Posted: 8/12/2011 8:53:18 PM EDT
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Side by side fridge/freezer. Frigidaire.
original thread here: Click for more info So, cliff notes. Not cycling properly. Not frosted over. Added a timer so it would cool/cycle until a repairman could be here to fix it. Repairman replaced a capacitor and a starter. Still not working. Matter of fact, it's worse than ever... It will run the compressor, and the blower in the freezer for about 10 seconds before it just stops blowing in to the freezer at all. Coil. cleaned. Capacitor. replaced. Starter. replaced. Freezer, defrosted. I have moved all of the chicken, fish, frozen foods to a small, spare, fridge. I've hit Craigslist for a replacement fridge/freezer. I've found them for 50 to 800. Do I simply eject and buy a replacement, or is this a simple problem to fix? TRG |
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Are you sure it isn't the thermostat?
Just a little anecdote, but the only used freezer I ever bought off craigslist stopped working 6 months after I bought it. Refrigerant leak. And I would have tried to fix it, but the evap coil was buried in insulation. No way to get at it without destroying the whole thing. |
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http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_139/1195593_Refrigerator_Acting_Up.html
eta It was my thermostat. I toned it out on my voltage/amperage/ohm meter and bought and installed it myself. |
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Quoted:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_139/1195593_Refrigerator_Acting_Up.html eta It was my thermostat. I toned it out on my voltage/amperage/ohm meter and bought and installed it myself. Read your thread. I remember moving the thermos settings before the current issue began. Glad you mentioned it. I just spun the thermo adjustments in both directions, several times, and the lights would brighten/dim. Maybe this is just a contact issue between the thermo and a contact. TRG |
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http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_139/1195593_Refrigerator_Acting_Up.html eta It was my thermostat. I toned it out on my voltage/amperage/ohm meter and bought and installed it myself. Read your thread. I remember moving the thermos settings before the current issue began. Glad you mentioned it. I just spun the thermo adjustments in both directions, several times, and the lights would brighten/dim. Maybe this is just a contact issue between the thermo and a contact. TRG Set the thermostat at different settings and see if it behaves any differently. |
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http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_139/1195593_Refrigerator_Acting_Up.html eta It was my thermostat. I toned it out on my voltage/amperage/ohm meter and bought and installed it myself. Read your thread. I remember moving the thermos settings before the current issue began. Glad you mentioned it. I just spun the thermo adjustments in both directions, several times, and the lights would brighten/dim. Maybe this is just a contact issue between the thermo and a contact. TRG Set the thermostat at different settings and see if it behaves any differently. Woke up this morning to a working fridge. I am going to watch it for a few days before I trust it again, but ... the compressor now runs properly, and the food was frozen in both the fridge and freezer. (some frozen foods from freezer stored in fridge overnight) TRG |
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It has been running, plugged directly in to the wall since last night at midnight.
I re-filled it with food this morning, and about midday decided to put some water in to ice trays (ice maker was leaking so I disconnected it). Just went to get some ice and the trays were only semi-frozen, and the compressor was not running. I left the door open to see if it would trip the thermostat and begin running the compressor. No joy. So, I have it hooked back up to the timer until I can figure out what is wrong with this thing. TRG |
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I'll bet there's poor contact at some point on the thermostat resistor.
Maybe try an external thermostat? Like the kind you plug the device into and stick the probe somewhere in the interior of the chest. eta: Most of the one's you're likely to find are for turning freezers into beer fridges, but MPJA has (or had) a kit with all the components to make one yourself for pretty cheap. You might could make one with that and substitute the varistor for something with more appropriate range for a freezer. Actually, nm that probably wouldn't work since it's a combination fridge/freezer |
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Quoted: Whatever happened to Dr Fridge? Did a spider get him? Who the f*** is DrFridge?... Dont know him... ... BUT maybe I can help  Obviously you have something intermittent going on. Sounds like a cold control (t-stat)... Now you said you replaced the timer? I have seen those have messed up contacts when the cam turns, it sometimes doesn't activate the... Oh nevermind... if the timer is old, that may do it. If it is cooling normally then shutting down, I have a stupid question, is the light switch staying on when you close the door? Is the condenser fan motor running when the compressor runs? When the compressor runs, are the condenser coils warmer than room temp? |
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Let's assume it does this:
Cycles the compressor "ON" if it has been unplugged for 30 minutes, but, last night even this did not make it cycle. Even if the compressor was cool to the touch, it would not cycle 'ON". Since it began working overnight, plugged directly in to the wall, it has the ability to cycle "OFF" and "ON", at times, with no need to be unplugged. After turning the thermostat controller, it still, apparently, fails to cycle "ON" the compressor. This would seem, to me, to indicate that the cooling system is fine, but there is an intermittent thermostat signal issue, right? As I was writing this, the timer engaged, the compressor turn on, and I can hear it running. TRG |
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Whatever happened to Dr Fridge? Did a spider get him? Who the f*** is DrFridge?... Dont know him... ... BUT maybe I can help
Obviously you have something intermittent going on. Sounds like a cold control (t-stat)... Now you said you replaced the timer? I have seen those have messed up contacts when the cam turns, it sometimes doesn't activate the... Oh nevermind... if the timer is old, that may do it. If it is cooling normally then shutting down, I have a stupid question, is the light switch staying on when you close the door? Wait, what? I the light staying on inside when I close the door? Is the condenser fan motor running when the compressor runs? Sometimes the fan is turning, but there is no sound from the compressor. I have seen the fan spinning when the compressor was not running and warm to the touch. When the compressor runs, are the condenser coils warmer than room temp? Dunno. But I will check them in a few minutes and see how they feel TRG |
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Damndest thing is that it works, just fine, if I run it on a timer that turns it off/on. Ice is freezing. Food is cold. Everything is working as long as it turns off/on.
The repairman, IMHO, just assumed it was either/or the capacitor/starter and just replaced both. I doubt he even tested anything. The 'timer' would seem to point at a dirty coil, causing the compressor to overheat. But, the compressor is not hot to touch. Adding an external fan to *really* move air does not remove the need for the timer. TRG |
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Damndest thing is that it works, just fine, if I run it on a timer that turns it off/on. Ice is freezing. Food is cold. Everything is working as long as it turns off/on. The repairman, IMHO, just assumed it was either/or the capacitor/starter and just replaced both. I doubt he even tested anything. The 'timer' would seem to point at a dirty coil, causing the compressor to overheat. But, the compressor is not hot to touch. Adding an external fan to *really* move air does not remove the need for the timer. TRG I haven't had time to fuck with mine, but the one at the farm does something similar. If I walk out and kill the breaker and then go back a week later and turn on the power, the refrigerator will get cold and work great......but by the next day or so, it is warm again. Turn the power off and it is like it resets and starts getting cold again for a while. |
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Damndest thing is that it works, just fine, if I run it on a timer that turns it off/on. Ice is freezing. Food is cold. Everything is working as long as it turns off/on. The repairman, IMHO, just assumed it was either/or the capacitor/starter and just replaced both. I doubt he even tested anything. The 'timer' would seem to point at a dirty coil, causing the compressor to overheat. But, the compressor is not hot to touch. Adding an external fan to *really* move air does not remove the need for the timer. TRG I haven't had time to fuck with mine, but the one at the farm does something similar. If I walk out and kill the breaker and then go back a week later and turn on the power, the refrigerator will get cold and work great......but by the next day or so, it is warm again. Turn the power off and it is like it resets and starts getting cold again for a while. I would recommend a timer. Mine is working 100% with the timer. Ice is frozen. I'm not prepared to 'trust' it to cycle properly until I can find the root cause. I dunno how to test the thermostat to see if it is faulty, or what, TRG |
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Quoted: Thermostat is just a simple switch. It is either ON or OFF. NOW, if it is erratic (which I have seen) just replace and be done with it. I have another stupid question, when it fails, have you ever taken the back cover off the freezer section? if so, were the coils completely frozen over (which can give you weird temps) or a partially frosted coil (possible system issue... if so, and the unit is over 5 years old... may not be worth it to fix)Quoted: Quoted: Damndest thing is that it works, just fine, if I run it on a timer that turns it off/on. Ice is freezing. Food is cold. Everything is working as long as it turns off/on. The repairman, IMHO, just assumed it was either/or the capacitor/starter and just replaced both. I doubt he even tested anything. The 'timer' would seem to point at a dirty coil, causing the compressor to overheat. But, the compressor is not hot to touch. Adding an external fan to *really* move air does not remove the need for the timer. TRG I haven't had time to fuck with mine, but the one at the farm does something similar. If I walk out and kill the breaker and then go back a week later and turn on the power, the refrigerator will get cold and work great......but by the next day or so, it is warm again. Turn the power off and it is like it resets and starts getting cold again for a while. I would recommend a timer. Mine is working 100% with the timer. Ice is frozen. I'm not prepared to 'trust' it to cycle properly until I can find the root cause. I dunno how to test the thermostat to see if it is faulty, or what, TRG |
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Thermostat is just a simple switch. It is either ON or OFF. NOW, if it is erratic (which I have seen) just replace and be done with it. I have another stupid question, when it fails, have you ever taken the back cover off the freezer section? if so, were the coils completely frozen over (which can give you weird temps) or a partially frosted coil (possible system issue... if so, and the unit is over 5 years old... may not be worth it to fix)
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Damndest thing is that it works, just fine, if I run it on a timer that turns it off/on. Ice is freezing. Food is cold. Everything is working as long as it turns off/on. The repairman, IMHO, just assumed it was either/or the capacitor/starter and just replaced both. I doubt he even tested anything. The 'timer' would seem to point at a dirty coil, causing the compressor to overheat. But, the compressor is not hot to touch. Adding an external fan to *really* move air does not remove the need for the timer. TRG I haven't had time to fuck with mine, but the one at the farm does something similar. If I walk out and kill the breaker and then go back a week later and turn on the power, the refrigerator will get cold and work great......but by the next day or so, it is warm again. Turn the power off and it is like it resets and starts getting cold again for a while. I would recommend a timer. Mine is working 100% with the timer. Ice is frozen. I'm not prepared to 'trust' it to cycle properly until I can find the root cause. I dunno how to test the thermostat to see if it is faulty, or what, TRG I have not pulled the cover off the coils, but, when I had it empty, and it was not cycling "ON" I directed a floor fan at the back to see if I had water flowing from frosted coils. There was no indication of a frozen coil. I'll be able to spend a day with it later this week and will pull that cover when it fails. TRG |