Residential refrigerator not staying cool enough

[EricNJ]

So we've been 30 days on the road and no problems with the fridge until now. All of a sudden it just doesn't want to stay cold enough. Currently it's keeping the fridge at 65 and the freezer at 24 (settings are at 37 and -1).
My first thought was PET HAIR so I cleaned off the front grate at the bottom of the fridge, but that hasn't improved the situation. I suspect there may be more gook hiding on something behind that grate though. Does anyone know how to pull it off without breaking it? Any ideas on how to solve this problem. It's almost 5:00 and the beer is at 65 degrees. Oh the horror!!!!

[Schvarak]

Originally Posted by EricNJ

So we've been 30 days on the road and no problems with the fridge until now. All of a sudden it just doesn't want to stay cold enough. Currently it's keeping the fridge at 65 and the freezer at 24 (settings are at 37 and -1).
My first thought was PET HAIR so I cleaned off the front grate at the bottom of the fridge, but that hasn't improved the situation. I suspect there may be more gook hiding on something behind that grate though. Does anyone know how to pull it off without breaking it? Any ideas on how to solve this problem. It's almost 5:00 and the beer is at 65 degrees. Oh the horror!!!!

REALLY!!!! Prolly tastes like bear pee!!! Hope you get it fixed-soon!!! I wish I could help you more?

[EricNJ]

Ok... well... I got the front grate off.... that said, I don't see any coils or fins or anything to clean. Clearly the fridge is working partially... what might be holding her back from her fully coolness potential???

[myxkp]

Originally Posted by EricNJ

So we've been 30 days on the road and no problems with the fridge until now. All of a sudden it just doesn't want to stay cold enough. Currently it's keeping the fridge at 65 and the freezer at 24 (settings are at 37 and -1).
My first thought was PET HAIR so I cleaned off the front grate at the bottom of the fridge, but that hasn't improved the situation. I suspect there may be more gook hiding on something behind that grate though. Does anyone know how to pull it off without breaking it? Any ideas on how to solve this problem. It's almost 5:00 and the beer is at 65 degrees. Oh the horror!!!!

Pet hair may have tangled in the condenser fan stopping it. If you protect the floor in front of the unit you can pull it out- look for retaining brackets.

[EricNJ]

Originally Posted by myxkp

Pet hair may have tangled in the condenser fan stopping it. If you protect the floor in front of the unit you can pull it out- look for retaining brackets.

Sorry for likely a dopey question... but.... how do you pull it out? It has little to no room above it (see two pics below) and it looks like it may be on a platform that is slightly below the front wood plate. (see one additional pic).

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[bobotty]

I would be thinking batteries and inverter myself. Never saw a fridge clog with pet hair in 30 days with 2 German Shepherd running around. Your batteries can boil out water quickly.....30 days checks are recommended. Hope this helps you.

[georgew48]

Mine did the same thing in less then a year. Turned out to be loss of refrigerant. No one would work on it while it was in the motirhome so Forest River told my dealer to just replace it with a new one.

[McCormickJim]

fridge at 65 and the freezer at 24?

Interesting numbers. I have my RV in for refrigerator problems of the same nature. Exactly the same temperatures!

Difference is mine is a NORCOLD 3150 3-way unit, not a residential frig.

Curious we have the same issue and same temperatures on totall different design units.

[EricNJ]

Wow. Weird! Let me know what happens with your norcold. Mine is warming where it is now at 69 in the fridge. This is while running on the generator too

[McCormickJim]

My NORCOLD cools to the same temperatures whether on propane or AC. Service Tech is working with Mfg. No vent issues. Tech suspects coolant line partial blockage. Tech is working with Mfg. on other possibilities or just warranty it out and replace.

If I have to pay to replace (4-months out of warranty), I'm considering the new 12v compressor frig instead of the propane frig. (Norcold DE-0061/EV-0061)

[dalford]

Originally Posted by EricNJ

Wow. Weird! Let me know what happens with your norcold. Mine is warming where it is now at 69 in the fridge. This is while running on the generator too

Try turning off the ac breaker to your inverter. This will disconnect the generator from it and the inverter will switch to your batteries. See if it cools better being supplied by the inverter.

[tomkatb]

Modern refrigerators are designed very fragile.

Sounds like the fan that blows across the coil is not working. Had that on my 33 year old GE. Was an easy fix. Appliance parts places had parts.

Good luck. Time for a couple of coolers and bags of ice. and a hurricane party.

Our old fridge died a couplle of week ago. Only33 years old

[USMC Okie]

Had the same problem with mine. 55 degrees in the fridg and 37 in the freezer. It stayed that way for about a week and then went room temp and stayed there. Not good news. Finished the winter using a small upright freezer from Walmart(ordered on line) and 2 coolers. I couldn't get anyone to work on it. RV repair people said "it's a house fridg and I can't work on it" and the regular refrigerator people said "I can't work on it because it's in a RV". Finally got home six weeks later and took it to the Dealer. They said it was beyond repair and replaced it. I was lucky it was under warranty.

Okie

[hupmat]

Please note they are called residential refrigerators. As has been noted here nobody wants to repair them not the RV Dealers and Not the Appliance people. They are not made to bounced down the road. Me....I'd never want one. They look great on the lot and in shows.

[B and B]

Maybe the fins are just frozen, no air is able to move to the fridge. Turn it off, open the doors, let it defrost.

[cbmerton]

Have had same problem multiple times.
Fridgidaire?

Turn all power off to Motor-Home, turn off inverter, turn off 12 volts. Let sit about 5-10 minutes. Restart all.

The board had a surge that causes it to glitch

[dtrussell]

This may not help but during our 6K mile road trip or residential fridge started warming up while on the road but would cool down when plugged in to power. come to find out the GFI on the Inverter had tripped, why I have no idea.

[Gordalder]

I know my large RV fridge (not residential) has a hard time keeping cold in the hot weather. We run our house air to help it. Now that cooler temperatures have arrived, I actually lowered the cooling amount on the fridge because the fridge was close to freezing food.

[Busybeavers]

Originally Posted by B and B

Maybe the fins are just frozen, no air is able to move to the fridge. Turn it off, open the doors, let it defrost.

I had this problem one, it ran for 4 months straight and started noticing not as cold. The took the inside cover off and defrosted it. Never had a problem since.

[BandJCarm]

What a crazy thing. I see where new CC's are installing Insignia Res. Refrigerators. I never heard of them but they are apparently Best Buy exclusive brand. Don't know who really makes them. But the best deal is Geek Squad is contracted to fix them and honor warranty! So, look for future CC's in Best Buy parking lots!!!