Norcold fridge, propane at nearly 6000 feet

[pauloh]

My home (and for now, my TM in the yard) is at 5950 feet. The Norcold Manual (I have N300.3 model, see p. 6) states that when running on propane at higher than 5500 feet "you may experience burner outages". My fridge lights easily, the gauge moves to green and DW says there is heat at the stack but when I release the gas safety valve button (I've held it in up to 30 sec. after lighting), the gauge gradually (over 5-10 secs.) moves back to the non-green area, indicating the burner is now "out". It has done this 5 times I've tried it.

I know there are several possible maintenance/wiring issues with the Norcold of this vintage (explained in this excellent thread): http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=8636

My question: before I do the disassembly/repairs/maintenance suggested in that other thread, does anyone know if my problem is most LIKELY caused by the elevation I am at? Can't haul my TM 500 feet lower quite yet to check that theory. Snowing today here so am on hold with the other repairs/checks until next week or so.

[Barb&Tim]

No experience with the altitude but if you haven't yet, You might want to read through these threads:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...hlight=norcold

and

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...?t=8636&page=4

Good luck with it!

Tim

my 05 tm is fairly new to me and did the same thing. I find that i need to hold the lighter button down for a minute or more for it to stay lit, OR if I put it on A/C for a few minutes first, then the propance lights and stays lit easier...maybe cause the unit has heated up a bit.

[ShrimpBurrito]

I have operated the furnace, water heater, and fridge -- all on gas of course -- at 10,000 feet for several days without any issue or noticeable difference in performance. (there was in fact a thread about it, but I cannot find it) Although my fridge is a Dometic, I doubt that's your problem.

You may just have a bad thermocouple. Cheap and easy fix.

Dave

I have operated my TM refrigerator between 9 and 10K plus feet with no issues at several different locations. Maybe on one or two occasions the flame went out but I chalked that up to wind.

Do you have the temp control set on 5, its highest setting when you are trying to light it. If it still does'nt stay lit then it is most likely what the others are saying, a dirty thermal coupler or a loose/bad wire connection on the control valve.

[Brutus]

Pauloh,
I'm at 6500 ft. No issues once I did the wire swap. Suggest doing the wire fix first (since you'll most likely have to do it sooner or later anyhow). If that doesn't fix it, then on to the thermocouple...

[pauloh]

I replaced the two wires referenced in an earlier thread
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...?t=8636&page=4

and my refrigerator has stayed lit from the first time I tried it 15 minutes ago (at 5950 feet elevation). Thank you to all who posted replies to me recently, or in the past about this problem. This forum and its members are fantastic.

I bought my wire at hardware store, along with some spade terminal connectors. Crimped them on with a vise-grip, checked continuity with volt meter before installing...plugged in, bingo. Total cost $4.10 and I have some spare connectors now.

On inspection, I had been very doubtful the red and blue wires needed replacement, they looked to be in excellent shape, no sign of corrosion at the connectors. I almost moved on to other potential issues (thermocouple, etc.) But later when I stripped one of the old wires, I found it was much thinner copper inside than I expected based on the insulating jacket. It does look like "cheap wire". I had purchased 10 gauge size for the 2 new wires, thinking that's what was needed based on the insulation thickness of the old wires, but I think it's more like 16 or 18 gauge in those old wires.

Anyway, I accessed my Norcold's wiring initially through the back of the fridge, removing the upper vent panel which is directly behind it on the outside of the TM. You might have to pull out some insulation on top (my insulation does not look "factory" though, previous owner probably installed) and I really didn't want to pull out the entire fridge from the front (though that would give complete, easy access to the wiring). I did eventually pull out the radio installed above the fridge, and you can also reach in this way to make a couple of the connections right behind and below the radio.

I almost lost track of which wire goes where on the back of the control knob. Looks like there are a couple of unused spade terminals there so note which one the wires you are removing go to, it is crowded with other wires in there. The wiring kit diagram PDF file (posted at that link above) does show this if you forget.

When that 6-pack in there is sufficiently chilled I will drink a toast to this forum.

I routinely camp at 8,000 feet. I have never had a problem with my Norcold.

However, I do have the service bulletin fix installed so the pilot stays lit.

[Brutus]

Hey Pauloh, glad it worked for you! If you read the numbers on the old wires, they say 18ga (i.e. thin POS). Wires look impressive, but it's all insulation. On accessing the wires, pulling the radio looks to be the easiest way to go. I'll edit my instructions in the other thread to include Commodor47's access notes. (Thanks Commodor.)
r/
Pat