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My Lec T663AW fridge/freezer has stopped cooling. Found the freezer having gone warm and ice was melting away, also the fridge was warm. Power is on OK, as the internal light works. No response to adjusting either thermostat.
If I power off at the socket, then on again, I get a single loud clunk from down below, then silence. I assume the compressor trying but failing to start up.
My question is this: Is there likely to be a replaceable capacitor worth trying, or is this old machine dead?
In case it’s helps answer my question, the total current drawn at the socket in this silent state (door closed so internal light off) is 0.06 Amps.
I`m not a fridge engineer (washing machines mostly) and no one has got back to you. Well a capacitor is probably 10 quid so maybe give that a go. But first, if you have a multimeter, set it on the highest OMHS and with both wires disconnected from the capacitor ( in other words out of circuit) test the original one first. A rough guide is meter charges up capacitor a reading is shown and then immediately the reading colapses down to 0 = that is good = it is discharging or you get no reading at all or the reading does not colapse = that is bad. If that is ok could be the compressor relay or ptc starter – no idea how to test that. It is most likely the compessor u/s but that is a guess, I`m not there!. Did have one that was not anything like your model and it was a thermostat. If you go to Partmaster Uk there is a wiring diagram that might help a bit but most parts seem obsolete or a long wait (which with Partmaster can mean its obsolete but their site is not updated!!) . That double phial stat you changed a while back is still available not sure sure about the other stat. Obviously what I would not want to happen is that you spend out and get nowhere.I think the solenoid is for hot gas defosting but could be wrong might want to see if that works too if get atible.If you do look for parts the model number is what you say it is but since the fridge/fzr is listed as a Stoves as well as a LEC you base it also on the 444446145 number according to Partmaster
andyjawa – thanks for the response. When I can get the fridge out for rear access, I will do as you suggest. I measured the cold resistance between Live & Neutral at the plug, after some jumping around it settles at 19ohms. That fits with a clunk at power-on as it tries but fails to start. But thereafter if plugged in it settles to a trivial 0.06amps. Experience of a dehumidifier with a faulty capacitor was a recurring clicking every few seconds, as the stalled compressor drew too much current and the overload protector cut out/in every few seconds. Which I’m not getting here.
So I’m thinking not the capacitor, maybe the relay or PTC. The reason I’m not blaming the thermostat is that there are two of them (fridge+freezer), I changed the fridge one a few years back successfully. My assumption is that both can’t have failed, and if either was calling for cooling, the compressor would run.
When I get it out I’ll check the capacitor and the resistance of the windings. I’m not trying to flog a dead horse here, I know they die eventually. I’m just thinking that it it was a gas loss, it’d just run and run without effect; if it was a seized compressor motor, I’d expect it to be clicking in/out on overload protector. So I’m thinking relay of PTC starter, whatever the latter does. Something electrical so maybe curable. Will report back once it’s out and accessible to the rear.
JosephBowen wrote:All good now?
No, not still fixed. Further tests revealed that the clunk at start up is the solenoid valve not the compressor. The PTC (a silver disk) sometimes called a relay, but I’d call a thermistor that powers the start winding from cold only, had part fragmented, making this a strong suspect. It measured 8.4 ohms cold in it’s part broken state, later gave higher values. I can’t get any technical data yet on the PTC. I’ve found PTC disks available from China that fit but with a wide range of cold resistances, but don’t know which is correct? Also rather expensive ($20). In the early stages of fixing I ordered a visually identical plastic unit which also clips on to the compressor pins, and contains a PTC disk and an overload, that was before I realised PTC resistances do vary. Don’t know, when it eventually comes, if it’ll help. Have requested some technical info/service manual from Lec, but don’t know what will come back. In limbo really. Although the fragmented PTC does draw suspicion as I said, I’m uncomfortable that a compressor failing to start (windings intact) for whatever reason, isn’t drawing a heavy standing current and tripping overload periodically.
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