Refrigerator Compressor, Bogs down on start up.

Industrial Toys · Jan 31, 2016

My 80 year old Mom's fridge has quit. All her food spoiled, I had to take her to the ER, and her car battery was dead. It never just rains!

Anyway, I had a really tough time trying to google this.

The compressor tries to come on, but sounds like it is trying to compress something and can't, so it bogs down and within a second or so, just stalls.

Then it just hums, which I think is the starting winding and it basically stayed this way for a week, with the compressor hotter then heck, while my Mom was sick in bed.

I believe the starter cap is good.

I saw something on the internet about a "hard start" relay. Sounds like it might be something for a case like this.

Any help or insight would be appreciated.

dstig1 · Jan 31, 2016

Sounds a lot like a starter cap to me...but you say it is "good"...Based on what?

Industrial Toys · Feb 1, 2016

I had done a rudimentary test with a DVM and considered the cap, at least not open or shorted and some indication of charging.

I just tested it with a tester and it is within spec.

techman · Feb 1, 2016

Many refrigerators have a start relay rather than a start cap. It will mounted near, or on the compressor (can be plugged into pins on the compressor itself). I have had a similar situation in the past. Turned out that the contacts on the relay were welded closed. I cleaned up the contacts and it ran fine for a while before the problem repeated. Replacement relay fixed it for good.

paul

techman · Feb 1, 2016

Many refrigerators have a start relay rather than a start cap. It will mounted near, or on the compressor (can be plugged into pins on the compressor itself). I have had a similar situation in the past. Turned out that the contacts on the relay were welded closed. I cleaned up the contacts and it ran fine for a while before the problem repeated. Replacement relay fixed it for good.

paul

Industrial Toys · Feb 1, 2016

It has a starter relay. Looks like it's plugged into the compressor, and then the capacitor comes off this assembly with a couple of leads.

It still sounds to me like the motor is physically stalling like any positive displacement pump trying to pump into a restricted system.

tallyho8 · Feb 1, 2016

First let the compressor cool off completely before plugging in the refrigerator. A compressor that has overheated due to a bad fan motor or clogged condenser coils will react as your does.

If it does not start when cold right when it is first plugged in then it could be the relay, capacitor or worn out compressor. It's easy to check for a shorted out compressor with a meter just be seeing if any of the 3 contacts are grounded to the exterior of the compressor.

There are many sites you can Google on the web telling you how to check the relay and the capacitor. If they are good you could try a hard start kit which is just essentially a relay and more powerful start capacitor but if the hard start kit is needed it generally means there is much wear on the compressor and it won't last too much longer anyway.

Industrial Toys · Feb 1, 2016

Thanks. I checked the cap and it is fine. I will check the fridge again, now that the compressor has cooled off.

CobyRupert · Feb 1, 2016

Industrial Toys said:
My 80 year old Mom's fridge has quit. All her food spoiled.

- THat's and OLD fridge!

Sounds like you're on the right track with starter cap or realy. Good luck.

Industrial Toys · Feb 1, 2016

Actually, my Dad's fridge is about sixty. Had to be converted from 25 cycles! Fortunately, he isn't having trouble with it, just his brand new Goodman Furnace!

ultrarunner · Feb 2, 2016

I've found a few times nothing more than a good cleaning of the coils helped.

We also have power issues in the summer... voltage drop is bad during heat waves and the 1980 refrigerator really struggles... normal weather no problems.

check · Feb 2, 2016

Why not get a new one? Fridges are incredibly cheap right now here in Ontario. And that old fridge is probably using up and up seeing amount of electricity, which is gotten ridiculously expensive.

check · Feb 2, 2016

check said:
Why not get a new one? Fridges are incredibly cheap right now here in Ontario. And that old fridge is probably using up and up seeing amount of electricity, which is gotten ridiculously expensive.

I mean an "obscene" amount of electricity. Bad Siri!

Industrial Toys · Feb 2, 2016

The fridge is not that old. It has R12 however which probably dates it a bit though. I struggle with buying such things, as my father has had that same, one and only fridge for sixty years.

ultrarunner · Feb 2, 2016

It can be the challenge of a simple fix providing years of additional service.

I swear the stuff I see here kicked to the curb is unbelievable... perfect top loader washer/dryers, CRT TVs, Refrigerators... etc.

My neighbor had a GE Profile over the stove micro I fixed for her... just a fuse... she was actually annoyed because she was planning on replacing it and because I fixed it now she had a decision to make...

kenmac · Feb 2, 2016

techman said:
Many refrigerators have a start relay rather than a start cap. It will mounted near, or on the compressor (can be plugged into pins on the compressor itself). I have had a similar situation in the past. Turned out that the contacts on the relay were welded closed. I cleaned up the contacts and it ran fine for a while before the problem repeated. Replacement relay fixed it for good.

paul

I'm with you on this 1.. replaced many bad ones.. If it has R12 Refrigerant ,, it's got some age on it.. I've got an old freezer with R22 that dates back to the 60's or 70's

Industrial Toys · Feb 2, 2016

All too often it's the dammm electronics that sent the appliance to the scrap! I used to see hundreds of microwaves at the dump for this reason. Lightning strike somewhere down tha line and goodbye microwave. I had a clockwork one that I still have somewhere.

Anyway. Checked motor windings. 5.6 and 4.6 ohms. Put the start cap back in and turned it on, now that it has been sitting turned off for days. The compressor ran for about ten seconds, sounded labored and then quit.

techman · Feb 3, 2016

I am not sure what "sounding laboured" is. When the compressor starts in the start windings, it will make a louder, lower groan. If you are hearing a loud groan it is likely that it is not coming out of the start winding. The most likely failure is the start relay. Either it is stuck closed or has failed all together. A good test is to use a clamp-on ammeter. If it pulls several amps at startup, and the current never drops suspect the relay. If it pulls some amps and them drops down (after a few seconds) the relay would seem to be working.

paul

Industrial Toys · Feb 3, 2016

It sounds like it is not running to proper speed. I could have measured the current, but how would you know if a high current reading was due to mechanical overload or burned windings?

techman · Feb 3, 2016

Industrial Toys said:
It sounds like it is not running to proper speed. I could have measured the current, but how would you know if a high current reading was due to mechanical overload or burned windings?

The start windings will draw more than FLA. If it trips on the internal thermal overload I still think it is staying in the start (bad relay) or the compressor is failing mechanically.

paul