Refrigerator Door Alarm

wlf00 · 12-25-2008, 05:31 AM

I have a Norcold 121X series 4-door refrigerator that has the door alarm going off constantly. I have had it back to the dealer twice now. They have made sure the doors seal when closed and adjusted the door hinges and latches. I turned it on yesterday to get ready for a trip tomorrow and the door alarm is beeping. I can open and close the doors and the alarm will go off for a couple of minutes and comes back on again.

Does anyone know where the door sensor is located and how to adjust it? Is there a way to just shut off the alarm until I bring it back into the dealer?

Thanks,

wlf00 · 12-25-2008, 05:31 AM

I have a Norcold 121X series 4-door refrigerator that has the door alarm going off constantly. I have had it back to the dealer twice now. They have made sure the doors seal when closed and adjusted the door hinges and latches. I turned it on yesterday to get ready for a trip tomorrow and the door alarm is beeping. I can open and close the doors and the alarm will go off for a couple of minutes and comes back on again.

Does anyone know where the door sensor is located and how to adjust it? Is there a way to just shut off the alarm until I bring it back into the dealer?

Thanks,

Wayne M · 12-25-2008, 06:33 AM

Doesn't that just drive you crazy??? It did me!

The permanent fix is to install a "shim," well that is what I have been told by the dealer and the shim is supposedly on order. Because of what I am going to post here I am assuming the shim is for the door light switch.

My temporary fix (thanks to Winnebago Tech at Winnebago) is to find a point on the door where it strikes the light switch. Take a piece of paper towel and fold it into a rectangle, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick (Experiment if it doesn't work the first time) and using a piece of scotch tape, tape it where the door meets the striker. Close door and enjoy the peace and quiet.

No more door ajar alarm.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Edited: p.s., the door is actually closed when you hear the alarm, but the striker switch has not been deactivated by the door. The refrigerator is sealed and working properly except the light is on giving the false door ajar alarm.

Oh! And when I said it drove me crazy, it was the DW driving me crazy because she could hear it and continually complained. I'm half deaf, even with hearing aids so it did not pose a problem to me until I walked past it, then just a little push on the door would turn it off.

Jim Stewart · 12-25-2008, 06:37 AM

I researched this on this board and found many posts about the problem, the shim is a plastic washer that goes on the bottom hinge posts of the doors and raises them up just a hair. It is easy to do and some have even slit the washers and held the door up and pushed them over the hinge pin.

Hope this solves your problem

JRP · 12-25-2008, 06:42 AM

That door open alarm is controlled by the same two switches that turn the frig light on when the door is opened. At the top of each side's door to the fresh food (refrig) section, there is a white plastic, spring loaded switch which gets pushed closed as the door closes. The alarm goes off (and manually shuts off power to the light) if either of those switches remains open more than 2 mins(approx). There is no adjustment on the switch its mounted in a fixed position where the matching door physically makes contact and pushes it closed, as long as the door hinge isn't way out of alignment. You could manually push each switch closed (with the door open) to visually check that its turning the light off. As long as its turning the light on/off, it should also be clearing the door open alarm. Make sure someone hasn't removed or modified the upper storage section frame inside each door, where it contacts the light switch. The only other component is the display/alarm control panel.

wlf00 · 12-25-2008, 07:04 AM

Thank you all for your replies on Christmas day. Merry Christmas to all.

When I closed the right door and manually operated the switch for the left door, the light did not go off. I had to press just a little more on the right door and then it went off. I suspect that when I push on the doors, it closes the switch but then the door relaxes a little allowing the switch to open again. It is right on the ragged edge of operating correctly.

I taped some folded paper towel on both doors as Wayne had suggested. This should do the trick and give us some peace and quite on this trip. I will add this back on the list for the dealer along with a suggestion on how to fix it for good this time.

Thanks again. This forum is great.

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Joyous New Year.

Olive · 12-25-2008, 07:22 AM

I had the same problem which was solved in July at the GNR by the Norcold tech. He put the washer shim on the bottom hinge of the left door. My alarm was going off constantly also and was driving me crazy. It has not gone off once since the plastic washer was put in. It took him less than 5 minutes to do.

If you want the specific washer they use I bet if you call Norcold they would send you one. The tech did tell me they have now changed the door hinge design for new models.

Wayne M · 12-26-2008, 06:00 AM

The shims on the bottom hinges fixes permanently what the folded paper will do attached to the door where it strikes the switch. You could probably find a Teflon washer that would fit the hinge to achieve the same results. Just make sure you do not raise it so far as to keep it from making a good seal.

I agree that Norcold would probably send you one. My dealer has had them on order for over a month, but then they deal with Winnebago directly and not Norcold.

Good luck. Hope the paper gave you a pleasant Christmas Day Journey.

Have a Happy New Year.

PeteB · 12-31-2008, 03:44 AM

I "fixed" mine by putting a small strip of the "fuzzy" velcro tape on the switch itself which caused the switch to be pushed a little further. It has been working for the last 3 years.

Hope this helps.

Pete

wlf00 · 01-04-2009, 03:27 PM

I just got back in town after using the RV for 10 days. The folded paper towel worked like a charm. I never had the door ajar alarm go off once while I was out. I will be sure to let my dealer know about this when I bring it back in.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions.

h moffitt · 01-04-2009, 06:26 PM

I had the same problem, a service center put the door shim kit on and still had the same problem. I took a thin piece of white plastic from a 3M hook, trimmed it to the same size as the switch and glued it onto the switch. It was still working when I traded the MH 4 years later.

Wayne M · 01-05-2009, 05:13 AM

Ha! Ha! How much is the silence worth???