Hi,
I need advice on repairing or replacing the refrigerator, given these symptoms and history.
Symptoms
- Compressor runs but at some point, will no longer start. A buzz is heard every 30-60 seconds, followed by silence from the compressor. All other fans are running fine.
- Unplug unit, wait 15-30 minutes, plug it in and the buzz lasts a second and the compressor starts. (overheating?)
History
1-2 years ago, compressor wasn’t running. I replaced the relay and capacitor attached to the compressor and all was fine until last week. That relay had been overheated, as the plastic was cracked and it rattled when shaken.
Last week, the buzzing returned and ice cream melted, so I got another capacitor/relay and upon replacement, things started working again. The relay I replaced does not show any signs of heat damage and it doesn’t rattle either. It ran without incident for 3 days, then the buzzing and lack of cooling returned. I am now in the mode of turning it off for 30 minutes when this occurs, just to keep things cool and to keep from burning up the new part.
The condenser coils are clean, and when set to maximum cooling, I get 35-40 degrees in the upper section and 10-14 in the freezer.
A new refrigerator is $900, and it looks like a compressor with be $300+ and labor. My guess is that the compressor is about to fail/lockup, but I am wondering if there may be some other easy explanation.
I am inclined to purchase a new one if it is the compressor, since I estimate it could cost $500+ to repair/replace. Sears wants $70 to diagnose it, but they can’t get here for 2 weeks.
Thanks for helping.