Side by Side to Fermentation Chamber - Wont cool

Ugh! FML!

So i picked up a fridge from freecycle that was "working" when they stopped using it but was never cleaned - i cant tell you how nasty this was... more dead bugs than i have ever seen in my life. Long story short, many hours go into cleaning this thing before i can plug it in and test it. Yeah you guessed it.. it isnt working!

So, i am trying to figure out what the hell is wrong and here is what i have done:

When i plug it in the compressor vibrates and warms up. It doesnt make much noise though and i dont know if that is normal.

The light does not work on the freezer side and it is not just the bulb

I hear what sounds like fluid kinda passing through the coils in the back of the freezer, but they dont get cold what so ever

The coils under the fridge dont seem to get hot

I have bypassed the temperature controller (by just jumping the wires) and that did not work either

I have turned the little dial on the defrost timer but that does not seem to be functioning or changing anything. I cant seem to bypass the timer though. Dont know how to.. i tried to cross some of the cables and they dont seem to be letting the unit power on.

Should the compressor be audible? If it is getting warm and vibrating does that mean it is on? Does it mean it works? Does it mean the relay is

I am so hoping to get this resolved. I went from a dream project to a nightmare and possibly having to pay to dispose of this hunk of ****! LOL

Hmm... Did you see this fridge running before you picked it up? Sounds like it's dead since you should be able to feel the coils getting cold when the compressor is running.

Jethro said:

Hmm... Did you see this fridge running before you picked it up? Sounds like it's dead since you should be able to feel the coils getting cold when the compressor is running.

Click to expand...

unfortunately not...when i tell you this thing was disgusting... take my word for it. It could not be opened without a hazard suit on... OMG!!!!

It will usually take awhile before you can detect noticeable cooling. I would let it run for an hour or two and see what happens. More than likely, it has croaked and it will not be worth the expense of trying to repair it which may or may not be successful. Even if you are successful with the repairs, it may not last much longer regardless. I would run it for several hours and unless you can find something wrong with it that's easy and cheap to repair, I'd look for another unit and send that one to the grave yard.

i left the unit on overnight with no cooling at all

I have found a new thing that is odd. I took the two door sensors off. the freezer side has three plugs that go into it. The fridge side has two.

I moved the fridge one to the freezer side (leaving the third plug not plugged in) and the lights work in the freezer. Now i am just wondering what the third plug could be for. Could it be that it is to turn on the cooling process??

Thoughts?