Craigslist mini-fridge problem - help needed

[brew2enjoy]

So I picked up a cheap Frigidaire mini-fridge on craigslist yesterday to build a fermentation chamber. The seller said it worked fine. It looked like it was in good shape and not that old so I thought nothing of it and took it.

I get it home and plug it in....nothing. No buzz, hum or anything, just nothing. I played with the settings on it and left it on high overnight to see if it would eventually kick on and it didn't. Now I will admit that I did push the "defrost" button on the control while trying to get it working, I figured if that was the issue it would have kicked back on sometime during the night.

I am looking for advice on how to tackle this. I have checked the socket it's plugged into, that is not the issue, so it is getting power. Where would I start troubleshooting this thing?

I have a STC-1000 and project box on the way to build a temp controller, so I hope I can get this thing working.

 

[skunkfunk]

You might try giving power straight to the compressor to verify if that still works at all. If it doesn't, it's a lost cause imo.

 

[brew2enjoy]

You might try giving power straight to the compressor to verify if that still works at all. If it doesn't, it's a lost cause imo.

what is the best way to do this? I'm not an expert by any means with refrigeration but I think I'm smart enough not to burn my house down. could I just try to bypass the thermostat altogether? I'll be controlling temps with the stc-1000 anyway.

 

[Indian_villager]

If you take the internal thermometer off you should see two spade connectors on the back. Hook those two together and see what happens.

 

[brew2enjoy]

That was it, must have been a bad thermostat! Good thing I don't need it, thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Indian_villager]

Glad it worked out for you!

 

[krazydave]

Step two would be to drive by the sellers house and toss a brick through his window as a thank you for the scam...
Glad you got it working though at least!