Norcold Refrig. Not staying Lit on gas

live4fun · 12-13-2018, 12:49 PM

I was having problems keeping my Norcold N300.3 refrigerator staying lit on the gas mode. Everything is working fine on A/C. The Battery mode sucks the life of my battery quickly, so I don't ever use it.
I recently replaced the flame gauge, the interrupter, the thermocouple, and the red/blue wires on the Norcold. THe flame lights with the manual red button depressed. The flame gauge shoots up immediately, like it should. I've tried various lengths of time for depressing the red button, 3 to 40 seconds, and only once in 40 tries , it stayed lit on its own.
Does anyone know what the next part replacement or adjustment I should make next. I saw a complete parts replacement of the top of the unit on Ebay that replaces everything including the dial mechanisms. Any ideas my TM friends. thanks

trailbiker · 12-13-2018, 01:17 PM

I had this problem too. After trying everything you mentioned i finally discovered the orifice for the burner was full of spider stuff. It was relatively easy to take out and can be cleaned out with an air hose. There are post on this site and also there are post on youtube that show how to clean this. It is a little hard to get to but you don't have take the fridge out to do it. I will post the link if i find it.

**commodor47** · 12-13-2018, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by live4fun

. . . Does anyone know what the next part replacement or adjustment I should make next.

I had a similar issue and discovered it was due to a corroded burner. The slits were rusted nearly closed. Installing a new burner solved the problem. The part number is 621953 https://www.amazon.com/NORCOLD-INC-6.../dp/B008KWNECG

Dick

tentcamper · 12-13-2018, 09:28 PM

I'm not sure I would be replacing anything yet? I think I would look at 4 things: The first 3 are around the burner area.

the first 3 things you can do at the sametime:
1 - 3) As previously mentioned 1) Clean the orifice soaking in denatured alcohol for an hour and blow it out. View with a light behind to confirm its clear. Do not try to poke anything through it. 2) At the same time clean the burner with a wire brush and blow it out. 3) I would add clean the end of the thermal coupler with steel wool and position if needed correctly in the flame.

4) I would check the propane pressure. It should be at 11 WIC about 1/2 psi

live4fun · 12-13-2018, 10:07 PM

I'm currently out in the SoCal desert and don't have my whole cadre of maintenance tools & items. I've removed the burner and brushed off the slots, and tried to clean the area around the 2 air intakes and orifice head. I cleaned the whole burner and device mounting areas as best as possible, and the thermocouple soot off its head. I reinstalled burner and NO LUCK in starting after multiple attempts. The manual startup button/ gauge/ igniter are working perfectly.

I will look for a solvent and a compressor tomorrow, and see how lucky I get.

Thank you all for your great advice and insights, much appreciated!

**Bill** · 12-14-2018, 08:17 AM

I would look specifically at item #3 mentioned by tentcamper. The thermocouple MUST be positioned so that it is "bathed" in the pilot flame - the manufacturer's word. If it is not, the pilot flame won't stay lit.

Bill

trailbiker · 12-14-2018, 10:54 AM

Here is a link to a video i found useful. I think it is the same model that i have in my TM.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...t&&FORM=VDVVXX

live4fun · 12-14-2018, 09:32 PM

Well I soaked the burner in clean fuel for 2 hours and blow it out with 60 psi. I reinstalled the burner. I have thermocouple in the bracket as far as it will go in. I cleaned the burner area very well. And still the burner wouldn't stay lit. All else seems to be working fine in the pre-lighting. I guess I'll use order the new burner. thanks to everyone for all your advise and help.

tentcamper · 12-15-2018, 07:28 AM

did check the propane pressure? Do you have a flame the cover the tip of the thermocouple? Is the flame primary blue?

If it's primary blue it's not the burner.

I would be looking at the thermocuppler circuit.

live4fun · 12-23-2018, 03:01 PM

Well I got to my brothers house for the holiday. I ordered a new burner as suggested. I can see that the manual flame is bluer, larger and I can hear it burning.
I reassembled everything, and to my surprise the burner won't stay lit. I have 5 new components now- thermocouple, gauge, burner, interrupter and wires. The manual startup is great, lights up, and is a brillant flame. I have no equipment to measure the gas pressure but the other gas appliances work fine. The flame is very blue and it washes the entire thermocouple tip. (I also reinstalled the old thermocouple (just in case) to see if maybe my new one was a lemon. Still it didn't stay lite.)
I've run out of solutions for this one, if some has another item? I'm considering replacing the whole top end of the electrical components as a set this winter if I can't figure this out. thanks