Norcold N10DCX Icing Up in 2021 Winnebago View 24D

[Keith_6a]

I recently purchased a 2021 Winnebago View and the Norcold compressor fridge is icing up at the upper 6 inches of the rear of the fridge. The setting is at "3" and it can only reach 42 F. at the center of the fridge and 50 degrees in the crispers. The Freezer is also set to "3" and is at 5 degrees F. The door seems tight, I checked it by sliding a piece of paper around the gasket.
I tried setting both compartments to "5" and after 12 hours the temps were 33 degrees in fridge and 0 degrees in freezer. The icing issue in the fridge became intense, ambient humidity was 35%.
Additionally, from a warm start it takes 12 hours to cool, is that too long? It also takes a long time to recover after the fridge door in opened.
Is any of this normal operation? I'm wondering if the refrigerant could be low. The lower 2/3 of the back of the fridge does not seem very cold at all, all the cooling seems to be coming from the very top. Also, it seems the compressor is running 80-90% with the coach at 80 degrees.

 

[Morich]

The way I do repair is changing as we get better answers from AI systems!
Do you have access to Copilot, which is the Microsoft one?
I had your post onscreen and ran the question past AI and seem to have gotten what looks like a very good answer. The problem is that I got way too much to pass along here, so might first suggest you check Copilot if handy and get a much more complete rundown.
Basic first thought that I can snip and show you is that there is likely to be an airflow problem almost definitely NOT a cooling problem as a whole. There are a couple ideas on things that can cause this. One is blocking the vents that pass air from top to bottom. This can be as simple as how you have stocked the frig, if it blocks airflow around, up and down inside the frig.
But this is part of the info about checking the fan which moves this air. Maybe the fan is not running?
Maybe check this and go to the souce for more ideas and details?

Their final section of 5?

Good luck on the chase, but I'm finding good stuff by going there when not really experienced in any area!
I trust them more when they are not trying to sell me anything! But there are several other sections as well!

 

[klook]

I would like to know the model # of the fridge first. If it is an absorption fridge it is normal, within reason.

 

[creativepart]

I would like to know the model # of the fridge first. If it is an absorption fridge it is normal, within reason.

His original posts says it’s a compressor fridge and his thread title contains the model number.

 

[Morich]

Since this is a compressor frig, it works very much like our home frig, only smaller.
At home we have a compressor that does the cooling and sends it to the freezer. That is where we want it coldest. But the rest of the frig, outside the freezer is just cooled by passing some of that air on around, often with the places we want cool but not cold, being near the bottom and further away from the freezer where we put the most cold. But the trick to making the different levels of cooling we want, frozen, cold, and just cool is how much air and how far we move it as the air gets warmer as it travels.
But whether it is home frig or RV, we have to make sure that cold air does get moved to the places we want cooled to different levels!
Step one might be to make sure the fan runs but also we need to avoid blocking the airflow when we stock the frig. It took a bit to train my wife to avoid putting things fully against the back wall of our new frig even though it did let her store more in the space. If you bring a jug of milk home and store it flat up against the air vent, there is a good chance the frig stops cooling and there is a good chance the freezer temp runs colder if all the cooling stays in the freezer!
But there are several different ways this simple idea can go wrong!

 

[klook]

So its a 12v fridge and the problems are legion. The freezer is working fine so the problem is in the back where the cold air either tumbles down thru a door or is blown thru a door. More likely blown. I have seen the doors freeze shut, the entire back freeze solid, and there are a couple of situations that can cause it. They are 12v hogs and can have problems with poor supply. Brinkley had a recall to install heavier wires. I would shut it down entirely and let it thaw out, and if you can check the voltage drop on the supply wire when you turn it back on. After that, unless you are handy and can tear into it and use a multimeter, call a tech.

 

[Keith_6a]

Ok, I've checked the little fan, it is spinning at this time (as long as the door switch is pressed). I've also rearranged the shelves to better suit our needs and I've lowered the top shelf to leave more air space under the fan as well. The initial ice-up was in Prescott, AZ (5700' elevation) and now that the coach is back in Phoenix I see little frost buildup -- but of course, it's 110 F. (43 C.), humidity is 15% and the fridge is empty now.
Once I took the shelving out I then saw the trough and drain hole 1/3 from the fridge bottom -- against the rear wall. The strange thing was that I was getting lots of water in the (second) shelf 1/3 from the top (enough to saturate a hand towel 3-4 times a day) and was concerned that if the towel was not wrung out the water might leak onto the floor. When we bought the '21 View in March, the fake wood paper glued to the toe kick had peeled (we replaced it at La Mesa RV) and I wondered if fridge leakage could have been the cause -- don't want to ruin the repair job.
I think in the future I'll level the coach so the passenger side is slightly low, maybe that (and the shelf rearrangement) will keep the shelves dry. In July we're leaving for a two month trip that includes the Oregon coast and I know we'll see higher humidity there.

Thanks to all for your insights! This is our first 12v compressor, the last coach had a big residential Whirlpool that ran off the inverter and we always had gas absorption prior to that.

 

[klook]

If you have excessive water in the fridge, do the dollar bill test on the seals. They should be tight all the way around.

 

[Morich]

Maybe consider working in any way you can think of to reduce the humidity inside the frig. Checking the door seals is first step but you may find the old trick of leaving something inside to adsorb/reduce the humidity is also worth doing. A small dish of baking soda, may help?
Also a check of the drain may turn up something cloggin it? A common issue with Air conditioner drains can be that algea grows in the drainline to stop it up.
Here in Central Texas, where it is nearly impossible to do a normal basement, we often find houses are on a concrete slab and the air unit is in the attic. That makes keeping the drain line open is a big deal, so pouring a half cup of bleach down is on my calender as a way to keep the algea killed.
If you can locate the drain line, a shot of compressed air may lead to clearing the line and it is possible that is the major problem if the condensation is normal but can't drain, you may get the same result as too much condensation?

 

[klook]

This line you speak of is also supposed to have a plug at the end to trap some moisture to prevent humid air from entering thru the line. most people have no idea it exists or what its for. Most fridges seem to work fine without it. Blowing air out it will likely dislodge it. This is where its tough to tell a customer what to look for and where. Work your magic with the schematics and show him.