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I bought a Fridgidair refrigirator (Model#GLRT182SAW4) recently. I placed it in the garage. It tripped the GFIC recepticle every a couple of days. I have to reset the GFIC on the in wall receptical and advanced the timer manually to get the refregirator started again. It run for a coupled day and tripped the GFIC again. I had to start the procedure all over again.
The interval between the tripping appeared random. However, the trippings always happened during defrost cycle.
I have checked the defrost heater. Its resistance is 65 Ohm and looks good to me. I have also confirmed that there is no power to the fan motor (next to the evaporator) during defrost cycle.
It had worked many years with GFI at friend's house. Please offer some tips for find out the root cause.
Thanks
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Here are your parts Replacement parts for FRIGIDAIRE GLRT182SAW4 Frigidaire/refrigerator | AppliancePartsPros.comAs you probably know it is usually not recommended to run a fridge off a GFI. Could be just an over sensitive GFI so if you can try it on another circuit. The easiest fix may be to run it off a non-GFI circuit but you may not have this option in you garage. Remove the cover inside the freezer, check, clean and dry all the plugs etc. Zip tie them so they are away from any water/ice. It just takes a film of water or gunk between Neutral and hot to trip a GFI. Check the defrost thermostat, if it is bulged/deformed replace it. Water can sometimes get in these and cause problems. You may want to replace it. It would be the first thing I tried if I could not find the cause. You could try replacing the defrost timer. The problem is that finding what actually is tripping the GFI is a pain in the rump so I would go with the assumption that it is somewhere in the defrost cycle. You are sort of stuck with plug and chug. Keep plugging in new parts till the unit chugs away which can get expensive. There is no guarantee that it is unless you can catch it when the GFI trips. Perhaps forcing a defrost cycle may trip it. You will probably have to do this a number of times so it is important that you do not let the unit defrost as the heater will not come on during the next forced defrost. |
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Denman,
Thanks for the info. It tripped this morning while I am on its side. I can hear the hissing sounds which means that heater was working when it was tripped. I measured the resistance between the nuetral and hot on the plug. The resistance is the same as the heater (65 Ohm), which telling me that the heater circuit is closed while thermal stat circuit is open when it triggered. Can I see that the leaking is somewhere in the heater circuit? If so, will dry the heater connectors and use di-electric grease on connectors help?
I also check the resistance between the hot and ground on the plug right after GFI was tripped. The resistance is 1650K Ohm, which indicated that there are not short circuit and I do not need to worry to be electrically excuted by touching the refrigerator.
It would be difficult to run a dedicated wires to the frig due to its location in the garage. Are there any less sensitive GFI that I can replace the current one?
Thanks
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[COLOR="DarkRed"]Can I see that the leaking is somewhere in the heater circuit?[/COLOR]
Usually there will not be a visual indication of where it is leaking.
I would carefully inspect the heater for any signs of it degrading.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]
If so, will dry the heater connectors and use di-electric grease on connectors help?[/COLOR]
Sounds OK.
Note that I am not a big fan of dielectric grease unless it is absolutely necessary. It can cause more problems than it is worth if it gets into the actual connection when dealing with low current.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]
I also check the resistance between the hot and ground on the plug right after GFI was tripped. The resistance is 1650K Ohm,[/COLOR]
I figure it out using the 1,650,000 ohms and get a current of 0.0762 milli-amp which should not blow a GFI.
Most GFI's trip at 4 to 6 milli-amp.
If this is a receptacle type GFI I would try replacing it as this is a fairly cheap option.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]
Are there any less sensitive GFI that I can replace the current one?[/COLOR]
There are some that trip at around 20 milliamp but I do not know how difficult they are to find. |
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