freezer help needed please

[martinworswick]

i have a chest freezer which grandma left open for about an 2 hours yesterday,its summer here!.after i closed the lid i heard the compressor trying to cycle but couldn't without cutting out, i've left it un plugged overnight for everything to cool down (the compressor was real warm)but i still get the same result- the first time it is powered up it immediately runs for about 20 seconds before cutting out,a minute or so later it will run again and cut out after maybe 5 seconds. anything i can do?

cheers in advance for any advise

 

[Hermit]

You really have to test to see if the relay and overload are shot. It may as be as cheap to buy them as pay someone to test them. If they are good, then the compressor is probably bad. Some of them use a run capacitor or a start capacitor. Not sure what kind of setups they have in your neck of the woods though. It really doesn't sound like a capacitor if it runs a bit though. Either the relay is stuck on causing the overload to trip, the overload could be weak or you have a bad compressor.

 

[WrongCoastBrewery]

Sounds like you might have burnt up your compressor. Usually when a compressor does that, it is tripping on and off of one of its safety features. My guess would be your bearings are shot because it ran too hard trying to cool off the chill box when the lid was open.

 

[Rossnaree]

Look for the reset button, it may have one; after a momentary power outage last year, my chest freezer did the on-off cycling, too. I left it unpluged for a couple of hours, didn't help. Then I saw the little red button, pressed it, plugged it back in, it's been perfect ever since. Mind you, this is an oooold Kenmore BIG chest freezer. I'm sure they're not all the same. But it may be worth a shot.

 

[Hermit]

Look for the reset button, it may have one; after a momentary power outage last year, my chest freezer did the on-off cycling, too. I left it unpluged for a couple of hours, didn't help. Then I saw the little red button, pressed it, plugged it back in, it's been perfect ever since. Mind you, this is an oooold Kenmore BIG chest freezer. I'm sure they're not all the same. But it may be worth a shot.

In over 30 years of appliance repair I have never seen a rest button on a machine or listed on the schematic.

 

[martinworswick]

definately no reset button on it, i'm trying to get hold of a new relay and overload, everywhere shut over the christmas break though!

 

[martinworswick]

In over 30 years of appliance repair I have never seen a rest button on a machine or listed on the schematic.

can i bypass the relay and overload to make sure the compressor still runs or is that a bad idea?

 

[Dwain]

I wouldn't, again. I bypassed a Tstat I thought was bad and finished frying my refridgerator. - Dwain

 

[Hermit]

can i bypass the relay and overload to make sure the compressor still runs or is that a bad idea?

You need a 'cheater cord' to bypass the relay. You can jump out the overload but that isn't a good idea without a meter to see how much current it draws.

You normally have three posts on the compressor. The start, run, common. The relay will energize the start and run at the same time to start. It will then break the start side remaining on the run winding. (Both run and start are attached to the common). IF you have no capacitors on your model (this will/should be shown on the schematic) you can make a simple cheater cord.

Connect a line cord to the run and common. Something like a light cord with alligator clips to hold the wires on is a good choice. Now get a short jumper with two more alligator clips and jump from the start post to the run post. (This is assuming these are marked on the schematic so you can identify them. If not, and you have an ohm meter, it is easy to tell which is which) Plug in your cord and as soon as you hear the compressor start, pull off the jumper wire. What you are doing is powering both start and run and then manually dropping out the start winding.

A common configuration is

Start .................................Run



..............Common

OK. Quick edit since the software takes out the spaces. This should for a V shape.