When the compressor is not working, your refrigerator stops making any coldness at all. Many other components in a refrigerator such as the start relay, overload, capacitor or thermostat may cause the compressor to stop working. Thus it is not easy to locate the problem because any of the other components could be at fault. This video shows an easy way to troubleshoot the most frequent problems as well as how to repair them, or at least make a fix before your new refrigerator arrives.
The compressor is the most expensive part, I would say don’t replace it unless the refrigerator itself is relatively new. If it is due to leaked refrigerant, this can be fixed cheaply. If your compressor is not running due to problems with the start relay, overload, capacitor or thermostat, these parts can be replaced because they are all under $100.
Index:
0:00 Overview
0:20 compressor
0:43 case 2 compressor not running & condenser fan not running
1:10 check compressor
1:36 force compressor & condenser fan running
3:19 short circuit working
4:04 case 3 compressor not running but condenser fan running
4:27 start relay, overload & capacitor
5:10 test Compressor
5:37 Compressor resistance reading
6:08 test Start Relay
6:28 PTC relay
7:06 test overload
7:45 other two situations
8:05 bad compressor
8:28 most frequent moving parts failures
8:48 how the refrigerator works
If you need a quick and safe way to troubleshoot the majority of the most frequent problems, you can measure resistance from the plug. It is quite safe and simple, but different refrigerator models may yield different results. As examples of measuring resistance from the plug, we provided data for 3 different refrigerators. If your refrigerator is different or does not show exactly the same values, you can still use these video experiments as references https://youtu.be/XSspTwABECo
You haven’t cleaned your refrigerator condenser coils? This video https://youtu.be/jMkkoXpHIPA , will make the task very easy for you, by showing you how to make easy cheap DIY tools, and how to use them, so that you can easily clean this part of your refrigerator every 6 months. Dirty condenser coils cause poor heat convection and conduction and make the refrigerator run more often and/or for more time, thus it will shorten the lifespan of the refrigerator.
When your fridge stops working, it is an emergency because you have a flood in the freezer, and you have spoiling food. But finding the problem and ordering a new part or a new refrigerator could take a few days or longer. This video https://youtu.be/HCyDxWifj-8 is going to show you how to diagnose and deal with this emergency situation with temporary fixes. Rather than declaring the refrigerator kaput and letting your food spoil, you may manually jumpstart and control your refrigerator, and bypass those faulty components. We will show you what you can do for the most common problems such as a bad condenser fan motor, a bad control board, a bad thermostat, a bad start relay, a bad overload, or a bad evaporator fan motor.