[Mikethebike]

Re: Whirlpool S20 SxS fridge freezer problems SOLVED!

Right, here we go. Where to start? The big beast is working perfectly and has done so for some weeks. A good test!
I discovered that the alarm and beeping was down to poor cooling of the compressor and condenser coils. I ascertained this by blasting a large fan through the rear aperture. Further cleaning of the coils (powerful airline) and servicing the fan motor and hey presto. Working! No more alarms. Nothing wrong with the compressor – smooth and quiet running. Under test it easily went down to minus 30. Had I let it, it would no doubt have reached absolute zero!

The missing heater element did not affect the running of the machine.

But 90 minutes to start up, I answered my own question – this was clearly WRONG.
Checked all the capacitors on both boards and changed some. None found faulty. The rear board contains relays and I know these can and do fail (not just in fridge freezers!) The three black Schrack relays are expensive so I removed them from the board and tested individually on the work bench using two car battery chargers in series to provide the 24 volts. They were all perfect! Saved a fortune! The red/orange single pole changeover relay RT314024, is not easy to check but at £3.20 incl P&P it was worth investing in. These boards are a doddle to work on compared to some. No risk of bridging any tracks. And that new relay did the trick!! I switch on and it starts immediately!!

What about the missing defrost element? Far from sending the electronics nutty, it did not affect the working at all. I took a chance and purchased a new one at discount price from you-know-where and slipped this carefully in behind the evaporator coils – bit fiddly. Connected up and found the timer and the thermostat work perfectly. I now have a unit that starts instantly, reaches temp, turns off, turns on again and defrosts periodically as required. Fridge section works too and I removed the damper and motor to check the working – Perfect – almost! A few marks on the “hit and miss” blades indicated some ham-fisted technician had tried to move them manually with a screwdriver or similar. Cleaned these up with a small file and the blades do not bind.

Now, finally, what about the comparison between the EU model and the USA model? Not as different as suggested. Compressor and RTC relay are same Gilbarco. When checking the damper motor I found it bears the words “assembled in the USA” and marked for dual voltage and frequency. Scrutiny of USA websites shows many parts are the same apart from the voltage such as the defrost element. (why are USA parts so much cheaper??)

Hopefully my experience of 60 years as a technician/engineer/electrician/electronics engineer (among other things), all unpaid of course, will help some other poor sufferer.

Mike

[Mikethebike]

Re: Whirlpool S20 SxS fridge freezer problems

Thanks for the reply Mr Watt! Contents duly noted.
I have been experimenting today with extra cooling for the compressor and performance seems normal. Freezer will cool to -25C, switch off and on again when temp rises. The fridge section cools down to 2c and the damper opens and closes as different temp selections are made. All looks promising! But what to do with the missing defrost heater? I could buy and fit another (expensive!) but there is no guarantee the defrost timer or the defrost thermostat will work. Am I correct in thinking the only way to test these is to try it and see what happens? Something has happened to this unit in the past resulting in overheating of the heater and subsequent removal of the same.
Any idea how I can get hold of a wiring diagram?
Thanks, Mike

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