Debug advice Kenmore coldspot 106-59422801 stopped refrigerating

Debugging advice requested. I have never debugged a refrigerator in my life. I never even looked at the back of one before.

2010 Sears Kenmore coldspot 106-59422801 refrigerator/freezer just stopped working at the same time that a periodic "humming and then clicking" noise started happening.

Inside temperature this morning was 59F degrees in the frig and 49F in the freezer (outside temperature is about 70F).

Both dial settings are on cold (mid range) where they were always left. There is no on/off switch that we know about. Electricity is working (fan and lights are working).

Fan is blowing full time (dunno if it always did that).

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Coils are at room temperature and are dusty:

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Compressor may not be turning on (how can we tell)?

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No reason to suspect icemaker water supply yet:

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Top of compressor is hot to the touch but not so hot as to burn (but pretty hot otherwise):

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We hear a humming noise kick on every five minutes for about 10 or 20 seconds and then a click when it shuts off:

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The only things new are the humming noise, and the fact that the refrigerator and freezer aren't working.

First aim is to figure out how this thing works. I was expecting to see a "motor" for the black compressor "bulb" but there is no motor I can see - but the top of the black compressor "bulb" is hot to the touch - but the coils are not.

I think the solenoid at the compressor "bulb" is what is making the noise. Any debugging advice?

Reply to
Danny D.
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Might be the start cap on the compressor unit - what you're calling a "bulb" is a hermetically sealed compressor with the motor inside . The click you're hearing is probably the overload relay .

Reply to
Terry Coombs

+1
Reply to
Rheilly Phoull

Sounds just exactly like a bad start relay on the compressor. This is considered "sealed system". If you have the owners manual, see how long is the sealed system warranty. Probably five years, so you're out of warranty.

If it's out of warranty, are you any good with electrical repairs? Please write back, and we'll continue the discussion.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I would add that you should unplug the unit until you figure out what is wrong. In the current condition the OC protection is greatly stressed and will not last long.

Reply to
tom

As Terry/Snag said, it's very likely that the start cap is bad & the click you hear is the overload protector opening. (It will cycle back on after it has cooled.)

In that picture, the capacitor is the black module under the connector. Sears parts calls it a "run cap", but even so it is very likely the bad part. You should hope that it is because it's cheap & other possible bad parts are not.

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Bob

BTW - you should unplug the fridge.

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

Thanks for the advice. The last thing I fixed with your help was the washing machine, who had an F28/F11 which meant the motor control board was fried.

Before that, it was a non-operational furnace (bad thermistor), and before that there were a host of things, most of which are working just fine now.

I have the frig unplugged to cool the black compressor "sealed system" down (right now the black top of the "sealed system" is warm to the touch but not hot).

A few questions of what I should expect, since I'm not sure that I understand how the thing works yet.

Of course, I know that decompressing fluid freon (or whatever it uses) to a gas makes the freon cold which makes the pipes that run through the refrigerator cold, and then recompressing that recirculating gas back to a liquid creates heat which is blown off by the fan - but I don't know the mechanics of what I should expect (e.g., what pumps the fluid/gas through the system? Gravity?).

So I have questions if I may ask...

  1. Are there 3 things inside the "sealed unit"? a. Motor b. Compressor c. Solenoid

  1. Is the sealed unit a replaceable part?
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    (same pic as before)

  2. Why would the top of the black sealed unit be hot to the touch?

  1. Is there a motor overheat safety switch that may have tripped?

  2. Are those black coils in the bottom supposed to be warm or cold?
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    (same pic as before)

  1. I don't see motion, but the vibrating can be felt on the solenoid on the OUTSIDE of the sealed unit (it may be translating from inside though). What is the purpose of that solenoid on the outside of the sealed unit?
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    (same pic as before)

In an hour or so, when the "sealed unit" has cooled down, I'll plug it back in and report back.

Reply to
Danny D.

Also - the 10 or 20 seconds of humming that you hear is the motor TRYING to start. It can't without the cap & that that why the "bulb" is hot.

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

Is this black rectangle the start cap?

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I disconnected the spring (what is it there for?). I disconnected the wiring. I tried to pull the black cap outward. I tried to pull the gray base outward.

Neither would budge. Have you removed them before?

Is there a trick to removing them?

Reply to
Danny D.

Does this 20-second video sound like what you'd expect if the start cap wasn't working?

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Reply to
Danny D.

You are so, so right. The compressor will eventually over heat and might burn out.

Thank you, well said.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

CY: Glad to be some help. Any time (well, figuratively speaking).

CY: The big black thing in the back is a compressor.

CY: No, the motor and compressor are inside. The start relay (and some have a relay and a capacitor) outside the sealed unit. The relay and cap should never contact refrigerant. That said, the company probably considers the relay and cap to be part of the sealed system.

CY: Yes. Though, it's often not cost effective. Requires refrigerant pump, brazing, electrical, and more than that. Takes about three hours.

CY: The black sealed unit contains electric windings for the motor. The unit keeps trying to start the compressor. Amp draw, turns the electric watts into heat.

CY: Yes, that combination amp and temp safety switch is what gives you the repeated hum click.

CY: When the refrig is running, warm. They should NEVER get cold.

CY: The compressor has two windings. Start, and run. The relay supplies power to the start winding, and then later power to the run winding.

CY: I'm guessing it will do exactly the same hum click routine. It's late on the east coast, I'm going to bed.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

As a Kenmore, you may be able to buy OEM parts, but if it were my unit, I'd use a universal hard start kit. Seeing as how I carry them in my vehicle and use the universal kits at work.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

To keep these parts from coming off.

Pull straight out from compressor. Might need to pry with slotted screw driver. Wiggle them back and forth while pulling.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Yes

The spring is there to hold the cap in place. It is simply plugged into the overload/relay body. See:

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It's not clear how the base is fastened, but you probably won't have to remove it anyhow.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

Thank you for that advice. The start cap does not look damaged from the outside, but it may be damaged from the inside.

I'm not sure how to debug if it's the start cap or if it's the "overload and start relay" though.

Thank you for that diagram Bob.

Since understanding what it is that I'm looking at helps to begin debugging, I took the liberty of annotating all the parts on it.

How does this look?

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Are these the primary suggested parts to consider debugging?

- #16=Refrigerator overload and start relay Part #: W10189190 Substitution: WPW10189190 $45.17

- #17=Refrigerator run capacitor Part #: 2264017 Substitution: WPW10662129 $10.39

- #28=Refrigerator compressor assembly Part #: W10183575 Substitution: W10233961 $358.40

Is it even possible for a homeowner to replace the compressor #28?

Reply to
Danny D.

Caps go bad without looking damaged (except electrolytics will bulge).

How did you do that?

Those are them. The cap is the easiest, cheapest, and most likely to be bad. "Easy" in the sense of removing & replacing. Testing for bad is not real easy, but doable.

The overload/relay is probably just plugged onto 2 prongs sticking out of the compressor can. Debugging it might be a challenge.

Replacing the compressor is definitely not a homeowner job.

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Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

I just saved the diagram you pointed me to, which also had the parts name and prices, and I annotated the diagram with the parts name and price using a freeware editor (Paint.NET on Windows).

You guys gave me the confidence on the cap to use more force, and when I did, the cap came right off (thanks!):

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The relay is still stuck on the compressor.

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The cap looks good and doesn't smell burnt, but, for $10, it's not worth testing the cap:

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Besides, there's ten times that in food waiting to be spoiled!

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Note to Oren: Those aren't huckleberries; 'dems elderberries!

I was afraid of that.

So are these my basic choices? a) capacitor, or b) relay, or c) new frig?

Any idea how to test the relay?

Reply to
Danny D.

Some Digital Multimeters can measure capacitance. Can you find one that will? Ebay maybe? Measure the capacitor - it should be close to 12 uF.

You should clean out all the dust on the black condenser coils shown in the one picture.

You might pop the tabs on the relay (give it a good pull or pry with a screwdriver) and inspect the contact points inside. Also check that the coil is not open (with the DMM).

Or just take a chance and get new parts. A new refer will be costly.

Reply to
tom

No. Sorry, but that takes a lot of skills that the average HO does not have.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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