_6075.jpg
IMG_6072.jpg
IMG_6074.jpg
 
3 pics attached. One showing two Titan controllers mounted on back of fridge. Each has its leads coiled and zip tied.
Distant pic shows the black-shielded leads exposed to show a small red and a red/black wire. The red wires are connected to 12v hot (white / orange) and /black are connected to 12v common (white) with automotive fusible links. Each fuse holder has a separate 2A fuse for each Titan controller (controls a pair of fans). Close-up pic shows connections in better detail. Pulled leads to top behind fridge, and BOTH sets of Titan fans mounted to my TOP fridge compartment vent. I reasoned that the Titans will pull hot air up the chase. But I know some have mounted dual sets one below a one above...
View attachment 35395
View attachment 35396
View attachment 35397





That is very helpful thank you!
 
Going through this issue as I type... Just replaced a fan and all is well. I hope there is not a next time but if there is I'll do the TITAN's too.

Question: Do the "stock" fans always run or turn on/off at a given temperature.

Cheers-Greg
 
The stock fans on a 2118 have a thermo-disc that is on the fins of the upper heat exchanger. That disc doesn't allow the fans to come on soon enough in my opinion....130 degrees before they turn on. The Titan fan kit I have will turn the fans on at 68 degrees, sensed from it's own thermostat probe, and then at around 113-115 degrees the fans will kick into their highest speed....if you have it selected for automatic operation. If you run it in manual mode, they run at whichever speed you select....and if I remember correctly, there are six speeds. If you do install one of these, remember to turn the controller off at the end of your camping trip otherwise the fans will run, even if the fridge is turned off and you will run your trailer batteries completely down.....if you aren't plugged into shore power at home, or have a solar setup for charging the batteries.

Controller mounted on side of wall that is next to the 2118 Norcold. The temperature probe is located in the back of the fridge compartment area where the upper and lower outside vents are located....
wIEmkbI.jpg
 
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Titan fan kit is the way to go. You won't regret it. Wire them to the 12v supply direct. They have their own controller, and it is set to come on at 113 degrees F. Turns off at 68 degrees. I actually installed 2 sets. I don't know that my OEM fans ever come on at all anymore - and I really don't care. Have been trouble free for 9 months straight and the fridge cools to low 30s routinely.

Maybe they make different models of the Titan, but on mine, when in auto operation, the fans come ON at 68 degrees wherever the temperature probe is located, and then at around 113-115 degrees, the fans will be at their top speed.....again, if they are set to auto, not manual.
 
We have a 2021 Momentum 397 with the dreaded Norcold 2118sst refrigerator.

We were boon docking for the last 2 weeks and running the fridge off of propane. The day before we left the fridge wasn't working, long story short.... the burner would ignite and run for about 10-15 minutes. The compartment would get hot and when the fans kicked on, the 5a fuse on the control panel (back of the fridge) would blow. After going through several fuses, we gave up on it.
We are now back on a full hookup site. Thew fridge ran fine on AC power for 3 days until yesterday....the same 5a fuse started blowing again.
Im wondering, bad control board AND bad fans??
Anyways, I switched the 5a fuse to a 7.5a fuse and it has been 24 hours (knock on wood) without the fuse blowing.

We are in the Northern upper peninsula of Michigan, on our way to Montana next week.
The closest RV tech is 2.5 hours away, so I am wondering what my fellow Grand Designers think?!

Thanks!

I agree with most that have posted here about the fans being the cause of the blown 5 amp fuse. Those fans pull almost 5 amps and if any of them start getting to the point where the bearing are getting bad.....or even if your battery voltage is a little low (that causes them to pull more amperage), the 5 amp fuse will blow. Norcold says that it is perfectly fine to put a 7 1/2 amp fuse in there instead of the 5 amp, and if that solves your issue, don't sweat the 7 1/2 instead of the 5 amp....it OK to do.
 
We are in the Northern upper peninsula of Michigan, on our way to Montana next week.
The closest RV tech is 2.5 hours away, so I am wondering what my fellow Grand Designers think?!

Thanks!

Interesting. I'm in MT headed to the UP in a week. :)
 
Maybe they make different models of the Titan, but on mine, when in auto operation, the fans come ON at 68 degrees wherever the temperature probe is located, and then at around 113-115 degrees, the fans will be at their top speed.....again, if they are set to auto, not manual.
I agree the Titans are the way to go. My 2118 was also blowing the fuses even after going to 7.5 amps. With the original fans disconnected, I installed two sets of the 120mm Titans, one in each vent cover (bottom drawing air in and upper blowing it out) and wired them into the connections on the controller board. Refrigerator runs perfectly now.
 

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