Norcold N7X issue

[Squatch]

Any idea why this fridge won't work?
Our first trip out and we are getting power, the green light is on, but the fridge is not cooling at all.

Trailer is level side to side and front to rear.

Wife is out to buy ice and coolers for the weekend

[dagst1]

How long has it been turned on as they sometimes up to 24 hours to cool down.

[Squatch]

It's been on for three hrs.
The freezer is working a bit right now but nothing in the fridge
The outside fridge is making frost on the back metal plate but the fridge itself isn't very cold...Our "water" is still very warm

[dagst1]

At 3 hours it will be just starting to cool. It will probably take a good 24 hours to cool down. We turn ours on 3 days before a trip then the wife loads it on the second day and we leave the next day after she gets home.

I mean no offense but is this your first camper? Another thing is a RV refrigerator does not make "cold" it is a heat absorption unit meaning it removes the heat from the air inside leaving cool air. So something to watch is what we call "fanning" the door as every time you get in it - it has to absorb that heat.

I may be wrong but let it set till tomorrow and you will find it find it will be ok.

[Squatch]

Yeah it is our first camper

[OhioMark]

Originally Posted by Squatch

Any idea why this fridge won't work?

Our first trip out and we are getting power, the green light is on, but the fridge is not cooling at all.



Trailer is level side to side and front to rear.



Wife is out to buy ice and coolers for the weekend

What is the ambient temperature in the trailer and outside temp? It’s 96 here right now and 106 in my trailer. For us it would take at least 24 hours to begin to feel cold on the fins. We find the propane setting works a tad faster.

[dagst1]

Well Hello and welcome. Being new you will have a learning curve. Things in a camper work different than your house so just hang in there and remember to have fun. If you need any help on anything else just ask as there a lot of knowledgeable people on here to help. One other thing if you don't have one already invest in a refrigerator thermometer to help keep track of the temp.

Enjoy your new camper!

[Jeffur]

If it's frosting on the back of the fridge ( on the condenser), you have a blockage.
Rap on the area with a 2x4 block and it may clear. Blockages are not uncommon and can lead to the wrong diagnosis for the fridge.

[Squatch]

Well the good news is that the freezer inside works, but the refrigerator is still warm and the outside fridge has a frozen back metal plate but the contents are warm.

Seems like the back metal plate was squished in so I pulled/bent it out a little and heard things working around immediately.

[harley]

Dont compare outside fridge with inside . Outside fridge is just a 110 v bar fridge...the inside is an rv fridge...freezer will start first and will take at leats 6 ish hrs to feel cool on the fins of the fridge part. If it is hot out, take the outside cover off and point a fan facing up to blow heat out the roof vent. Will help. If your fridge is in your slide you will need a fan alot of the time as the venting is slower...

[Aceallenk]

this spring I added a small fan inside the fridge which blows along the metal fins, and also added 3 fans inside the upper vent blowing outward and created a wind tunnel from bottom to top along the back metal tubes, plus inside the freezer I added another metal grate right on the very bottom so the contents is not directly sitting on the freezer base/bottom, allowing the cold to get out and around the stuff in there. my fridge has never been more efficient or worked so good. (inside fridge fan, wired to 12V light with a separate switch and fuse; https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B072HJ38PS/...v_ov_lig_dp_it ) and the upper 3 vent fans also wired to fridge 12V with seperate fuse and switch; https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01J52OYMS/...v_ov_lig_dp_it ) Just a thought that might help especially when camping in hot temperatures.

[Gregpriddy]

We also turn it on 3 days before we leave. And make sure what you put in , is already cold that will help it
Also.

[reedebr]

These guys are correct in evything they are saying, however last July I bought my 2019 262BH and had to have the whole fridge swapped out. The day I picked up the trailer was very hot out I turned the fridge on for a little while and it was getting cold and the green " all is normal" light was on so I figured all was well. One week later turned on fridge two days before going on first trip and same thing seemed like it was getting cold. We were on our way and it just never really got any colder, just cold enough to make you think it was working. Eventually I came to the realization it just wasn't going to work.

[NEVER2LATE]

Just found a great YouTube channel called “my RV works “. He is a mobile RV repair technician and he takes you through a live video as he is diagnosing all sorts of RV repairs.

[Squatch]

Cool I'll take a look. Learning new things everyday.