www.iFourWinns.com

I have a 1995 Norcold DE-351D model in our Vista and am not sure if it needs to be replaced or can be repaired. It was used for 4 years and then sat for 5. The power light comes on but the compressor does not. Any ideas? Would like not to have to replace but will if necessary. This boat has been fantastic to us.


Portland, CT

Could be anything from loose electrical connections to loss of coolant. I'd start by checking the electrical connections. Most fridges on boats are screwed into the face of the cabinetry and will come right out once you remove the screws. The door is usually held on by the top hinge pin being screwed into the top hinge (the bottom being just a pin). This varies from one brand to another but the concept is more or less the same. I explain this because if you're handy this is generally something you can do yourself. The usual warnings about being careful of the AC voltage applies so handle the removal with the power turned off. Once it's out you can eye up the various connections to see what shape they're in. Corrosion is possible and cleaning the contacts may resurrect it. When it's out you can also power it up again and give a listen to the compressor area to hear if it's trying to activate. You may want to wiggle the control knob for the thermostat to see if that helps. It's possible for the thermostat to have gone bad and you could replace this yourself.

You can save yourself a bunch of money by taking the unit to the air conditioning shop yourself instead of having them come out to the boat. Unless you're an AC technician it's unlikely you can do much else to fix it. Just be prepared to further disassemble the frame around the front of the fridge to get it through the cabin door. The door on our 348 was just BARELY wide enough to force it through, but only after removing the fridge's door frame. Lots of screws involved, so a cordless screwdriver is your friend here.

But call and get an estimate on what your worst case repair cost might be. It may open the door to the idea of just buying a whole new unit. Most fridges are similarly sized so your options may go beyond just another Norcold.

_________________
-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Thanks for the help once we got it out of the boat a friend who does ac work came over and started testing different wires because there was no power to the compressor. It turned out to be a lose wire. About 5 minutes later he hard wired the wires and it is working like a champ.

Thanks for the info and saving us hundreds of dollars.



Terry

That's outstanding news! Glad it was an easy (and cheap) fix.

But I do have a concern about the 'hard wiring' fix. I'm assuming that means he soldered them? It's generally not a good idea to solder connections on a boat. Mainly because a soldered connection tends to be too stiff. This leads to the connection getting broken faster than one just using crimped terminals. That and a loose connection means risk of sparks. On gasoline boats this is a no-no. I don't want to be a worry-wort about it because it'll likely hold just fine if the wires are properly supported. At least for the duration of the season. Then there will be time to get it fixed right. But this, again, assumes you're talking soldered connections. It's entirely possible he just crimped a couple new terminals right onto the wire and tossed out the old plastic plugs on the old wiring. That'd be fine.

Regardless, any time a boat repair can be called 'inexpensive' it's a success.

_________________
-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Sorry for the confusion on the terminology. They crimped a couple of new terminals. You are absolutely right when a boat repair is no cost (6 pack of beer) or little cost it is a success. We are hoping to take delivery on our new 258 next week. Now I am not sure I want to sell the 238, she has been great to us for 13 years.


Terry (East Haddam)
238 Vista 95