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We have an N8XRT RV refrigerator in our 2020 Sportster 5th…

We have an N8XRT...

We have an N8XRT RV refrigerator in our 2020 Sportster 5th wheel camper. The control panel on the refrigerator indicates that it is working - no flashing lights. But it is not cold inside - ice cubes have melted in the freezer along with the other food & the refrigerator part is warm - the fins in the back are room temperature or warmer.

Mechanic's Assistant: When did you last clean the coils at the bottom or back of your Norcold refrigerator? How old is it?

January 2020 is the production date of the camper and we not cleaned the coils. How would we get to them?

Mechanic's Assistant: How long has this been going on with your Norcold refrigerator? What have you tried so far?

We left Northern Minnesota on Tursday & thought maybe I was just too cold for the refrigerator. It has been in the 30’s up until yesterday. We are now in Oklahoma City where it was in the 70’s. This is the first time we have had any trouble with it.

Mechanic's Assistant: Is there anything else the Appliance Expert should know before I connect you? Rest assured that they'll be able to help you.

I don’t think so.

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Answered in 5 minutes by:

3/23/2023

RV Mechanic: Randall, RVIA Certification replied 2 months ago

Randall, RVIA Certification

Category: RV

Satisfied Customers: 30,302

Experience: RVDA/RVIA Master Certified Technician with many years experience.

Verified

Good afternoon from California! My name is ***** ***** I am a Master Certified RV Technician and have been in the RV business nearly 20 years. I have been assisting customers like yourself on this site for over 14 years now. Please give me a few minutes to study your question and type up a response for you. Understanding your question is important to me.

Please don't be an alarmed if I don't get right back to you after you respond. We work on more than one question at a time here when it is busy. I may be on a phone chat with another customer and those usually last less than 5 minutes. Your patience is appreciated! Thank you for bringing your question to us here at Just Answer and your trust in our reputation is appreciated and I look forward to helping your resolve this issue. I should be able to assist you with this and get it sorted out quickly once I get a bit more information from you. Thanks!

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May I ask who I have the pleasure of assisting here today please?

Customer reply replied 2 months ago

Renee

RV Mechanic: Randall, RVIA Certification replied 2 months ago

Good morning, Renee. Sorry to hear that this Norcold N8X fridge is not cooling and has no error codes showing. It happens that way sometimes. Did this fridge endure some extended time at sub-freezing temperatures recently?

Randall

Customer reply replied 2 months ago

we live in Northern Minnesota & we put our camper in cold storage for the winter in October where temperatures can be below 0 quite frequently. We took it out of storage last Friday.When we left home on Tuesday it was 2 degrees above 0.

RV Mechanic: Randall, RVIA Certification replied 2 months ago

I thought so. I have seen this same symptom quite a few times over this winter and it is especially worse this year due to the extreme cold in so many places. When it is that cold for extended periods of time, the cooling chemicals in the cooling unit will separate since one of them is water. It can be hard, if not impossible sometimes to get them to remix again. This is successful about 50% of the time. If they won't remix after a few days of trying, you are faced with having to replace the cooling unit. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here! Do you want to give this a shot and see if you can revive this one? I can explain how this is done.

Randall

Customer reply replied 2 months ago

SureMy husband repairs home kitchen appliances.

RV Mechanic: Randall, RVIA Certification replied 2 months ago

You can try to get them to remix using an alternating schedule of about 4 hours over a few days. You turn the fridge on either mode and allow it to heat up on the boiler and coils on the rear of the fridge. If the fridge is still on now, then turn it off and give it about 4 hours to cool down again to ambient temps again on the cooling unit. Then turn it back on again and let it heat up for about 4 hours. Do this a number of times over several days. IF at any time, it seems to begin to cool, then leave it on and see if it will cool down properly. Let me know what happens and we an go from there. IF the cooling unit does need replacement after you try this, it sounds like your husband is quite qualified to do this repair. It is not technically that difficult, but it does require removing the fridge from the coach. It is about a 3 to 4 hour job. Lots of good videos online showing this procedure.

Randall

Customer reply replied 2 months ago

OK - thanks! Where can we get a new refrigerator in the Choctaw OK area?

RV Mechanic: Randall, RVIA Certification replied 2 months ago

I am not sure. I would Google that. The price will vary for sure. Nearly $2,000 I suspect, if you are in a hurry. Try a local shop or dealer and get a price. The new one may be a different model number, but the same size and features.

Randall

Customer reply replied 2 months ago

Yeah - we are losing our food & have two more days of driving before our destination. I will try to find one. Thanks!

RV Mechanic: Randall, RVIA Certification replied 2 months ago

https://www.amazon.com/NORCOLD-INC-2-Way-2Dr-Refrigerator/dp/B07CZ4PK4Z/ref=sr_1_2?adgrpid=1339206392577144&hvadid=83700597875035&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=43761&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83701206971747%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=5925_13194350&keywords=norcold+n8x&qid=1679576008&sr=8-2

That is a model NA8XLR at Amazon. The best price I saw on your model was at Camping World. About $1,800 and they should give you several hundred dollars for yours. It is rebuildable.

Randall

Customer reply replied 2 months ago

Good to know! We are just a few miles from a Camping World now. We will go there. Again thank you!

RV Mechanic: Randall, RVIA Certification replied 2 months ago

You are most welcome! Please be safe out there and have a good trip.

I hope this information proved helpful and pointed you in the right direction for any issue like this in the future. I am glad at least I was available to assist you with this problem today! Please feel free to get back to me again later, if you need additional assistance with this issue as we have no time limits on our questions where some follow up is needed in order to fully resolve the problem. I am most always around here every day between about 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. Pacific time.

Thank you for bringing your question to us here at Just Answer in search of a good solution! I hope that the result was positive and that you will tell your friends about our service here at Just Answer. Please keep us in mind the next time you have an RV issue that needs some immediate attention. Much of our business here at Just Answer comes from repeat customers like yourself! You might keep in mind that we have dozens of other categories that are structured to address all kinds of problems. I have used several of those myself over the years with excellent results. Please be safe out there and have a great year! Next time you need some help with an RV problem, please ask for me again by name and it would be appreciated if you would tell your friends about our service here at Just Answer. Thanks!

Randall, RVIA Certification

Category: RV

Satisfied Customers: 30,302

Experience: RVDA/RVIA Master Certified Technician with many years experience.

Verified

Randall and 87 other RV Specialists are ready to help you

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Customer reply replied 2 months ago

Will do!Is there anything we should be doing when we put the camper in cold storage in the future to prevent this from happening?

RV Mechanic: Randall, RVIA Certification replied 2 months ago

Yes. Put a light back there and seal the vent(s) up to keep that area from freezing. That would pretty much prevent this.

Customer reply replied 2 months ago

OK thanks!

RV Mechanic: Randall, RVIA Certification replied 2 months ago

You are most welcome!

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