Frigidaire mini-fridge lighting removal help

[mikeyc]

So I was in the process of removing the lighting/thermostat housing from my Frigidaire mini fridge to fit two kegs. In the process, the thick thermostat "wire" broke off. I plugged the fridge back in and nothing kicked on. Did I just eff up my kegorator? Or is this fixable? It was this model fridge....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/frigidaire-model-frc445gb-mini-fridge-kegerator-conversion-89013/

Thanks for the help.

 

[Setesh]

When you say thermostat wire, you mean the copper wire running to the dial thermostat? That could easily be repaired. If you mean the metal tube that runs to the coil (part that freezes) then that is another story entirely. The fridge won't turn on with the thermostat wire broken because the thermostat controls when the compressor comes on. Join those wires back together and it will work again. If it broke off of the solder connection then it can be resoldered. Honestly the thermostat could be bypassed altogether if you are going to have an external temperature controller and don't ever want to use it as a functional mini fridge again.

 

[mikeyc]

It was the small metal tube part that goes from the box into the body of the fridge.

 

[Setesh]

It was the small metal tube part that goes from the box into the body of the fridge.

That sounds like the thermocouple. If that is the case you will need to bypass your thermostat altogether so that the fridge runs all the time. At that point you need an external temperature controller to control the temp inside the fridge. You will need some electrical knowledge to bypass the thermostat, so get someone to help you (or do it for you) if you aren't qualified. You need to find the two wires that the thermostat opened/closed and wire them together so that the fridge runs constantly. Then your external temp controller will cut power to the entire unit whenever the correct temperature is achieved so it should be a non issue after that.

 

[ShineOn]

You need to find the two wires that the thermostat opened/closed and wire them together so that the fridge runs constantly. Then your external temp controller will cut power to the entire unit whenever the correct temperature is achieved so it should be a non issue after that.

If you already found the thermostat open/close why not just run THAT to the temp controller relay? Main reason that most just cut power to the fridge is to simplify the install. That ship has sailed in this case

 

[mikeyc]

Thanks for the replies. I found a 7 cu. ft. chest freezer on ebay for $75 this morning. I'm just going to convert that to a keezer. It was time to upgrade anyways.