Faulty Miele F623 Freezer – Advice needed

Hi,

I have a Miele F623 under-counter freezer that has stopped working. The freezer powers up but the compressor won’t start. I suspect the problem is the start relay but I’m not 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} sure and I really don’t want to spend £70 on a new one only to find the problem lies elsewhere.

I’ve carried out most of the tests I can find via the internet including checking the continuity of the 3 pins on the compressor and against the compressor body: there is continuity between each of the pins and no continuity between the pins and the body. I also measured the current draw on the live cable that runs to the relay: it shows around 8 amps when the freezer is powered up but drops to nothing after a few seconds. I pulled the back cover off the relay and nothing appears to have broken up inside although there does appear to be some heat related yellowing of the plastic casing. I tested the output from the relay and it shows 230v between the top pin and each of the bottom 2 pins.

Can anyone let me know if there are other tests I can carry out to ensure the relay is the culprit?

Many thanks,
A