Norcold 12CF fridge model 1210 quit working

[Huberjack]

Our Reflection is only 2 months old, 2021. The other day the fridge just stopped. No power, not electric or 12V so even propane would not work. Fuses in the back are ok. Technician replaced the control board and it worked for about an hour before it quit again. This is all under warranty HOWEVER...we have this new 5th wheel because on 4/28/21 we were in a tornado and huge hail storm in Hondo TX. Our 5th wheel was totaled so we bought a new one. Our truck is STILL in a body shop getting put back together and we only have a little rental car we are currently paying out of pocket for. So, taking it into the dealership is NOT an option. We had to call a technician and then try to be reimbursed by Norcold. So far we have spent $600 and are waiting for the tech to return with a solution from Norcold. Has anyone else had this happen and what did you do?

[Huberjack]

Today another new control board was installed and it blew out in about 30 mins. The tech is at a loss and has contacted Norcold for advice. Any other advice would be awesome.

[ncitro]

Today another new control board was installed and it blew out in about 30 mins. The tech is at a loss and has contacted Norcold for advice. Any other advice would be awesome.

Any idea what is failing on the board? I would think the tech should be talking to Norcold about it, but I think all that could be wrong would be a wire somehow shorting to ground somewhere. If it were to short out and draw too much current that could short out the power supply on the board.

[howson]

Huberjack -- I'd be looking at the quality of the power provided to the refrigerator. AC riding on 12vDC can cause all kinds of weird problems. (I'm thinking there's a 12v issue since the control board is typically powered by that source.)

[KSC_Travels]

Huberjack

Not sure if this is related, but there is an issue with the cooling fans on the 1210. In these other cases, when a fan (or fans) fail, the 5A fuse on the board blows (protecting the board). In your case the symptoms seem similar - i.e. failing after 30 minutes which is about when the cooling fans kick in. Bit of a long shot but might want to check the cooling fans.


Norcold 1210T Issues on 2021 GD 303RLS

[Huberjack]

UPDATE: I searched online for the issue and found that this is a known issue. I'm not sure why Grand Design or Norcold didn't have the info. The fans cause the 5Amo fuse to fail on the control board. The solution was to replace the fans and the fuse. After 3 weeks with no working fridge, this resolved the issue. It cost us $1200 to fix this and it is under warranty. We're now trying to get reimbursed.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Hmmmm. I'm going to separately fuse those factory fans.
Huberjack Thanks for the update

Hope GD takes care of you.

[KSC_Travels]

Hmmmm. I'm going to separately fuse those factory fans.
Huberjack Thanks for the update

Hope GD takes care of you.

Scott'n'Wendy That's not a bad idea! It could be easily done - and I would suggest fusing each one separately so if one fan fails, the other continues. Each draws power from the same supply wire at the top vent area - just have to unwrap the wire loom to find the blade connectors. Each fan is rated at 0.40A, so a 1A inline fuse for each should work, and would (hopefully) blow before the 5A fuse on the board.

The only drawback would be that you wouldn't necessarily know when a fan, or fans, has failed... but at least the fridge would continue to operate, just not as efficiently.

Ken

[Scott'n'Wendy]

fridge would continue to operate, just not as efficiently.
Ken

That would have to be your reason to check the fan fuses.

Suppose you could get fancy and connect an led across each fuse. As long as the fuse is good, the led would be off.