Norcold N821 is it bad

[Big-woj]

My RV fridge stopped working. Propane lites up but after a few hours the inside freezer is hot. No error codes in the diagnostics but here a few pics. Is this a sign the cooling unit has a leak. Never noticed the yellow stain around the heater until now….

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[mac1_131]

I think yellow stuff is a leak.

It should give an error code if it doesn't achieve a certain level of cold in a certain time. You sure there isn't one? Sometimes it's just a flashing n

How old is it?

[Big-woj]

21 years old. It worked last week on our trip so I was thinking about doing the old trick by turning it upside down for a day thinking there is a blockage in the cooling . Maybe a sediment build up

[Big-woj]

Also it was not working great last year. The food was getting warm on one trip but next trip it was fine no real problems. I know it is getting old and might not be as cold these days but all the sudden it stopped working

[mac1_131]

If it really is leaking, you have two choices.

Replace the whole thing, with supply chain delays. Probably take a couple three months to get a new one. Norcoldguy seems to have good prices and he drop ships it to you. There is a newer model slightly larger cubic feet that drops in same hole.

The Amish use these things and you can actually remove the cooling unit and send it in for a core and get a rebuilt one sent to you. Obviously there is some work to do this but it might be faster/cheaper.

[Big-woj]

I saw the Amish use them, do you have a link to get the core replaced? Seems better for my budget

[boondocking]

Norcold - Amish built - new

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by Big-woj

Also it was not working great last year. The food was getting warm on one trip but next trip it was fine no real problems. I know it is getting old and might not be as cold these days but all the sudden it stopped working

Study Darren at YouTube, MyRVWorks. He does a hell of a job swooping the units out. Also, Tom Morton, YouTube, "Mortons on the move". He stopped out the absorption for a 12v compressor unit.

We were on back order for seven months to get a new Norcold 1210, but glad we did it. At sixteen yrs old our box was having issues. Fortunately, we could squeak by on 120 v while waiting for the new one... Betting that at 21 your box has other issues that you haven't even seen yet.