Compressor Refrigerator

By Leonard Casella – November 2019

Compressor refrigerator owners – DE-0061 and DC-0061.

The DC version only has the 12VDC connection, it does not have the 120AC connection – that appears to be the only difference.

Why doesn’t your refrigerator work when voltage drops to 12.2 volts or lower?

Answer, it’s designed that way!

John Schmidt added the DE0061 Service Manual. It is located in the service manual section. In the specifications, it lists the “turn-off” voltage of 10.9; no problem there, but the turn on voltage is 12.2. That is the problem. The compressor won’t turn on until voltage reaches above 12.2 volts! That was to “protect” big rig batteries from the refrigerator running them down to where the truck wouldn’t start. Not necessary on a RV with dedicated batteries for the house.

So, how to fix it? See Page 13 of the manual on how to remove the resistor. That will reduce the cutout voltage to about 9.6 volts, more importantly. it will reduce the turn on voltage to about 11 volts. One of our fellow owners, who after extensive mods to his 3150 that didn’t work, installed the DE-0061 in his 15 View. He passed along this suggestion from the techs at Norcold. I would also fabricate the test LED, as discussed on page 16, to diagnose the problems.

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