Refrigerator question

[Terry Coombs]

  Does anyone still make one with analog controls ? Digital is great sometimes , but in some cases IMO analog controls are more trouble-free and cheaper to repair if they do break .

[hubops]

Just look for the cheapest brand - then filter on that brands lowest model ..

That's if you really want no electronics .. badly enough.

John T.

[valued customer]

A neighbor had a refrigerator with digital controls and it would occasionally stop cooling for no apparent reason.  He said he had to unplug it for 30 seconds or so, plug it back in and then hit a Start button on the display.  Only a bonehead engineer would design a refrigerator that needs to be rebooted periodically.

So yah, if you want your food to stay cold, buy one with analog controls.

[Terry Coombs]

  After a chat with the owner/service/delivery guy at the local Hometown Sears store I've diagnosed the problem . Main control boards don't like to be wet ... The ice maker water feed hose came loose , it's right above the main board compartment . Board and compartment were very very wet , so after I dried everything out and it still didn't work I ordered a new board .

[Terry Coombs]

  This was caused by the water supply to the ice maker coming loose , wet the control board . I don't think it's a very common failure . New board has already been shipped ... BTW , this unit was bought used I think about 4 years ago , and has been rock steady the whole time . If we'd had problems before I'd probably be plunking down nearly a grand for a new unit . Oh , there has been one problem , and it's probably the same type of problem . A few months ago the water in the door unit started leaking at the back/bottom of the fridge . I'm betting there's a loose tube there too , as it's right at the solenoid valve . I opted to purchase a new control board for under a C-note (delivered) instead of buying a new fridge .

[Ralph Mowery]

Most electronics don't like to get wet.

The other day the local UPS got a new truck. The driver has many deliveries on dirt roads. In the past he would take a water hose and wash out the truck at the end of the day.

He filled the new one with gas and washed it out. Then could not shut it off. They had to call the factory and were told where to remove a wire or fuse to disable the fuel pump to stop the engine.

Then the service man had to replace a few components and boards to get it running again after it dried out.

[trader_4]

I can see washing off the *outside* of the truck. Are you saying he washed out the inside of a brand new truck? Unless he's delivering live pigs or something, what kind of moron does that?

Then could not shut

[Ralph Mowery]

He had made some deliveries with that truck on the dirt roads. I think that was the first day the truck was used and the inside was dirty from the dust and dirt from his feet. This is the UPS delivery type of truck and not a regular pickup type.

He is still an idiot for using the hose inside.

[trader_4]

I guess another factor is those UPS trucks don't appear to have AC. I see them driving around with the doors open. If you did that on a dusty dirt road, I would think dust would get inside. I wonder what the UPS thinking is, to buy trucks with no AC? Save a few bucks on the gear and on gas? That it's not effective because they would keep opening the doors so much? Maybe it doesn't make sense, the driver is outside so much anyway.

[gfretwell]

Have you ever been in a UPS truck? They look like they were made to be hosed out.

[micky]

+1 And I don't know why the elec. boards were under the floor. Should have been in the dashboard. If under the floor, should have been protected from water that spashed up from the ground

My friend had a BMW with a major electronic part, big as two thick decks of cards side by side, in the dash but accessible from a plate in the upper left corner of the firewall, when seen from the engine compartment. Not uncommon for water to get in, from the windshield area, and short out the box, which cost iirc 100 used, 600 new. I replaced it once, still wouldn't work. She bought a new car.

[catalpa]

My Frigidaire is 100% analog unless you consider the On/Off switch to be a binary device.