If your Norcold refrigerator isn’t cooling and has an ammonia smell you probably have a failed cooling unit. Cooling units can fail for a variety of reasons; the most common is that they rust out and leak ammonia. It isn’t expensive to replace a cooling unit and it can be easier than replacing the entire refrigerator. This remanufactured Nordic cooling unit is a good replacement. It comes with the necessary thermal mastic and polyurethane foam pack.

Once the fridge is removed, a few things need to be done before re-installing the new cooling unit. First, the evaporator pocket needs to be cleaned off. If not, water and ammonia will saturate the insulation behind the refrigerator cabinet and cause failure. It is also a good idea to clean the surface where the cooling unit will be bonded to the refrigerator cabinet with HVAC tape.

After cleaning the evaporator pocket area and ensuring that there is no moisture around it the new cooling unit can be bonded to the refrigerator cabinet with aluminum HVAC tape. This will seal the area and help prevent corrosion. When putting on the tape care should be taken to avoid tearing it.

I noticed that the JC refrigeration gas/electric cooling unit doesn’t mount the thermostatic switch in the same location as Norcold does. The switch is mounted on a small plate which is lower than the Norcold fans. Result is that the two rear Norcold fans turn on several hours sooner, creating a draft to move heat out of the freezer much sooner in the cooling cycle.rv fridge fan