pulsarjab

I spent many years keeping the Norcold working in our Diplomat. At one time or another, I replaced electric heaters, the main control board, the thermostat and front panel, and several ice makers. Finally, after many nights of getting up to check to make sure it was working, I decided the only way I was going to be comfortable in the RV was to get rid of the worry. I was elated to see the JC compressor but thought all I was doing was replacing another part and the cost was more than a residential unit. The Frigidaire will run 24 hours on the batteries and is always cold. My wife is a great cook and when she stands in front of the refrigerator, with the door open, pulling stuff out for another great meal, I just smile, knowing that thing will maintain good temps. Lots to love and little to worry.

I rode a golf cart through a RV salvage yard. I notice a long line of motor homes that had fires. I asked my driver why so many. he said, 75 percent of those fires were in the refrigerator area. That cured me, after replacing many parts on the Norcold over the years, and having many sleepless nights worrying about a fire. My Whirlpool works great and draws about 55 watts.

My Diplomat has an emergency exit window behind the coach on the drivers side. This is in the slide out. I opened the emergency window and held it open with a rope. I removed the doors on the Norcold and using a fork lift, the unit went out the window. It was replaced by a Whirlpool unit, purchased at Home Depot, that came in the same way the Norcold went out. It fits in the space, without modification to furnace, has much more storage, gets cold faster and stays cold, and can run 24 hours on the inverter with no issues. The whole process took 45 minutes and the help of three good friends. It took a month of planning and many trips to appliance dealers with tape measure to locate the right replacement, but the upside is if it quits, $700 buys a replacement and it will go out and come in the same way, but it is much lighter so two guys can handle it.

On my 2000 Diplomat, there is a port next to the steering column that did not work when plugging in an engine monitor. Found another port inside the driver side panel that did work. Plugged in the monitor and it has worked great for five years.

The electric burners do fail. The four door unit has two burners and I have seen the wires burn off at the point where the burners are attached. Also, inside the control card there is a fuse that may burn out. I have had to replace all of these at one time or another, finally gave up and replaced the whole refrigerator and do not worry about fires.

I changed the motor on mine without pulling the whole unit out. It was a little time consuming, but not difficult. There were several bearings, the motor runs two squirrel cage fans. Access the unit from outside and lift the black plastic cover to gain access. You have to use a little care as you get into it, there is a sail switch which tells the control unit the fan is producing air movement, and make sure you label the wires so you can put it back together. There are several Youtube videos that are very good.

Greg

2000 Diplomat

If this problem started after you replaced all of the batteries I would start there. Check the cables to make sure they are still good. Check to make sure they are wired correctly. Check the cut off switch.  There may be a circuit breaker issue as well.

I grew tired of fighting the sensors on our 2000 Diplomat and finally installed a Seelevel system. It was very easy, with the help of this group. It works fantastic and I no longer guess on tank levels.

I have a 2000 Diplomat. I will look for the controller. If I find it I will take one. Will get back to you.

Greg

Out here in the plains of central USA, wind has a big impact on MPG. We have seen 12 MPG traveling through Oklahoma with a 20 MPH tail wind. Head winds have reduced things to 6, and on coming trucks really rocked the boat. Side winds also reduce MPG, probably because with all the weaving and bouncing around we are increasing the straight line distance traveled. Very few travel days without wind.

Changing the tank monitor to See Level is complete. Many thanks to all who contributed. Routing the sensor wire across the top of the tanks was easy following the water pipes for the washing machine. The 2000 Diplomat wiring diagrams were valuable in determining which sensors wires could be repurposed and avoided having to pull wires through the wall. See Level support was also very helpful.

I do not want to hog the net, but wanted to post the pictures I took today so that others can see how easy it is to access the tanks on a 2000 Diplomat.  The tank on the right is grey water and has two hoses attached, one for the washing machine drain and the other is the breather pipe. The one on the right is holding tank and breather pipe. The white is fresh water. Will post more when I get the See Level kit and do the install. Access to the tanks is simple, I hope the installation goes that way also. Thanks to everyone that pointed me in the right direction.

Greg

2000 Diplomat

The passenger side cover has four screws that hold the large cover in place. The cover has the propane tank shut off switch mounted to it. Removing the cover exposes the the three tanks. Granted, the old sensors are on the drivers side, but the tanks extend the full width to the passenger side. Like I said, we have had this Diplomat over ten years and I am still learning things about it. I plan to use the old sensor wiring so will have to feed the line through but sure makes it easy. I will take some photos but they will look almost identical to the ones posted for the Dynasty. I measured the tanks. The grey and holding tank will take the six inch See Level sensors and the fresh water will take a 12 inch.

Greg

2000 Diplomat

We have owned the Diplomat more than ten years and I am still learning things about it. The passenger side tank cover is next to the propane tank and I never thought to to look under the cover. Just as you describe and pictures show, All three tanks are visible and easy to access to install the sensors. I had seen some of those pictures but thought they were from a different year or model. Thanks for clearing that up and pointing me to an easy solution.

Greg

2000 Diplomat, hope to see you in Lincoln next month.

Has anyone installed the See Level system in a 2000 Diplomat? I am trying to determine the length of sensors to order. I would like to avoid pulling the tank cover off twice as the fresh water valve has to be removed each time. Has anyone replaced the propane level sensor? It has failed also. The joys of RV ownership.

Greg

2000 Diplomat, headed to FMCA in Lincoln

On one occasion, we plugged into shore power with the house batteries turned off. We noticed the 12 volt house lights were flickering, so still getting 12 volt power from the inverter. Turning on house batteries cured the problem.

2000 Diplomat

Here is what mine looks like with slide out closed, plenty of room.

The model I installed is FFHT1425VB. It works great.

The frig is 3 inches deeper but not a factor.

My scan gauge is plugged into a connector inside the left console. It is hard to find, it hides in a group of wires.

2000 Diplomat

I have had several incidents of furnace not working properly. Each time, cleaning all of the spade connectors cured the issue, including the one you are describing.

Greg

2000 Diplomat

The model I installed is FFHT1425VB. It works great.

I would have preferred French doors with water and ice in the door, but could not find one small enough to fit without modifications. In addition, the fridge is in the hallway so protruding door handles was not a good idea. Installed, I ended up with about six inches to spare on the side and top which was easy to block off with 1/2 inch plywood painted black. I may do something different, with that space, but for now, just enjoying the RV.  

For 10 years I did everything I could to keep the Norcold working, replacing fans, control cards, sensors, ice makers and heaters. That is after the original owner had replaced the cooling unit. I finally found a $600 Frigidaire refrigerator that would fit in the same spot, above the furnace that sits under the Norcold. I removed the doors on the Norcold, and with the help of three friends, we lifted it out through the emergency exit window. The Frigidaire came in the same window. Total process took about an hour. No modification of cabinets and it holds more food, freezes fantastic, and only pulls one half amp, runs perfect on the four house batteries, and weights a lot less than the Norcold. Now, I sleep at night without that worry and if it quits, I will go to Home Depot and buy another one.

I live close to Colaws. a large RV salvage business. Seeing all of the burned out motor homes gave me night mares, so that was added incentive to make the move. I evaluated going with the compressor cooling unit, thought about it for several years. but I was tired of rebuilding the Norcold and waiting for something else to fail. Every time I walk pass the Frigidaire or open it for a cold drink, or see the wife standing there with door wide open, looking for something, I just smile.

Greg

2000 Diplomat

Our 2000 Diplomat came with inverter powering both TVs.

Greg

The emergency escape window, in the living room area opens completely vertical. The frig fits nicely through it with the doors removed. It may have gone through the door, I did not try, figured I would need to remove the passenger seat.