Freezer cold, fridge NOT 2010 Suncruiser 37F

[Scouts honor]

2010 37 F Itasca with the 3door frig and freezer. The freezer is deeezing but the frig is not. Any idea what is going on? Leaving on vacation on Tuesday May 2. Any help is appreciated.

[Ray,IN]

Please correct spelling enough to be understandable and give make and model of fridge.

[creativepart]

He is saying the freezer on his RV fridge is cold, but the lower fridge isn’t getting cold.

I see this issue come up on RV forums quite often. I’m sorry to say I don’t know a definitive answer. But there must be one out there. Hopefully, some here will provide an answer or point to other posts with answers.

[powercat_ras]

Could be that the refrigerator door is not sealing air tight anymore.

Take and cut a strip of notebook paper about 2" wide and close the refrigerator door on it all around if it easily pulls out then in a spot the door seal is not sealing air tight there. The long term fix is to replace the door seal. Short term suggestion if door not sealing tight is that you can pull the door shut more tightly with some wide masking tape.

[bigb]

We could help you a lot better if you would tell us if the fridge is absorption or compressor and if it is on gas or electric, and how long you waited for the fridge section to cool down.

[Scouts honor]

Absorption, either gas or electric it is not very cool.

[bigb]

Did it used to cool better or is it new to you? Did you give it at least overnight and is the fridge side in the shade?

[Morich]

This looks like the frig is not the OEM two door frig, so knowing more about which brand and model of frig may be a big point?

I don't know the three door frig at all but this is a common complaint on house frigs and it can be pretty simple. As the is only one compressor/cooling unit, if the freezer is good, then it is likely just aproblem with the doors as mentioned but many times it is a matter of getting the cold from the frezer to the frig section!

Does the RV frig have a small cooling fan on the three door models? That is often the case in home frigs as the fan gets stuck someway or goes bad and that leaves plenty of cooling up top but not getting blown into the other section.

Another point that can happen if we pack a frig too full is simply pushing something too close over the vents that come from top to bottom. Stick something like a plastic wrapped item too close over that vent and the frig gets warm!

[Scouts honor]

Hey Monich it is a Norcold 4 door frig. I assume it it absorbs ions NOT compressor. It does not have a fan inside but I bought ones today and put in on top shelf. I’ll check in in a couple of hours. As far as packing the frig, I have not packed it yet for our trip. Was waiting to make sure it is cooling.
Another subject you helped me on was the smell. We’ll finally figured it out!! The toilet in the back is a power flush masceratot. ( I think that is what it’s called ) anyway the mascerator pipe was not in the joint going into the black tank. Therefore all this Sh t was being dumped to a cavity next to the rear wheels. Had to take side off around wheel and all of the cabinets in the 1/2 bath to get it sanitized and cleaned out. AFTER bleaching and washing thoroughly I had to put fans in the area to dry it out. This took 3 days and another day of getting the correct pipe to go into the black tank and had to make pipe of difference sizes to taper down to the masceator pipe. I did not just stick it in the pipe I used pipe clamps to fasten the the pipe so it can’t come out. This was a ordeal I hope no one else experiences. I thank you for the diagrams etc….and all of your knowledge. Thanks again. Henry

[Morich]

UGH! AS in SUPER ugly??

But moving on to the frig, it looks like Norcold has two models of four door frig and they both seem to have fans.
So since I've not been anywhere near an RV with one of those, maybe I should shoot some info your way and let you take a look at which one you may have and see if the fans seem to be running
This is the Norcold site for the four door frig and leads to several manuals where I found the drawings.

https://norcold.com/product-category...refrigerators/

My guess is that the fan may not be running but that can be a bad fan or a bad thermostat as I see one listed on the drawings.

Suspect more likely fan or wiring before the thermostat if the freezer seems to be okay??

Smaller frig first but it is not at all clear where these set on it. Whether the fans blow on the fins to carry air from freezer down to frig or if they are just to move air on the back to work the absortion deal???



The bigger frig seems to look more like it blows down through fins but maybe some of that will make more sense if looking at the right spots?


Maybe probe around in those manuals and it may give a method to test the thermostat by putting it in aice water? Older absorptiion frig are done that way, so might assume that would work??

Maybe you have a metal label like down at the bottom on the inside? Maybe on back if you can't spot by looking at the parts?

Good luck on the chase! AT least you" ll breathee easier!

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Scouts honor

Hey Monich it is a Norcold 4 door frig. I assume it it absorbs ions NOT compressor. It does not have a fan inside but I bought ones today and put in on top shelf. I’ll check in in a couple of hours. As far as packing the frig, I have not packed it yet for our trip. Was waiting to make sure it is cooling.
Another subject you helped me on was the smell. We’ll finally figured it out!! The toilet in the back is a power flush masceratot. ( I think that is what it’s called ) anyway the mascerator pipe was not in the joint going into the black tank. Therefore all this Sh t was being dumped to a cavity next to the rear wheels. Had to take side off around wheel and all of the cabinets in the 1/2 bath to get it sanitized and cleaned out. AFTER bleaching and washing thoroughly I had to put fans in the area to dry it out. This took 3 days and another day of getting the correct pipe to go into the black tank and had to make pipe of difference sizes to taper down to the masceator pipe. I did not just stick it in the pipe I used pipe clamps to fasten the the pipe so it can’t come out. This was a ordeal I hope no one else experiences. I thank you for the diagrams etc….and all of your knowledge. Thanks again. Henry

OK, now with a little bit of information we can begin. A Norcold refrigerator works by absorption, it absorbs heat from inside and conducts it to outside..
There are 2 fans on the back-side cooling unit to cool the boiling vapors to turn it back into a liquid.
This is what absorbs the inside heat. If the fans are not running the boiling vapors never cool enough to draw heat from the fridge.
Temporarily add a small fan blowing upwards at the back of the fridge(lower opening), then observe results after 24hrs. (do not open doors)
If you see yellow dust or stains, the cooling unit is ruined and must be replaced.

This is how it works:

[Morich]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

OK, now with a little bit of information we can begin. A Norcold refrigerator works by absorption, it absorbs heat from inside and conducts it to outside..
There are 2 fans on the back-side cooling unit to cool the boiling vapors to turn it back into a liquid.
This is what absorbs the inside heat. If the fans are not running the boiling vapors never cool enough to draw heat from the fridge.
Temporarily add a small fan blowing upwards at the back of the fridge(lower opening), then observe results after 24hrs. (do not open doors)
If you see yellow dust or stains, the cooling unit is ruined and must be replaced.

This is how it works:

With the freezer working but not cooling the frig section, I was looking for how the "cool" gets moved from top to lower or other sections. Do you know if both sizes have a fan design like a home frig to move it from one to the other?

I was not seeing the full picture on either of these two sizes. One appears to give the front and the other is the back side parts??

[Ray,IN]

Referring to the picture I posted; the absorption cooling unit cools the most when the very hot (think steam type hot) begins to cool and draws heat from the freezer section. Then as the vapors descend while cooling, the same procedure happens with the refrigerated section.
What I think is happening is the cooling solution is not cooling fast enough as it descends through the piping and simply bypasses cooling the refrigerator section.
.
Your Norcold has 2 OEM fans and a thermostatically controlled on/off switch near the top of those condensing pipes.Adding a temporary fan blowing upward is testing that theory

[Morich]

Ok with that idea.
I had just assumed the three door frig would be a bit more elaborate than the old two door. Not always safe to assume, though!

[Eagle5]

I just watched a video on this, and have a separate post regarding same:
RV Absorption Refrigerator Explanation Video
If you open the side inspection hatch and see evidence of a brightly-colored die stain, then some of your coolant has leaked. If that is the case, the freezer will freeze, but the refrigerator will not fully cool.
Thanks, Eagle5

[Mtn Charlie]

I have a 2012 Itasca Suncruiser 37F, so am very familiar with your fridge. There is cooling fin on the back inside of the fridge section. That heatsink/cooling fin has a sensor with a wire attached to it. If that connection has become corroded it does not send accurate information to the electronics. Moving the sensor around on the cooling fin can also improve performance. I used a digital laser thermometer to find the warmest part of the fin and connected the sensor there. Adding a pancake fan to the coils on the back if the fridge (outside compartment) also increases performance on hot days. (I live in Florida).

[Scouts honor]

Thanks, order the dans for the outside compartment. I purchased a cube fan on line for inside grid and it seem to circulate the cool air inside. Hopefully the fan outside will help.
Another question. Does your MH have a auto flush. I guess that is what it’s called. Flushes like a household toilet except the push button on the side wall. Sometimes when you push the flush button nothing happens. And then you go back and flush again and it works. Have you had this problem?

[Mtn Charlie]

Yes, my RV has the power flush but I have never had any issues with it not flushing. We rarely use it because the 1/2 bath is more accessible. The sewer pipe did have a leak, which wouldn't happen with a gravity flush. Most RV toilets don't flush under pressure but that toilet is over 15 feet from the black tank.