Norcold Refrigerator in Lockout Mode (do you need to reset your power board?)

Is Your Norcold Refrigerator Doing One of the Following?

• N611, N811
  • front light flashing 5 times
• N400, N410, N412, N500, N510, N512, N621, N622, N821, N822
  • front display showing "n"
• N641, N642, NX641, NXA641, N841, N842, NX841, NXA841, 1200, 1210, 1211, 2117, 2118
  • front display showing "no co", one after the other

For all of the codes above, the symptoms will be very simply that the refrigerator does not cool at all. Infact, you'll find if you check closely that there is power to your rear power board but no power getting to the AC or LP components. This is because the power board or circuit board is in something referred to as "lock-out mode". This happens when the refrigerator is requesting cool but for some reason or another is not sensing a temperature drop in the refrigerator compartment.

1. The very first thing that needs to be done is to check for any possible cooling unit leak. This will either be in the form of a yellow powder/ residue beneath the cooling unit or by a faint, sometimes strong, smell of ammonia. If neither of those symptoms exist, it's time for you to reset the board.
2. The next step in the process is for you to remove the power board cover from behind the refrigerator. There will be an access panel on the outside of your RV, directly behind where the refrigerator sits. From there you will have direct access to the power board. It is a black rectangular cover that will have wires going to it. There are a few screws holding this cover on. 
3. The next thing you'll need to do is jumper a pin terminal on the power board to ground (we recommend something around a 12 gauge jumper wire). The refrigerator must be on and showing the fault code before you jump the pin terminal to ground. Hold the jumper wire to the pin and ground for about 10 seconds or until you hear an audible click.
   
   If your power board was made pre 2006, you'll find a 16 pin plug connector at the bottom of the power board (two rows of 8). On this style board, you'll need to jump the second pin from the left hand side on the top row to ground. It will be an empty slot.
   

   

   If this board does not resemble the one you have on your refrigerator, you have the newer style Norcold board. On this style, you'll need to jumper the second pin from the right hand side to on the upper six pin terminal to a good ground. This, too, will be an empty slot. 

   

1. After the board has been reset, it will run for three to four hours before it goes back into the lock-out mode it was in before. If it goes back into this code, we highly recommend contacting us for troubleshooting. Have one of our technicians walk you through a checklist of symptoms that can be diagnosed with little to zero knowledge of refrigerators. We offer this service in the form of Email support as well as phone support. We know RVers are Do-It-Yourselfers, so let us help you get that refrigerator back in working order! You can schedule a time slot at the link below:
   1. Norcold Technical Support
      
2. The underlying issue could be any of the following:
   1. Poor ventilation
   2. Off-level operation
   3. Dirty burner
   4. Bad thermistor
   5. Low AC voltage
   6. Cooling fan inoperative
   7. Improper installation
   8. Incorrect orifice
   9. Bad cooling unit

We hope this article has been helpful in getting your RV refrigerator working! Remember, resetting the board doesn't fix the problem that brought this code on. It simply resets the code so that you can further troubleshoot the underlying issue/s. 

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