Re: Refrigerator getting warming then fixes itself.

In article <98265e22-3058-4cd1-bae9-49ce2fd16295@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Jay <jay_silverstein@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

My question is, if there is a leak, how could it have fixed itself and
cooled itself back off... wouldn't the refrigerant have dissipated?
Any help would be appreciated as I don't want to get a new one!


Our (then) 18 year old Whirlpool had that symptom a couple of years ago.

After a defrost cycle, the compressor would cycle on for only a few
seconds every minute or so, then after a couple of hours of that, it
would start up again, stay running, and cool things down. Usually
after the ice cream had melted.

It turned out to be a defective overload thermostat on the compressor.
My guess is that after a defrost cycle, the compressor was a bigger load
and the overload switch (a bimetal click disk) would self heat and cut
out.

The new combined overload switch/start relay ($44) has worked fine since.
The new unit (made by GE, go figure) appears to be solid state, probably
using PTC resistors instead of bimetal disks and that funny bouncing
start relay armature.

Mark Zenier mzenier@xxxxxxxxxx
Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)

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