Norcold fridge and Keystones horrible Customer Service

skidooxman · 05-19-2016, 11:35 AM

So I bought a 2016 Keystone Fuzion July of last year. Since day one the fridge will only work when its parked. I have owned keystone units in the past and always loaded the fridge e up 3 days prior so everything was cold, and while traveling would run LP or AC via the generator. Since day one the fridge gets 20-30 degrees warmer while I drive. It has been to the dealer 6 times and they have tried their best to find a fix, we have tried everything, yes fans, baffles, flues, empty fridge, packed fridge. The fridge always gets warm and the freezer stays at sub temps. Keystone was great at first then some lady answered the phone and the normal guy I delt with was transferred.

The keystone rep that I recently spoke to stated that its unsafe to run anything electric while driving, because wires can rub. Wow. Her statement was that the refers are designed to be turned on once you are in the camp site, then put your food in, not before hand. Am I losing it? Is this a common practice? and why after 37 years am I hearing this is what everyone does, bc all the folks I camp with load it beforehand.

Besides her lack of knowledge and unwillingness to help me, I am seriously considering a complaint to Keystone, however I doubt they will give a crap. If someone from Keystone monitors this, WTF is going on in your customer service, one day someone is great and helpful, the next they suck. So I have a 70k Toyhauler with a 99$ college fridge in the back, complete waste.

Mike484 · 05-19-2016, 11:39 AM

Have you tried to contact the manufacturer of the refigerator?

**chuckster57** · 05-19-2016, 12:14 PM

Sorry for your troubles and I understand your frustration. To my knowledge no one at Keystone monitors this forum. It is NOT owned or operated by any keystone employee.

You might do as suggested and start contacting Norcold directly. Your best bet is to remain calm ( I know it's probably real hard right now) and have a precise chronological record of any/all repairs and attempts. Keystone doesn't own Norcold they just buy a quantity of units to install. I hope your issue is resolved to your satisfaction.

**sourdough** · 05-19-2016, 01:13 PM

As suggested, I would talk to Norcold and hopefully they can resolve the issue with you and the dealer involved.

And yes, there are good Keystone reps and clueless ones; looks like you got a clueless one. I've never had a fridge in an RV that wouldn't run while traveling....well, the one I had in a pop up once, but it wanted ice

ctbruce · 05-19-2016, 02:05 PM

Maybe a dumb question but here goes: does the gas pilot light fire up and stay on? Do the indicator lights go to green on the fridge? When you are parked are you hooked up to shore power or still on gas?

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**sourdough** · 05-19-2016, 02:50 PM

I don't know how all fridges work but mine (Norcold) does the following:

Hooked to shore power and set on auto the green LED is on.
Removed from shore power and LP turned on the yellow light comes on.
No shore power and an LP problem the yellow light flashes.

When the fridge changes to LP the ignitor lights the gas and it runs. When you unplug from shore power the LP automatically comes on (if on auto). If on auto, you plug into shore power and the LP turns off.

dcg9381 · 05-20-2016, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skidooxman

The keystone rep that I recently spoke to stated that its unsafe to run anything electric while driving, because wires can rub. Wow. Her statement was that the refers are designed to be turned on once you are in the camp site, then put your food in, not before hand. Am I losing it? Is this a common practice? and why after 37 years am I hearing this is what everyone does, bc all the folks I camp with load it beforehand.

Ridiculous. I have very little tolerance for customer service reps that "make stuff up".

If Keystone assembled RVs in a manner that "wires rub" they would wear regardless of having active electrons flowing or not. Such would only delay a shorted wire due to worn-through insulation.

Many of these trailers have electric brakes. Should those wires be disconnected also?

If you want an manufacturer answer on Norcolds while traveling, perhaps ask Norcold, provide that answer to your Keystone rep. Every single RV I've ever owned with a fridge, we used the fridge while traveling. Especially when traveling 8 hours in the southern states, the idea of being unable to use the fridge while traveling is somewhat ludicrous. Norcolds are put into Class-A and Class-C RVs, which definitely are powered up while driving.

Keytone,

You might ask over on IRV2 why your norcold isn't cooling while driving. My first thought is that the propane flame is somehow getting blown out due to air flow and that's causing the problem. However, if you're traveling under electric and you're still having the problem, it's not a propane issue... Lots of varied experience over there. Great experience (and RV techs here too) - but maybe a bit more visibility.

I don't know how you "escalate" an issue beyond first line Keystone reps, but certainly with that sort of advice, it's warranted.. Sorry you're having a hard time.

This should be a relatively small problem that's creating a big issue as you can't store food...

You might focus on: "The fridge always gets warm and the freezer stays at sub temps" - that's a problem that I've seen more than once.. (Sorry, don't have suggestions on fix). And it only happens when traveling?

GaryWT · 05-20-2016, 09:12 AM

Well the auto switch must be working as the freezer is working as stated, it is just the fridge part that is not staying cool. Not sure what would cause this. In the mean time, how cold can you get the fridge before you hit the road. If you get it colder to start you might be ok until a fix is found. I leave mine plugged in all season and just unplug as we pull out of the yard, so our fridge is on from April to Oct. If there is an error for some reason it beeps and the light flashes. Unlike others, our lights are blue on the fridge.

skidooxman · 05-20-2016, 11:55 AM

Thanks everyone! Real quick here is all that has been done and symptoms.

On AC and LP parked its super cold. As I start to drive the fridge gets warm at a rate of 10 degrees per 30 mins, outside temp around 65, warmer temps warms faster. It doesn't matter if the LP is on or my generator is powering it. The dealer who is currently working on it, made a baffle system to the spec of Norcold, and still nothing. the fans work. I have tried fans inside the fridge, tried no food, tried everything. If I stop at a rest area, with in 30 mins the temp starts to drop. I personally think something is not allowing the cooler unit to work when I drive, whether its a draft issue or what. I called Norcold and they said it needs a draft, and in the past, the fix was a cooling unit improperly sealed. Im seriously at a loss.

skidooxman · 05-20-2016, 12:21 PM

Per Norcold, the fridge is designed to operate in transit if installed and vented correctly. It seams after 6 trips, hopefully this new dealer can build the correct baffle system to exhaust the heat.

notanlines · 05-20-2016, 12:41 PM

Skidoo, in you opening statement I read "and why after 37 years am I hearing this is what everyone does." If you were to take a poll, I'm betting that 80% or better RV'ers run their refrigerators on propane while traveling. I certainly don't know what the problem might be, but be sure to ignore anything like that coming out of a rep's mouth.

Pull Toy · 05-20-2016, 02:25 PM

Fortunately for us, our Norcold 'fridge has been flawlessly operating since 2012, but I fully understand your frustration, and sympathize. I hope you get resolution to your problem soon.

One trick we've used successfully since 1972 (our first camper with a 3-way reefer, 110v/lp/12v, Before that we had dry ice, in an Ice Box.) to help our "in transit" temp's stay cold is to keep a half-dozen quart bottles of well water from home in the home freezer till we are ready to roll. We then load the food into an already cold refrigerator, and fill every spare space/spot in the RV 'fridge, and freezer, with frozen bottles, effectively turning it into an old school Ice Box with LP assist. When we arrive at the site, the water can be defrosted selectively to make drinking water for us and the dogs without the chemical taste of treated water. Bottled water could, of course be an alternative, for you city dwellers, but please be considerate and recycle responsibly.

Good Luck,

**JRTJH** · 05-20-2016, 04:49 PM

I wonder if the refrigerator door is properly adjusted? It may be vibrating just enough to move the magnetic gasket away from the cabinet face allowing the cold air to 'drop out" of the refrigerator.... ???????

**sourdough** · 05-20-2016, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pull Toy

Fortunately for us, our Norcold 'fridge has been flawlessly operating since 2012, but I fully understand your frustration, and sympathize. I hope you get resolution to your problem soon.

One trick we've used successfully since 1972 (our first camper with a 3-way reefer, 110v/lp/12v, Before that we had dry ice, in an Ice Box.) to help our "in transit" temp's stay cold is to keep a half-dozen quart bottles of well water from home in the home freezer till we are ready to roll. We then load the food into an already cold refrigerator, and fill every spare space/spot in the RV 'fridge, and freezer, with frozen bottles, effectively turning it into an old school Ice Box with LP assist. When we arrive at the site, the water can be defrosted selectively to make drinking water for us and the dogs without the chemical taste of treated water. Bottled water could, of course be an alternative, for you city dwellers, but please be considerate and recycle responsibly.

Good Luck,

Is there a difference between recycling well water vs bottled water

? I've found that after about 2 12-16oz. bottles I need to "recycle" no matter which kind I'm drinking - and I'm not a city dweller per se. I try to be "responsible" and thankfully we have the camper so when it's urgent we don't have to be "irresponsible"

OK - back to the program; I just could not resist

dcg9381 · 05-20-2016, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

I wonder if the refrigerator door is properly adjusted? It may be vibrating just enough to move the magnetic gasket away from the cabinet face allowing the cold air to 'drop out" of the refrigerator.... ???????

I think that's a good guess. If it's on electric and having this issue, it's not a flame-out problem. It's got to be that heat is building up on the back of the fridge due to variances in air pressure that run contrary to allowing heat out the top.... Or what John suggest - that you're losing a seal/insulation during travel.. Door loose, seal loose, something. I think I'd go so far on this theory to duct-tape the door and see if it makes a difference.

There are also a number of bluetooth thermometers out there that just might allow you to monitor the inside (or rear outside) of the fridge while traveling...

Seems odd to me that it's just the refrigerator section, unless the freezer is just better at retaining the cold.

Alpine · 05-20-2016, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

I wonder if the refrigerator door is properly adjusted? It may be vibrating just enough to move the magnetic gasket away from the cabinet face allowing the cold air to 'drop out" of the refrigerator.... ???????

Oh man...I think we may have a winner right here! Can't wait to hear if this is the problem!

ctbruce · 05-20-2016, 08:10 PM

The best part of all of this is that there is a dialog going on and there is enough information here to help others too. Can't wait for this to get fixed and skidooxman to be able to enjoy his Fuzion.

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esmoglo · 05-20-2016, 09:07 PM

I have a Norcold and wish I had a Dometic not a big Norcold fan. Don’t care for the “auto only” function. With the Dometic I could run it as I choose with the Norcold (only has an AUTO button) and it picks what it likes. If you have a 30AMP unit not having a choice isn’t good, many times I would run the fridge on propane freeing up my electric to run higher draw items AKA power management without tripping the breakers with the Norcold I cannot.

**sourdough** · 05-21-2016, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by esmoglo

I have a Norcold and wish I had a Dometic not a big Norcold fan. Don’t care for the “auto only” function. With the Dometic I could run it as I choose with the Norcold (only has an AUTO button) and it picks what it likes. If you have a 30AMP unit not having a choice isn’t good, many times I would run the fridge on propane freeing up my electric to run higher draw items AKA power management without tripping the breakers with the Norcold I cannot.

I think it probably depends on the model of Norcold you have. We can run ours on LP only or let it switch between LP and AC if we are hooked to power.

Barbell · 05-22-2016, 06:01 AM

We leave ours on auto at all times. When we get ready to leave, we pack the freezer with frozen food and put cold item in the refer. Connect the battery and when we leave the next morning, everything is good and cold.
If the refer section is warming only when moving, I have to agree that there must be a loose door or seal somewhere that is letting in a breeze from going down the road.

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