Magic Chef 7.2 died

[Bean]

Long story short... I shut down my keezer to replace a faulty regulator and do some general maintenance, plugged it back in and nothing.. I can hear the compressor start up and the idiot lights turn on but it just sits at room temp laughing at me.

Now, from what I can tell the brand in this size are no longer manufactured which is a huge disappointment because I just finished up work on my collar rebuild and I would really like to just drop it onto a new unit.

Has anyone out there run into this issue with with Magic Chef 7.2 and what did you end up replacing it with?

 

[BrewerBrad82]

Try a "Hard Start" kit. It is basically a new capacitor for starting the motor to run the compressor. Its AFAIK the most common issue with fridges that go out.

 

[Jorb]

You're sure the compressor starts, not just clicks with the thermostat? I've had compressor starter relays go bad when I've moved fridges and freezers.

 

[Bean]

I am not 100% it starts. If I let it run the compressor will get very hot so I assumed that meant it was running, am I wrong?

 

[Jorb]

Sounds like you might have a bad PTC relay. Google and figure out how to remove it from the compressor. If it rattles it is bad. You can use the letters and numbers on it to order a replacement.

 

[Jorb]

http://m.wikihow.com/Test-a-Refrigerator-PTC-Relay

 

[Bean]

welp I know what im doing when I get home tonight. Jorb, thank you for the info, I really hope it is as simple as the relay...

 

[BrewerBrad82]

This is the kit I last used to fix a busted keezer. It contains a replacement relay and a starting capacitor.

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/hvac/compressors-line-filter-dryers/hard-start-kits/supco-3-n-1-hard-start-14-13-hp?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CPjPrcrPr8wCFQ6oaQodvUwKtA

If it does not work, you are only out $15

 

[Jorb]

That's nice. The next time I have a fridge die I'll look into this.

 

[kh54s10]

I looked at the Magic Chef 6.8 or 6.9 (I forget which it was) when on sale at Home Depot for Black Friday a couple of years ago. I when online and looked at the reviews. It had a 3 star rating then I looked at the numbers. It got approximately the following: 50 five star ratings, 5 four star ratings, 2 three star ratings, 8 two star ratings and 75 one star ratings.

The 5 star ratings talked about the low price, the one star ratings talked about how short a time it actually worked. Often not at all......

I bought a GE 7.0 about a year later.

Good luck on finding a fix. I am thinking good thoughts in hopes that one of the fixes stated earlier works for you.

 

[Bean]

Alright. I have pulled everything apart.

The relay doesn't make any noise when I shake it but when I take a multi-meter to it it maxes out at 5.4 ohms, which is half of what the wiki how article says it would be.
Now this isn't a 3 pronged relay, it is only 2. Coming off the 3rd prong from the compressor there is a wire which attaches to a circular "thing" it is about an inch in diameter with 3 leads (1 from the 3rd prong, 1 unused, and the last going to the hot side of the thermostat) printed on it is the following

B95-120
08F04

There is a threaded rod in the center which will pass continuity between the other leads. The ohms reading is all over the place on this, anywhere from 480 to 0 but it will settle down after a few seconds between 1 and .02, no matter what leads I test it against.

The Cap is kicking out about 1.5 volts

The 15 dollar hard starter seems like a no brainier here, but do I need to find an exact match?

 

[Jorb]

Most refrigerators and freezers that I've toyed with have a schematic on the back. It sounds like your circular "thing" is a freezer protector relay. I found this with the part number: http://www.discountrepairparts.com/product-p/drp11553.htm

I bet you could take that relay out all together and see if the compressor will kick on. My guess is that it's there for thermal protection - to keep the compressor from running too hot, but again, that's a guess. I would at least try running the compressor that way before ordering parts.

Unless your schematic is weird there should only be 3-4 parts that can fail. The PTC relay, the capacitor, the compressor itself, and the overload relay (if there is one).

 

[BrewerBrad82]

Alright. I have pulled everything apart.

The relay doesn't make any noise when I shake it but when I take a multi-meter to it it maxes out at 5.4 ohms, which is half of what the wiki how article says it would be.
Now this isn't a 3 pronged relay, it is only 2. Coming off the 3rd prong from the compressor there is a wire which attaches to a circular "thing" it is about an inch in diameter with 3 leads (1 from the 3rd prong, 1 unused, and the last going to the hot side of the thermostat) printed on it is the following

B95-120
08F04

There is a threaded rod in the center which will pass continuity between the other leads. The ohms reading is all over the place on this, anywhere from 480 to 0 but it will settle down after a few seconds between 1 and .02, no matter what leads I test it against.

The Cap is kicking out about 1.5 volts

The 15 dollar hard starter seems like a no brainier here, but do I need to find an exact match?

Here is the 2 wire version. It is even cheaper and may be readily available at Home Depot:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/SUPCO-120-288-VAC-1-Phase-Units-from-1-2-10-HP-Hardstart-Relay-and-Start-Capacitor-SPP5/203566154?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-BASE-PLA-D26P-AirCirculation%7c&gclid=CNef8Y3hscwCFQ8vaQod2RoC7w&gclsrc=aw.ds

Edit: Looks like the only ship it, its not available in stores

 

[Bean]

You are all amazing for tracking this information down for me! Thank you all so much!


I want to make sure i'm understanding this correctly. The http://www.homedepot.com/p/SUPCO-120...w&gclsrc=aw.ds will replace both the relay and the capacitor. I don't need to order a separate relay in addition to this, right?

 

[Jorb]

If you have a schematic on the freezer please post a pic. That will help a lot!

 

[Jorb]

Yes, it looks like the hard start kit has the relay included.

 

[Bean]

Does this help?

 

[Jorb]

That's perfect. You can see the overload relay inline with the line voltage. You can bypass it to see if it's the problem. I would try starting the compressor with the PTC installed and overload relay out. Be sure to connect the two wires that were on the overload relay.

If that doesn't work you are onto the hard start solution.

 

[Bean]

that is on my list of things to try tonight, as well completely bypassing the original thermostat (I wired a new one in series which would cut power tot he entire unit when the set point was hit)

Last night I was able to do a resistance test on the compressor (it passed) and a Capacitor test on the capacitor (also passed)
I need to track down some alligator clips so I can do a locked rotor test on the compressor tonight, in addition to bypassing the overload relay.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Bean]

I bypassed the thermostat and over load protector and plugged it in. On startup it pulled 11.2 then stepped down to 9.6, 5.3, 1.5 then held steady at 0.9 amps and it sounded like it should make a errrr sound and vibrating . LMA is 14.2 for this unit.

I unplugged to repeat the test and this time the amps locked at 9.4 and it made a repetitive sound.. something like... nook nook nook. the compressor didn't vibrate but simply hummed.


My thought is even though the cap is good it isn't enough to start the compressor, does that make sense?

 

[Jorb]

I'd go for the hard start kit then.

 

[Bean]

Order placed.. we'll see what happens!

 

[Bean]

An update for all those wondering. I purchased and installed a Supco RC0810 3 'n 1 hard start kit and installed it last night. This replaces the PTC relay, Capacitor and overheat protection relay. This worked flawlessly, I confirmed the compressor started, one copper line in was getting cold and the other was hot.

However, after letting the unit run all night it only dropped about 10 degrees, not sure what the next step is but at this point I'm going to start looking for a new unit and start the undertaking of rebuilding the collar.

 

[Jorb]

That stinks. I'm sorry we couldn't get it fixed for you.

 

[Bean]

no worries, buddy! It was a shot worth taking, and I thank you and everyone else for their guidance. Can't expect too much for from a $200 no name Chinese appliance... 8 years seemed to be it for it

 

[BrewerBrad82]

When you replace the unit, be sure to remove the hard start kit from the old one. It just may come in handy down the road!