My fridge is constantly running. Why is my compressor so hot to touch? Do I have a compressor problem? Do I need to replace the motherboard? Should I replace the thermistors even if they tested fine?
Freezer door was left open overnight. I unplugged it to defrost it because there was ice inside the freezer walls. Then the food in the veggie and meat drawers were getting frozen and in the freezer drawer too. But the top 2/3 of the freezer and refrigerator were warm.
I have cleaned the condenser coils and replaced the evaporator fan and condenser fan because they weren't running. Although the defrost heater was still working, the tube was black so I replaced that too. I replaced the defrost thermostat. The 3 thermistors tested fine.
Both sides are cooling at the correct temperatures 0 F and 37F. Now both fans are constantly running and the compressor is hot to the touch. The compressor is vibrating and I can hear liquid dripping. The evaporator coils get frost all over and the defrost heater is working every 10 hours or so. The space where my doors meet in front is also warm/hot.
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Correct, condenser coils remove heat from the freezer compartment, thusly they will be hot. Sounds like the compressor is failing and that is probably giving off a squealing sound and stops running until it stops. Then your compressor will overheat and stop running until the thermal protector cools down and allows it to run again. Try replacing the compressor cooling fan.
The condenser coils do get hot. They can even be to hot to comfortably touch and this is normal.
The refrigerator should not run constantly but shut off with each defrost cycle.
Running constantly and never cycling off can indicate a cooling problem.
One thing to try is to wait till it has been running a few minutes then open the door and turn your cycling thermostat towards the off position. It should cycle off before getting to the off position on the dial.
If it does not cycle off then it's not getting cold enough to satisfy the thermostat. This is likely the reason the refrigerator runs all the time.
A thermometer in a glass of water can be used to check the temperatures in the refrigerator section.
You can check that all fans are running.
the reason the outer side of the door seal area is getting hot is the compressor is over heating, probably the condenser fan motor to your compressor is bad.
It should be a little warm but not hot. they don't use heaters anymore ( some older models still use heaters) around the doors, instead they use the condenser coils to remove condensation and moister, you might want to check your condenser coils on the bottom or back of fridge to see if they need cleaning
If the condenser coils/condenser fan are all plugged up they need cleaning and/or the condenser may fail or has failed..
The ones that use an electric heater will have an "energy saver" switch that will turn it off.: God is the reason I give you free advice so God is good!
Daleb870, Compressors on referigators run hot to the touch. You are experinceing a couple diffrent issues. First off 0 and 36 is a very ideal temp. The compressor and tubing are most likely hotter than normal as it was trying to cool down a fridge that was house temperature. After the fridge runs for a while and the load on the fridge is equalized the tubing will not be quite as hot. It and the compressor will still be very hot to the touch. The compressor its self right aroung 130f. But its normal.
Check the fan which cools the compressor from behind the fridge . If not working , replace the fan motor . ALSO , check to be sure the coils under the fridge are clean of dust (from the front only ) .
The hot touch around the door area is normal. Buzzing sound can come from anything in and around the compressor. A slight bend of tubing can change this. Feel around the compressor while it is running and you may notice a change in the sound which is caused by resonant frequency in the routing of the tubing or mounting of the compressor. Hope this helps
you need to do an amp draw with your meter,clamp the run wire on the compressor,you should get 2-5 amp reading,any higher means the compressor is going bad,also should be a locked rotor amp(LRA) reading on comp.-mike
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