RWI013 The Fridge is down....time to live out of a cooler
We spent our last few days in Texas at the El Paso West KOA campground. This KOA has just the basic amenities – Laundry, Showers, Bathroom. The grounds would be pretty empty by noon and full by the end of the day. This is a great last stop before leaving Texas. A fridge breakdown keeps us there longer than anticipated.
Cleaning the RV
Just prior to entering the campground I went to a Blue Beacon Truck Wash on the east side of El Paso. This place did a great job washing both Jack (Ram 3500) and Diane (Road Warrior).
The price to wash Diane was $37 plus $6 for a RainX application. I thought that was a reasonable price compared to on-site washing companies that charge $135 just to wash the rig. Jack and Diane looked awesome as we pulled it into the KOA.
Fridge Breakdown
Once we got everything set up, we noticed that the Refrigerator was not working anymore. I got online and did some research to find out that washing the rig with pressure washers can result in getting the Fridge wiring components wet and frying parts.
I opened the exterior compartment to find that the wire protection cover was not installed – exposing the circuit board and wiring to the Fridge. This was compounded by an existing problem that we had with the electrical panel on the door of the Fridge.
Fridge Repair
Found someone on the internet to help me – The Norcold Guy. For $50 he will diagnose the problem and get the required parts to you until the unit is back up and running. I got him to overnight the door panel.
I had to get online to figure out how to remove the unit without destroying those little plastic tabs that hold trim pieces in place. Once removed I found that one of the buttons on the front had been pushed so hard that it pushed the electrical component off the circuit board. Norcold Service Manuel . Once it arrived, I replace the panel and it operated like a charm.
Problem, the Fridge was still not running. The overheat protection (LI OP) was triggered. An RV’er from Canada strolled over while I was tinkering outside and told me about a little trick using a magnet to reset the circuit.
I was able to reset the protection, but it tripped again immediately. I also read online that you could bypass this protection, but it exposed you to possible overheat and fire.
The plan became to bypass the protection to get the Fridge running and turn it off occasionally to cool down. I decided to use this method until the new part had arrived.
Once in Tuscon, we were able to get the overheat protection module immediately. I installed everything including the water protection covers and the fridge was 100% operational. Thank you Norcold Guy.
Installing a Water Filter
The Road Warrior group had pictures of the installation of a water filtration system where the filters are installed in the garbage bin next to the sink. I ordered the system and installed it.
Installation was pretty straight forward. I had to drill two holes from the trash can area into the sink for in/out waterlines. A 1″ hole saw worked to drill through the counter (I purchased diamond tip but a wood cutter would have worked).
I only had a few leaks from not setting the fittings properly, but we now have filtered water and a huge reduction of plastic water bottle waste.
Hiking the State Park
The fridge problem kept us in El Paso for a few extra days waiting on parts. This would have been OK if not for the 40 mph winds most days. We were able to visit the Franklin Mountains State Park.
We took the Tom Mays Access road through the park and were able to hike up to a cave for pictures. There is RV camping available for the smaller rigs.
The winds kept us from our planned visit to White Sands – but we figured we would try again on our next pass through El Paso.
Finding old friends
The highlight on this stop was visiting with Julie’s grade school friend Kris, and her husband Wayne Ogle. They are the owners of the Great American Steak Burger restaurant. Wayne is a pilot, so he and I had plenty to talk about. They treated us to dinner at their restaurant – We left with full bellies and great memories.
Luke got to drive some trails…
The day prior to leaving El Paso, we were watching news stories of semi-trailers being blown over because of the high winds. Leaving, we had a cross wind of 30 mph until we hit Las Cruses NM and then it turned into a tailwind (great for gas mileage). Jack and Diane did great in the wind.
Finally, sunny skies and warm weather appear as we turn off I-10 to our destination in Tucson AZ…
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