My Regrigerator/Freezer just died!

[FIZZER6]

Right in the middle of a 90 degree F summer day! The wife called saying the freezer was defrosting...ran home to save my ~100 lbs of red meat! Got it into the freezer here at the office just in time, but No cold beer or milk for a while I guess.

It's cheaper to buy a used fridge than to have someone fix this used fridge so to the scrapyard it goes. :spank:

 

[08fz6]

Thats no good. Its worth checking into Lowes, they had 18 month financing deals.

 

[Jjtwo69]

Or you could give ME the model# as I sell parts for appliances for a living. I also help the do it yourselfers (for the last 17 yrs) It might only be a $30 parts. The # at my shop is 317-543-1361 ask for Jason and tell me your from the FZ6 forum.


Also if you can work on your bike then you can work on your fridge and that is where I come in, I help people do it themselves all the time.

Jason

 

[Motogiro]

Or you could give ME the model# as I sell parts for appliances for a living. I also help the do it yourselfers (for the last 17 yrs) It might only be a $30 parts. The # at my shop is 317-543-1361 ask for Jason and tell me your from the FZ6 forum.


Also if you can work on your bike then you can work on your fridge and that is where I come in, I help people do it themselves all the time.

Jason

Thanks for the offer Jason!

Could be something really simple! Call Jason! :rockon:

 

[7UPyours]

very nice offer Jason, wish I would have know that sooner, would of made my trouble shooting my 6 year old fridge easier butI decided that it was time for a new one, Lowes had a $1300 fridge on clearance for $800 with free delivery, I'm happy and my beer is nice and cold.

 

[Jjtwo69]

Well if you have any question about your appliances just give me a call and I may be able to help.

 

[FIZZER6]

Or you could give ME the model# as I sell parts for appliances for a living. I also help the do it yourselfers (for the last 17 yrs) It might only be a $30 parts. The # at my shop is 317-543-1361 ask for Jason and tell me your from the FZ6 forum.


Also if you can work on your bike then you can work on your fridge and that is where I come in, I help people do it themselves all the time.

Jason

Interesting concept. It looks like the inlaws are graciously giving us a new fridge (late wedding present) but I would love to fix the old one to put in the basement as a backup/extra space.

I know it's a HOTPOINT brand about 7 years old. I'll update this with the model number this evening (Thursday).

Basically in the past week I've noticed that ever single time I go to the fridge it is always running. Even when it's 75 degrees in the house one would think a good fridge should be off at least 50% of the time, no?

Secondly, the past 2 days I noticed that my milk and beer seemed warmer than normal...yesterday I noticed that my frozen orange juice concentrate in the freezer was liquid or at least very soft and my frozen meat was covered in frost...

After removing all the meat from the freezer the compressor didn't kick back on for at least 20 minutes! One would think that with the freezer door open for 5 minutes the thing should kick on, no?

What I know
1. The compressor does run
2. The fan does run
3. the coils are underneath and are not that dirty, getting plenty of air flow
4. The temp settings have been left on 6 (out of 9 as max cold). I know that turning a fridge up that is not cooling right only makes the problem worse.

Any idea what may be the problem?

Thanks.

 

[Jjtwo69]

The model # should be in the fridge side on the roof (open fridge door and look on the roof) if it is not there then you will have to remove the crisper pans and then look on the side wall. With the model # I will know what kind of controls it has and that will help me trouble shoot.

"Basically in the past week I've noticed that ever single time I go to the fridge it is always running. Even when it's 75 degrees in the house one would think a good fridge should be off at least 50% of the time, no?"

Most fridges run for 8 hr and defrost for 30 mins (now the compressor does not run the whole 8 hrs. it cycles on and off. depending on how much the doors are opened.) Also a fridge works better with a load in it (FYI).

Which fan is working? there is the fan in the freezer and then there is the condenser fan which is next to the compressor (a lot of people mistake the running of the condenser fan as the compressor running).

There are a few things that can cause this kind of problem, a bad control(temp control)these fail 1 of 2 ways either open where no power goes to the compressor or closed, temp goes to coldest setting), a defrost cycle problem (defrost timer,defrost thermostat or defrost heaters usually only 1 of these goes bad)(example: if the timer dies then it will never go into defrost causing the coils to freezer over which will eventually stop the cold air from circulating (the ice build up blocks the vent going to the fridge side)

and then there's the possibility that the ptc starter went bad ( this is a relay and overload) when these go bad it is usually the relay (if you shake it it will sound like a baby rattle) these items are on the side of the compressor.

"After removing all the meat from the freezer the compressor didn't kick back on for at least 20 minutes! One would think that with the freezer door open for 5 minutes the thing should kick on, no?"

Only if the fridge was not in defrost at the time. If the fridge was in defrost at the time it could take up to 30mins before the compressor would kick back on.

and you are right about #4 on your list.

I will be at the shop on Friday the 1st untill 3pm after that we wont be back until Tue. the 5th.
I will check this post again tonite before I leave and then again on Friday.
Jason. p.s. sorry I don't know how to use the "quote" on the forum.

 

[FIZZER6]

Just hit the huge "QUOTE" button at the bottom of any post you wish to quote and reply to.

See my responses below, in RED.

The model # should be in the fridge side on the roof (open fridge door and look on the roof) if it is not there then you will have to remove the crisper pans and then look on the side wall. With the model # I will know what kind of controls it has and that will help me trouble shoot.
Will do

"Basically in the past week I've noticed that ever single time I go to the fridge it is always running. Even when it's 75 degrees in the house one would think a good fridge should be off at least 50% of the time, no?"

Most fridges run for 8 hr and defrost for 30 mins (now the compressor does not run the whole 8 hrs. it cycles on and off. depending on how much the doors are opened.) Also a fridge works better with a load in it (FYI).
Interesting. Well now that all the meat has been removed from the freezer the freezer seems to be colder again, my ice is solid and my frozen veggies are rock hard again. strange.

Which fan is working? there is the fan in the freezer and then there is the condenser fan which is next to the compressor (a lot of people mistake the running of the condenser fan as the compressor running).
It is the fan near the compressor that is running. If I take the back plate off the rear, bottom of the unit it is right there next to the compressor.

There are a few things that can cause this kind of problem, a bad control(temp control)these fail 1 of 2 ways either open where no power goes to the compressor or closed, temp goes to coldest setting), a defrost cycle problem (defrost timer,defrost thermostat or defrost heaters usually only 1 of these goes bad)(example: if the timer dies then it will never go into defrost causing the coils to freezer over which will eventually stop the cold air from circulating (the ice build up blocks the vent going to the fridge side)
My issue sounds like it failed to defrost blocking the coils as you say because it was working fine for 3 months straight then in 2 days it was running warmer inside...After I moved the unit around a bit the compressor and fan finally stopped running for about 30 minutes and now (2 days after the problem) it seems to be running normal again (from what I can tell). I really need to get a thermometer in there to better judge whether it's really working right or not.

and then there's the possibility that the ptc starter went bad ( this is a relay and overload) when these go bad it is usually the relay (if you shake it it will sound like a baby rattle) these items are on the side of the compressor.

"After removing all the meat from the freezer the compressor didn't kick back on for at least 20 minutes! One would think that with the freezer door open for 5 minutes the thing should kick on, no?"

Only if the fridge was not in defrost at the time. If the fridge was in defrost at the time it could take up to 30mins before the compressor would kick back on.
This may be what happened then. Perhaps it would not go into defrost mode and moving the unit around caused it to cycle?

and you are right about #4 on your list.

I will be at the shop on Friday the 1st untill 3pm after that we wont be back until Tue. the 5th.
I will check this post again tonite before I leave and then again on Friday.
Jason. p.s. sorry I don't know how to use the "quote" on the forum.

Thanks for the help!

 

[FIZZER6]

Or you could give ME the model# as I sell parts for appliances for a living. I also help the do it yourselfers (for the last 17 yrs) It might only be a $30 parts. The # at my shop is 317-543-1361 ask for Jason and tell me your from the FZ6 forum.


Also if you can work on your bike then you can work on your fridge and that is where I come in, I help people do it themselves all the time.

Jason

Got the model# Hotpoint HTS18GCMCRWW

 

[Jjtwo69]

Got the model# Hotpoint HTS18GCMCRWW

Well, There are gears with tiny teeth on them in the defrost time that brake some times and when you moved the fridge you could have jolted the timer causing it to "get passed a bad tooth". Also your defrost time is a 6 hr. 30 min which means that every 6 hrs it goes in to defrost for 30 min.Also, if you over pack a freezer some time you block the air flow to the fridge side and that can cause problems.
I would keep an eye on it and if it starts to give you problems again you could replace the timer or you could call me (Jason) @ 317-543-1361 (9am-6pm m-f sat 10-3) so I can help you figure it out.
Its a pretty simple fridge, no digital controls which makes it easier to trouble shoot. Should be able to keep it alive for a long time.
If you ever see frost building up in the back of your freezer then there is a defrost cycle problem.(easy to fix)

defrost time pt# wr9x502
defrost thermostat wr50x10025
defrost heaters wr51x10038

Here in Indiana these parts range from around $16 for the t-stat,$25 for the timer and $46.00 for the heater.
All of these can be easily tested.

Sorry for the long post.

Jason

 

[callmegandhi]

I can cook a mean steak, we'll help cut down on the amount of freezer space you need, I'll provide the cold beer!:beer:

 

[MHS]

No bueno on the fridge dying.

I just went through that myself - mine was an old, beige GE with a top freezer / bottom fridge, no ice machine. The standard run of the mill fridge, but goodness was it durable. We got the thing in 1988 (yes eighty-eight) and didn't have any problems until it died earlier this year.

I figured, it lasted that long - it might have been a simple part, but I took the opportunity to upgrade.

 

[FIZZER6]

No bueno on the fridge dying.

I just went through that myself - mine was an old, beige GE with a top freezer / bottom fridge, no ice machine. The standard run of the mill fridge, but goodness was it durable. We got the thing in 1988 (yes eighty-eight) and didn't have any problems until it died earlier this year.

I figured, it lasted that long - it might have been a simple part, but I took the opportunity to upgrade.

They certainly don't make components with the kind of quality they did in the 80's. My last fridge that died was about 20 years old as well, a whirlpool.