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Hi,
Back again after a fairly quiet period but my Admiral GC2224GEKW F/F has ‘reliably’ played up again. 😀
This time it was making a buzzing noise quite a lot which was OK until the freezer stopped chilling and warmed up quickly courtesy, I think, of the defrost heater kicking in at least once. I tracked the buzzing sound to the capacitor which slots into the overload relay attached to the side of the compressor.
Hopefully in the next hour or so the new part , relay and capacitor, will turn up and I will be able to fix it.Q. Does the relay just pull off the side of the compressor? I have given it a tug but nothing to violent and it is not moving (it does wobble a bit so it is not fixed solid).
I have found a selection of photos of the part on the net and it looks like the terminals on the compressor are posts that slide into the relay.
Q. IF this part arrives without the capacitor does anyone know where I can buy one?
many thanks for any help that is forthcoming.
I would have happily called an engineer but there is no-one listed for my part of the country.Cheers Paul
Re: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
Oh, rats!! I have just seen that the capacitor is listed in the spares section of the store here.I can see why I didn’t find it before because it is listed in the Maytag section but with Admiral part no.s.
Hopefully this relay will arrive with the capacitor attached.
Could still do with a answer as to how it comes off. I’m a bit wary tugging about on the side of the compressor.
Re: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
The relay/overload just pulls off the terminal pins on the compressor.
Refitting should just be a reversal of this.Re: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
Thank you, ELDAR59, for confirming that. I finally got it off but only by using a bit of force.
I have replaced both the Capacitor and the Relay but I think I still have the same problem.
At first the buzzing noise had gone and the compressor ran just fine but after turning it on and off again, a few times, after checking all electrical connections I was greeted by the same buzzing noise coming from the area of the relay/capacitor and on one occasion the compressor refusing to start. On one occasion I think that there was a slight ‘click’ from possibly the relay after a bit of buzzing and the compressor again failed to start.
I checked to make sure the relay was seated properly and that the capacitor was also in place, plus checked all electrical plugs that I had disturbed, turned it on and it behaved just fine. I have closed it all up and await to see if it continues running. I guess I will have to wait until the temp is low enough for the compressor to stop and then see if it restarts normally to maintain the required temp.Has anyone come across this problem before and what else could be causing the buzzing noise?
Is this indicative of a compressor failure?
Cheers
PaulRe: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
Hello Paul, most times a seemingly defective starting device is indicative of a faulty compressor.
You’ve obviously changed the starter and so it looks like the compressor is at fault and that the starter was not the root cause of your problem, but merely a symptom.
Fitting a compressor to your fridge is a costly job, but in my opinion worthwhile, given the fact that it is a quality appliance.Re: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
How long did you leave it between turning on and off.
You should leave it off for about 15 minutes before turning it back on as the gas pressure will be too high for the compressor to start and you can cause the compressor to seize permanently .
Bob
Re: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
Hi ELDAR59,
That was what I suspected. I don’t have any engineers in my area listed here and I would prefer to use someone that this site recommends. I do appreciate that the cost of a new compressor/fitting is much, much less than the cost of a decent F/F but I am reluctant to spend that amount on a 7 year old machine. Possibly due to the high cost of this repair I can sweet-talk someone travelling a bit further.
Hi SAMURI,
Ha, we meet again. Thanks for joining in.
To be honest I did not leave much time at all between turning on and off. A minute or so. When I first started it up after it had been off for a day or so it was fine, so I turned it off so that I could check the connector blocks, make sure that I had left nothing in there and then refit the panel. All that didn’t take long and so I turned it on and buzzing commenced (it only lasts for about 5 secs) followed by the compressor starting. I duly turned it off, removed panel, and turned on again ( a minute or so). Buzzing noise and possibly on this time no compressor start. Your diagnosis may be spot on!
I did get it going properly, refitted, and slid the F/F back in place and we have been monitoring it since. Possibly on one occasion the buzzing occurred but there may have been no compressor start up. We have left it on overnight and it seems to be behvaving itself. I wonder if the power jump that follows the buzzing noise is the build up of power to try to make the compressor to start. We definitely never used to see the power change before the fault developed a good while ago.
This morning, so far, there has been no buzzing and no power jumps. Maybe the system has settled down.Many continued thanks to you both for your continued assistance.
Paul
Re: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
Update…
Since putting it all back together and just leaving it running it has more or less behaved itself
One the first evening it had a few short buzzing cyles followed by the jump in power usage, yesterday morning it did it at least once but was seemingly quiet for the rest of the day. Today we see if the buzz has worked itself out or will return with a vengance just as I lower my guard.Always very appreciative of any more advice as to what may be the cause of the short buzzing noise prior to compressor start up. The buzz is definitely associated with a power jump that lags it by a second or two but the whole cycle lasts no more than 5 secs.
Cheers
PaulRe: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
Update….No.2
Well, that didn’t last long. Same initial problem ‘buzzing but no cooling/compressor’ as before.Buzzing happens again and again presumably in an effort to get the compressor started.
I cannot believe that the new relay/capacitor that I got was faulty but it’s possible.I guess with no other advice forthcoming I am looking at either replacing the compressor or scrapping the whole machine. No way I can afford to get another decent (ha!) side-by-side F/F at the moment.
Cheers
PaulRe: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
Yes it sounds like the compressor and you would need a new one fitted.
On this model you can also get module faults but this just stops power to the compressor the compressor fan still runs but the compressors stays silent no buzzing.
So it depends if you can get a good engineer in your area.
Try find me an engineer on this site.
Or think about a replacement.
If you can get a good engineer in your area it would be worth replacing the compressor.
Bob
Re: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
Hi Bob,
thanks for the help, as always. This site hasn’t got anyone in this area but I do know an engineer who, though he doesn’t really do American F/Fs, is coming along on Thursday to have a look.
To be honest, I have finally lost patience with this machine. This is failure number 5 (all different) and for the last year or so it’s felt like having a ticking bomb in the kitchen. The back-up Bosch larder fridge and Hotpoint freezer which are both 10+ years old have been faultless since the day they were plugged in, which they still are.Cheers
PaulRe: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
I cannot believe I am asking this but…..
What would the cost of supply and fit of a compressor be?
This is assuming that I can track down an engineer willing to do the job. Unfortunately the engineer I know is not ‘gas’ qualified.Re: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
It depends on the cost of the compressor fitted original compressor are expensive £547.08 plus gas, filter/dryer and valve plus fitting and Vat.
You can get alternatives to fit and you would be looking at about £320 plus vat total cost to repair.This price would depend on the engineers suppliers cost to him so this is the average to fit a compressor to an American fridge Freezer.
You need an F Gas registered engineer as this is an R134a compressor
BobRe: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
cool-solutions.co is F gas certified & manu approved.
Re: Admiral GC2224GEKW Overload Relay/Capacitor Question.
Thanks, Bob.
I located an engineer nearby who specialises in refrigeration and he diagnosed the same problem from my lengthy description. Comes on Monday to replace the compressor but converting to an R600 type. (?)
His price is very fair and will work out at about £350 all in.Paul
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