Norcold refridgerator on LP not consistantly working

[Mark Rosenblad]

As the header says, it dosen't work all the time on LP. It acts like there is no propane. I can click it off, then back to LP and most of the time it starts working. I disconnected the electric wires that go to the valve and cleaned them. It seemed to work better for awhile, but now is starting to act up again. Do I need a new valve or can it be cleaned? Thanks for any answers. Mark

[Jim Stoltz]

You might want to try cleaning the burner. Rust can flake off the chimney and cooler tubing and gather around it causing low or no flame. Depending on how old it is, it could be the thermostat too. It might be shutting the flame down prematurely.  Does it "click" or anything before it goes out? Or does it slowly die?

[Mark Rosenblad]

When it does light up I hear a good strong flame. When it dosen't light, the igniter clicks for awhile then stops - like theres no propane getting to it.

[Jim Stoltz]

It could be the thermocouple. It has to be hot enough to decide that gas should be flowing. Mine does the same thing once in a while. I need to flick the switch between GAS and OFF until it finally stays lit. Once lit, it will stay that way. I have a new cooling unit, but the gas stuff is 1984 original. It's a little finicky at times.

[david craft]

Id leave the cover off the burner assembly and watch the process. the times it doesnt ignite, does it burn then go out? use a multimeter only to check for voltage to valve during ignition process. this may sound silly. propane has oil in it and it can get gummy on the valve seat of the valve. heat the gas valve a little with a hair dryer to liquify the oil after a long winter.

[Mark Rosenblad]

Ok, thanks for the tips. Mine is a 77 and in really good shape. It dosen't have a thermocoupler as there is no pilot light. So that's out. I will try heating it up when I can borrow a hair dryer from some one. When I just checked it the burner was on and looked thru the peep hole and the flame was nice and strong with a blue flame. Hopefully the hair dryer trick will work. 

[Mark Rosenblad]

Well, borrowed a hair dryer from a friend and heated the valve area up after turning off the fridge for a bit. When I turned it back on - it lite right up. Gonna give it a few days and see if this works. Got my fingers crossed!!!!

[Mark Rosenblad]

Well, it started acting up 2 days later, so did the hair dryer again and now it does it A LOT less often! Today tho it wouldn't lite after a few trys and I went out and tapped it with a knife handle and it has been working good so far. We will see what happens....

[Mark Rosenblad]

Ok, now it's gettin strange. Sometimes it lites right up and sometimes not. I can hear the flow of propane and snapping from the igniter, but it doesn't light. Does this mean the igniter is going out or does it just need to be cleaned and adjusted? If that's the case, how is it done? Thanks for any advice.....

[david craft]

The spark may not be getting all the way to the end of the probe. Norcold have their burner behind the core tubing so its hard to see. I would pull the electrode and burner. Dont crack the porcelain. When you pull the gas line from the burner be careful not to lose any copper sealing ring that may be present between line and burner. Clean burner slots and check bore for cleaness as well. Gently force orifice out by air to face blocking vent holes or a small driver directly on face of orifice being careful not to damage. As for spark breakdown. The porcelain will carbon track. Clean entire electrode, clean contaminents off porcelain. Re-install with a 1/8" gap from electrod to burner head with good immersion in flame area.

[Henry]

Make sure thermal coupler is clean and centered in the flame good and is the propane old. It does go semi inert after a time and does exactly as you described.

[Mark Rosenblad]

Hi Henry, thanks for the reply, but there is no thermal coupler and the propane is from new tanks. When I get time, I'm gonna check the ignitor. 

[siscily fraley]

You MAY want to check your LP tank regulator and make sure you are getting enough pressure to keep a good flame operating your fridge. Recently discovered this is why mine was not getting cold enough.