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I just moved house and inherited an Indesit GSE 160 UK built in fridge 🙁
It was cooling stuff way too cold so we had to put it on number 1 where it maintains a cold temperature just below 0 degrees all the time. The trouble is it appears to be running constantly. I have never found it switched off. The back wall appears to defrost OK so the defrost timer at least must be shutting the comp down but no matter when I check the compressor always sounds like it’s running. In fact opening the built in dishwasher next to it I can often feel it’s slightly warm inside which must be from the heat of the compressor.
If I turn the stat off for a few hours it maintains temp well and is still in the red (ideal temp) zone of the fridge stat I placed inside. But, the motor never shuts off.I’ve even taken to turning the stat off at night when we go to bed.
I just bought and fitted a new stat (thanks Dave) but the fault remains the same. Dave said in the first place I should bin it because it sounds like a system fault if it’s always running but not freezing stuff but it wasn’t clear cut because it IS getting the temp nice and cold so I gambled on fitting a stat.
The capillory of the stat just shoves inside a plastic hole and pushes in several inches. I’m not sure if in needs locating somewhere or if it’s enough to just shove it in as far as it will go. The temperature of the fridge seems the same no matter whether I set the stat to 1 or 5 now.
How can it be a system fault if it reduces temp to just below the red line for the coldest setting on the fridge stat. It’s plenty cold enough to operate the stat – yet how can it not be a system fault if it runs all the time but doesn’t freeze?
Re: My fridge is defying logic
Now come on Andy, you know by now that…..”Indesit & “Logic” don’t go together. 😉
Congrats on the move by the way Andy….gone up-market in a posh part of Sheffield overlooking the city or overlooking the Derbyshire moors if I’m any judge? 8)
Hang the expense mate….rip that load of tosh out and wop in a proper bit of kit. It’s a tough call I know being as both Wednesday and United are wallowing about mid-table right now. But United = Bosch and Wednesday = Indesit (if that’s any clue?) Your choice?
:martin:
Re: My fridge is defying logic
andy_art_trigg wrote: I just moved house and inherited an Indesit GSE 160 UK built in fridge 🙁
The back wall appears to defrost OK so the defrost timer at least must be shutting the comp down but no matter when I check the compressor always sounds like it’s running.
If I turn the stat off for a few hours it maintains temp well and is still in the red (ideal temp) zone of the fridge stat I placed inside. But, the motor never shuts off. I’ve even taken to turning the stat off at night when we go to bed.
I just bought and fitted a new stat (thanks Dave) but the fault remains the same.
The capillary of the stat just shoves inside a plastic hole and pushes in several inches. I’m not sure if in needs locating somewhere or if it’s enough to just shove it in as far as it will go. The temperature of the fridge seems the same no matter whether I set the stat to 1 or 5 now.How can it be a system fault if it reduces temp to just below the red line for the coldest setting on the fridge stat. It’s plenty cold enough to operate the stat – yet how can it not be a system fault if it runs all the time but doesn’t freeze?
You have there two “problems”:
1) you do not have any defrosting timer….
2) instead of replacing thermostat you should verify him if it’s working… because as much as I know it doesn’t measure ambient temperature but evaporator’s temperature…
So I think do you need some gas (Freon) there or motor is almost dead (not enough pressure)… so back wall doesn’t get enough cold (forming ice) and thermostat does not decoupling. Low ambient temperature is forming also for warmer wall (-2 degrees).I assume that you placed wires correctly to new stats…
Re: My fridge is defying logic
Found it I think, so far as I can tell it’s a built under integrated fridge with an ice box made by Antonio Merloni… deep joy.
Baron is correct, no defrost timer it relies on the stat for the defrost cycle or, if it does have an ice box, you have to do it manually. Doesn’t really matter if it does or doesn’t as it’s pretty much the same bar manual or auto defrost. In the end, it makes little odds.
There’s one of two things at play here, neither is the stat I’m afraid.
Either the ambient inside the cabinet is too high as it’s boxed in and has a lack of ventilation (the warm dishwasher is a clue!) or the compressor is pumping weak. Or the former caused the latter, which is I’m afraid the most likely diagnosis. Impossible to say for sure remotely of course, but I’d be willing to bet it was the pot that is on the wane.
KW Rant wrote:I’m never done telling people that refrigerant leaks don’t just appear as if by magic, there’s always a reason for it to happen as, after all, it is a sealed system. And, before someone says anything about age, how long does it take for a bit of copper or a braze to degrade to the point at which it leaks, neither are porous? I wish I had a £1 for every time the mythical “internal leak” was used as a replacement for “I haven’t a clue guv”. Put gauges on it and check the bl00dy thing properly, but don’t forget to charge the sundries and extra time for doing so. 😉
Most don’t as you either don’t have time or don’t get paid to do the job properly, so you guess based on experience.
That said, there’s a danger, especially if it’s on R134a that the damn thing’s dragged up some oil and choked itself. If it says on the label that it has R134a in it the best thing you can do is cut your losses and buy another as, frankly, it’s not worth the grief trying to save it from landfill.
To answer the constant running, cooling and not “freezing”, insulation failure or weak compressor. Either of which will lead to, quite possibly, an ice ball and lack of integrity to the retention of cool air therefore the stat never quite trips out, so it runs constant and appears to cool when in fact your food is degrading as the temperature isn’t stable.
In short, Dave was right. 😉
HTH
K.
Re: My fridge is defying logic
Andy – It might sound obvious but have you checked that the wiring to the stat is going to where you expect it to go. Or more to the point when you turn the stat to zero does it switch the compressor off.
Re: My fridge is defying logic
The capilliary tube should go in around 30″. Some of these the back wall of the fridge can come away from the insulation, just press it, also the tube the capilliary goes into can be loose inside the back wall and not register the temp correctly. Had a few of these….BER!
RobRe: My fridge is defying logic
It does probably need scrapping but it’s bugging me why it is maintaining such perfect temperature.
It is R134a and when the stat’s turned off the light goes out and compressor stops. Other than that it never stops running yet it doesn’t freeze, plus the back wall has even beads of ice and the thermometer (see pic) shows that even on the top shelf the temp is bang on 0 degrees.
This surely is easily enough to turn the stat off?
PS I’m now in Brinsworth Rotherham Martin – quite posh – at least compared to before 😉
Re: My fridge is defying logic
andy_art_trigg wrote:It is R134a and when the stat’s turned off the light goes out and compressor stops.
Do you meen stats turn “off” or switch “off”??
Verify that 6-live; 4-fun/comp; 3-light button (inside stat you have between 3&6 ON/OFF and between 3&4 thermal switch)your picture are nice but more helpfull was to see where is your stat… Capilar from thermostat is finishing where? it is in the air or you have one disc for that?
Re: My fridge is defying logic
baron wrote:
Do you meen stats turn “off” or switch “off”??I meant when I switch it off manually. The fridge is exactly the same as it was before after I fitted the new stat
Capilar from thermostat is finishing where? it is in the air or you have one disc for that?
The capillory of the stat just shoves inside a plastic hole and pushes in several inches. I’m not sure if in needs locating somewhere or if it’s enough to just shove it in as far as it will go but you can’t do anything except push it in unless you are supposed to remove the fridge and do something round the back.
But logicaly, if the stat capillory wasn’t located properly and wasn’t able to monitor the evap temp the fridge should be getting much too cold and freezing stuff.
I think there just happens to be enough gas in to get to the perfect temperature for the moment which is why I found it strange. I presume after time it will not be able to get temperature down to the proper level but for now it is maintaining 0 degrees everywhere (on all of the shelves)
Meanwhile it’s costing way too much in electricity.
Re: My fridge is defying logic
R143a, weak compressor very likely from poor ventilation, overheats, draws up oil, partial choke.
Can you tell I’ve seen it before… once or twice? 😉
Symptoms are exactly as described, the pot runs all the time, evaporator partially freezes but not enough to cool the cabinet down, so all your food starts to go off. Eventually the pot will fail if the TOC/relay don’t go first.
On 134 I wouldn’t even attempt a repair, BER it and move on.
Undercounter ones are often like this as the stupid kitchen fitters don’t vent them correctly then, a few years later, they go pop. Very common.
K.
Re: My fridge is defying logic
Thanks K, I’m sure you’re right. I just can’t get my head round the fact that the fridge clearly is cold enough to trigger any thermostat, whether set to monitor ambiant temp or the evaporator. The fridge is at 0 degrees even at the top where it’s the warmest.
I never repaired fridges apart from for a few months and I could never get my head round them.
How do you ensure ventilation? This one’s built in and there’s a kick strip underneath. I can’t see how it could get any ventilation at all. Does a grill need fitting in the kick strip?
For a start Andy I wouldn’t trust that little thermometer, they’re well known for not being too accurate, lots inaccurate usually.
What I suspect is happening is that although the pot is running and you see condensation freezing on the evap plate or wall in this case, is that whilst it’s getting cold it’s not getting cold enough. If you move the thermometer to the front instead of the back of the unit it will likely be higher.
If the compressor can’t pump hard enough to compress the gas or it’s blocked in any way, even partially in the internal pipework, then you don’t get enough of a cooling effect. So, the compressor being a dumb thing, just churns on and on trying to cool it. Meanwhile the thermostat, which can’t sense that the set temperature has been reached, never switches off the compressor because it is dumb as well and will only cut the compressor out when the set temp is achieved.
There’s no in-betweens and no magic in it, the hard part as you say is getting your head around the facts of them.
It’s sort of like an oven in reverse if you like.
If an oven just heats and heats the natural assumption is that the stat is goosed. But, what if you replace that and it still just heats for ever and the element never switches off?
You’d be then be looking at heat loss, poor air circulation, poor phial positioning, duff fan motor that turns too slow and can’t get the heat into the cavity well enough and so on. The big difference with an oven is that you are far more likely to see the problem initially as it’s more open than a fridge is, which runs on a sealed system
Same thing only the temperatures are reversed and you’re working with negative values on refrigeration as the goal is to maintain a reasonably constant temperature (either positive or negative to ambient) within a “sealed” box.
HTH
K.
Re: My fridge is defying logic
Thanks K. I’ve looked closer and can see that there is a ventilation grill under the fridge door btw, above the kickplate.
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