refrigerator freezer troubles

The three electrical pins that the relay attaches to

Great link. My batteries are on the fritz on my meter. Shorting the pins together gives me 5 ohms. So, I am thinking my meter wasn't entirely accurate.

I keep seeing blow ups of the relay:

Where is looks like it comes in several pieces. On mine, where the pieces look to snap together, they are melted together. Not sure it that is on purpose or not.

This link gives a great representation of what is going on in the relay:

Attach to compressor.

Sometimes I use contact cleaner and move plugs in jacks to get a meter to read 0 ohms.

If it's adding a consistent 5 ohms, that would mean 4+5=9, as expected of good windings.

Did you check output from the relay, disconnected from the motor? If I hooked up the meter and plugged the refrigerator in (or switched a breaker on), I'd look for 120 from run to common and a momentary 120 from start to common. A new relay might fix it!

But I've been wrong before...

see my earlier post : )

Cover box and three pins for electrical contact can only be a compressor.

Ah yes, the benefits of placebomeniphan. Worked with a shrink once who thought that most substance abusers needed SOMETHING to hang on to to hand their troubles on. He used to RX tryptophan. There was a biologic response so the addicts knew something was happening, it was cheap, pretty much impossible to OD and (according to the doc) the only major side effect was to get a little nervous around Thanksgiving.

Oops, when I posted this before, I was assuming that the refrigerator was fairly new with digital/computer circuitry and software since you wrote above: "Purchased ~ 12/2010".

But, in a recent post you wrote that you bought in 2001, not 2010, so it's

In case it helps, we recently had a central HVAC system that produced a burning smell and then wouldn't cool. We have a utility company "WorryFree" service contract on that unit and they came out and the problem was the start capacitor (or whatever that is called) on the compressor. He replaced the start capacitor and that fixed it. I think he said the burning smell came from the bad capacitor, but I am not sure about that.

So, maybe if you try your idea of replacing the start capacitor that will fix it. If not, then maybe look on Craig's List for a used one, or buy a new one.

Good luck.

Thank you for the input anyway. It is amazing these days what a power off can do.

Hi All,

Stormin' was correct. It was the relay. Details will follow when I get some office time.

Many thanks to everyone who helped me on this one!

-T

Nice to hear that I did some good, some where in the world. You're kind to mention it.

Yes, good job in getting him going. Hopefully it will last another 10 years now.

And in 10 years, hopefully, I will remember what I did!

New refrigerators are such s**te these days too. Only expected to last 5 to 7 years. Cost of ownership is though the roof. It is better/cheaper to fix a long lived older unit than to waste your money on a new one every 5 to 7 years.

This review rips new refrigerators:

-T

Guys!

Remember the last time you told one of your friends "Doctor said you gonna die!". Well ... enter the "Norcebo Effect". Not very nice!

Okay now, which one of your guys is GONNA DIE!

The one with the snake bite.... anyone remember the joke?

. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

I wondered if anyone would catch that reference!

At last, we find a reference we share.

. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

Hi All,

I am breaking my no eMail after 8:00 pm rule as the typo's flow like water. So I can't be held responsible!

Epilogue:

After running up to Reno three times, I finally got the right relay part. The proper part number is 2213105 and has been replaced by 8201769. The part number in the parts list (8201769) was a complete joke. Reading the part number off the actual part cured the problem.

Appliance Parts was very gracious about exchanging the wrong part, since I had not open up any packaging. When the held the old part in their hand, they just shook their heads. Apparently, I am not the first person with the problem.

The symptom was poor cooling and a transient smell of burning rubber.

The condenser fan was found to leaking oil and was replaced. Air flow increased substantially. Also the lower coils were coated in dust. They were cleaned.

The compressor and the relay made no noise. My wife described the typical noise as a snap, followed by a short whooshing noise. None were present. Stormin' told me to look for noise.

Measuring the resistance of the condenser came out normal. Measuring the voltage to the relay was also normal at 115 VAC. A rattling noise was observed when I shook the relay in my hand. The new relay had no rattle.

Also, the capacitor fit perfectly on the the

When I FINALLY replaced the relay with the correct part and plugged the thing in: no noise. S***! Then about 5 seconds later a loud snap and a rattle from the compressor. The rattle diminished in about 8 seconds to quiet. S*** again. So I unplugged it and let it sit. This time a loud snap, but no rattle.

Oh No! Then I realized that once the condenser gets to pressure, it becomes silent. It also takes a long time to release that pressure. It also says my condenser is in good shape.

My compressor is a Matsushita (Panasonic's parent company). Yippee!

So I felt the outgoing and incoming freon lines. The outgoing was hot and the incoming was cold. 2x yippee! I take back the bad words. Then I felt the air coming out the front of the unit. It was warm. 3x yippee!

The refrigerator cooled faster than I remember it ever cooling (I can remember back to 2001). In about 1/2 hour it was down to temperature. My wife has been playing with the controls to cherry it out. This morning it was -2F in the freezer section and 32F in the refrigerator section.

Lessons learned:

That part number on the part trumps the parts diagram

Parts diagrams are only an aid. They are not exact.

Always take the part with you

Measure the voltage to the relay

Measure the resistance across the pins on the compressor

Look at total cost of ownership, not just the original price of an appliance. (New refrigerators are now 5 to 7 year units. Better to repair an old, good unit.)

Changing compressors (soldering/welding, purging, recharging) is over my head. But nothing else is!

Listen to your wife. She will know every noise that goes bump in the night. Women are more observant than guys anyway.

Always go fishing (hey, it clears your head)

I really appreciate all the help and encouragement everyone gave me. Special thanks to Stormin', who kicked it when finally provided with the proper information.

Man that refrigerator is working nice now! And now that I have fixed it, I have a certain pride in it too.

-T