RLA80 Hotpoint is freezing. Thought it was stat, but??

[mike08]

Hi
I have an RLA80 Hotpoint larder fridge and recently it started to freeze up all along the back.

Had a quick look around on the internet and it would seem that this is typical of the thermostat being gone. Also, when I rotated the stat wheel, it never clicked in or out.

So, I ordered a stat from eBay and it arrived today.
Opened up the fridge, took out old stat and put in new one. Terminals were slightly different, but got it sorted. I put it into the fridge, closed it all up and turned it on.

At this stage, the fridge has been running all day again!! Lumps of frost all down the back of it!?

Now, maybe I am assuming too much here, but surely it seems logical that I received a faulty stat? If not, what other reason could there be?

I can post pics of both stats if needed.
In the meantime, here is a link to the one I bought

[Dales-Electronic]

Re: RLA80 Hotpoint is freezing. Thought it was stat, but??

If the appliance is short of refrigerant or the compressor is failing the temperature whilst below freezing will not be cold enough to reach that required by the thermostat. Result is the appliance runs all the time and the inside back freezes up.

[ELDAR59]

Re: RLA80 Hotpoint is freezing. Thought it was stat, but??

or it’s been wired incorrectly?

are the lumps of ice ALL the way down the back, or mainly concentrated in one corner or one side?

[mike08]

Re: RLA80 Hotpoint is freezing. Thought it was stat, but??

Well the back of the fridge is frozen all over, but mainly at the top I suppose?
What would that indicate?

It’s definitely wired correctly as even though the terminals were slightly different, they are all numbered the same as the original and I just put them back in that order

[Dales-Electronic]

Re: RLA80 Hotpoint is freezing. Thought it was stat, but??

You need to ensure that the old thermostat is made by the same manufacturer as the new one. The numbers are not universal from one manufacturer to the next. If they are made by the same manufacturer ie Ranco or Danfoss you should be OK otherwise you have to wire it differently. So to recap same manufacturer Ranco (old) to Ranco (new) you should be alright but Ranco to Danfoss wiring change.

[ELDAR59]

Re: RLA80 Hotpoint is freezing. Thought it was stat, but??

if the stat that was on the fridge is original (i.e. 23 years old) then theres always a possibilty that its switched differently. not all stats are the same.
the stat is just a switch that switches the live feed to the compressor through two of the terminals.
terminals are numbered normally 3.4 and 6 with switching usually between 3 and 4 or 6 and 4, depending on the stat.

all that said, if the icing on the evaporator is localised, more at the top, or one side, then it looks like you may have a system fault, which is understandable after 23 years.

[mike08]

Um. Sorry, I’m confused?
23 years?? Dunno how old it is exactly, but I’m guessing I got it around 8 years ago

In the meantime, I will see if its same manufacturer for stat and report back

[ELDAR59]

Re: RLA80 Hotpoint is freezing. Thought it was stat, but??

hahahaha! sorry mike, must have got my wires crossed there, not sure where i got 23 years from!!

[mike08]

LOL… I was wondering!!!!
I know I’m a tight git, but after 23 years, even I’d probably let it go!! 😀

[mike08]

Back again
OK. Both stats are Ranco, so it would appear that following the numbers etc is alright?

So, apart from the stat, what else could be causing this? Compressor failing or low on refrigerant? How would I know these, and how would a system just go low on refrigerant? Is it not like a sealed system thing?

OLD STAT

NEW STAT

[Dales-Electronic]

Re: RLA80 Hotpoint is freezing. Thought it was stat, but??

Check – Brown goes to 6 on the stat and white goes to 4 on stat. If that doesn’t cure it you are likely short of gas.

[mike08]

Re: RLA80 Hotpoint is freezing. Thought it was stat, but??

Me again
Looks like it MUST be gas!
It never really sorted itself. Always remained too cold, although the freezing issue stopped.
Anyway, in the last week or so, it’s almost WARM!
At this stage it’s practically only the top shelf that is any way cold at all. Actually, calling it cold is even an over statement

So, I’ve pulled out the fridge, back of it is relatively clean. Gave it quick brush down but nothing major. Compressor (I assume thats what it is anyway?) on the bottom is running 24/7. It feels quite hot to touch and the first 6-9 inches of metal pipe from it is quite hot too, but then after that there is nothing, which makes me think the heat in the pipe is just being conducted from the compressor.

Anybody got any quick checks or tests I can do, or does the fact the compressor is running mean it HAS to be out of gas at this stage???

Would appreciate any help I can get. Cheers

[Author]

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