I have a Danby Dehumidifer SDR408H. It seems that the compressor won"t cut in. The machine will turn on.

Be careful. i do not know. set at highest setting and let it run. while running, reduce setting to the lowest over a few minutes. at a lower setting you should be able to tell that the compressor has started. run it for 5 minutes, then
unplug your machine. next, feel the cooling coils to see if they are very cold. if they are not cold, your unit needs to be serviced.

It sounds like the humidistat sensor failed on the unit. You'll need to replace that sensor to be able to get the unit operational again

It's probably in the wrong mode. This could be from a number of causes including you have not emptied the water chamber.

empty the tank, and clean the dust off of the condenser in the front or clean the filter. if it still won't turn on, may have a bad sensor or a siezed compressor.

Take it to a metal scrap yard and turn it in the copper and buy a new one. Buy a different brand.
Sorry to be so blunt but dehumidifiers are very cheap and disposable not many people work on them. If this help please rate me and do a testimonial.

If you unplugged the heater for 12-15 minutes, after turning OFF the Master On/OFF Switch, the electronics should reset themselves. Also, be sure that you don't have the humidity level set to high. Anything above 60% wont' extract any moisture to speak of. If your unit doesn't have an LED display, set the unit on Minimum.

Hope this helps you. Please let me know. Thanks.

Hi,
Here is a tip that will help you with basic trouble shooting..

http://www.fixya.com/support/r3877515-dehumidifier_problems_dehumidifier

heatman101

I have a Danby DDR 458EE dehumidifer that I purchased May 27, 2008.
Used it for the summer and stored it until May this year. At the end of July of this year it started not working. It freezes up. Called Danby, they told me it was out of warrenty and to take to a repair shop. Problem being it was leaking freon so have it recharged. Called the repair shop and they explained that it is a closed system and if it is leaking Freon, they can not recharge it until the leak is found and repaired. It's against the law to discharge freon in to the atmosphere. Stated cost to repair it would be greater then buying a new one. Called Danby back and explained what repair person said. Still waiting to see if they will give me a pro-rated refund.

I purchase a compact bar fridge from Walmart and am trying to register it on - line

You may get a better effect if you ventilated the crawl space.