OT: refrigerator problems?

I just picked up a 3 year old Kenmore refrigerator/freezer for my shop. It was working fine where I got it. I had to drive it across town in my pick up. I was very careful not to lay it on its side. I did have to tilt it @45 degrees on the dolly a couple of times. It did sit out over night on the pick up and it got rained on with about 1-2? of water accumulating in the bed liner. I finally got it out of the bed the next morning and rolled it into position (a couple of dolly tilts this time too).I took the back panel off and checked the innards. I blew it out with compressed air and cleaned the coils.

I then plugged it in and checked it about an hour later. It is not cooling. All the lights, fans and water solenoids seem to be functioning. The compressor is warm, but the coils aren?t. I presume liquid Freon got to where there should have been gas.

So now I am wondering if I have burnt out the compressor or if there is something I am over looking. Is there some sort of breaker I am overlooking? The compressor says it is thermally protected.

So, does this guy go to the dump/recycler or is there something else I might do to make it work?

TIA

Jay Cups

Reply to
JayCups
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You probably created a leak with the move. Physically check all the coil lines where they migh have chaffed through or cracked. A 3 year old box probably would be worth repairing, especially if it had all the optional dodads.

John

Reply to
john

Let it set for a day or two warmed up to room temp at least and try it again. ...lew...

Reply to
Lew Hartswick

That's normal! Let it sit turned off for a couple of days, then if it's any good it will work. It takes a fair bit of time for the refrigerant to settle down after a move like that. The stuff tends to foam when the appliance is moved. When my freezer was moved 40 miles, it took 4 days to settle down. Works fine now.

Steve R.

Reply to
Steve R.

Could be on the defrost cycle, or the defrost timer stuck.

Is there power to the compressor?

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

Thousands of otherwise perfectly good boxes get trashed every year because of defrost timers or defrost heaters. Probably most folks reading this group are handy enough to troubleshoot and replace the parts yourself with a bit of Internet research. The two most troublesome systems in a refrigerator are the icemaker and the defrosting system.

Vaughn

Reply to
Vaughn Simon

How would I know if it were on the defrost cycle? Where does one find the defrost timer?

I plugged it in this morning and ran it for an hour. No Cold. The compressor unit was warm and I could feel some slight vibration coming from it. So I presume it is getting power. I have not broken out the VOM yet. I just don't know what or where to test. I have no schematic.

Thanks

Jay

Richard J K>

Reply to
JayCups

Well, the defrost cycle only lasts an hour or so, so it should be past that after a while. They are located almost anywhere in the fridge, sometimes in the back of the refrigerated compartment (crazy to put it there) or in the bottom with the other mechanical stuff. It is pretty small, just a clock motor and a switch.

If it makes a click-click sound every minute or two, that is the thermal protector cycling, and the compressor is not starting. Every once in a while a perfectly good fridge will just fail to start the compressor and get stuck in this mode. Usually it will eventually start and go back to normal. Most have this thermal gadget that is both the starting control for the compressor and the thermal protector all in one. They sometimes fail and need to be replaced. Since you moved it, you should carefully check between the compressor and the start/protect relay for disconnected wires.

If nothing can be found wrong there, make the area quiet, get down next to the compressor and plug in the fridge with an extension cord. You should be able to hear a little click and the whir of the compressor running. (Some newer fridges are REALLY quiet and hard to hear running.) If it doesn't do that, then the problem is most likely electrical, and shouldn't be that hard to fix. If the compressor does run, but doesn't cool, or clicks repeatedly but never starts, then there may be more expensive damage.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

If the compressor is running, you have either no freon in the system or the capillary tube is blocked with some crud that broke loose when you moved the unit. I would doubt that the compreessor went bad from the move, but this could be the problem too. From what you said that the compresser gets warm and vibrates I would believe that it is running. If it were locked up, it would be cycling and clicking.

John

Reply to
john

Jon,

Should I just leave the fridge plugged in and wait for the thermal switch to turn on the compressor? I do hear the click from time to time.

I have been leaving it unplugged and every 6- 12 hours plugging it in for an hour or so.

Thanks,

Jay

J>

Reply to
JayCups

Some of these refrigerators need a long time to get the refrigeration cycle going, although they usually DO produce heat on the coils on the back quickly, and you say it isn't doing that. I'd leave it plugged in for at least 6 hours, unless it is making regular click-click noises every minute or two, which indicates the compressor did not start. If it isn't clearly getting at least cool inside after 6 hours, then there is no doubt whatsoever that something is wrong, and you can start searching. But, I definitely know some fridges that don't seem to be cooling off inside after one hour of running. (I think they are actually cooling down slowly, but our body's ability to sense temperatures in certain ranges is pretty subjective.)

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

Thanks Jon and all that responded. I left it on over night. (Something I wouldn't have done without the info from this group) and this morning both the refrigerator and the freezer were cooling strong.

It is rather ironic and normal. I checked the warranty on the compressor and it expired last month. I guess I dodged a bullet.

Thanks again

Jay Cups

J>

Reply to
JayCups

======== I followed this saga with interest. Nice to hear it has a happy ending.

Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.

Reply to
F. George McDuffee

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