fridge troubleshoot: Whynter fm-45

[Theo85]

I recently stored my whynter fridge in the garage not knowing any better that the cold could damage it.

Temps dropped down to minus 20 degrees Celsius during a really bad cold spell. My fridge was wrapped in the transit bag but was unplugged.

Not too long ago, I brought it in for cleaning and thawing out and plugged it back in after a day or two of it being in the house. The display turned on but it would not cool.

The compressor would not turn on. The thermostat works and shows the appropriate room Temps. The internals look new, nothing visually broken.

Any thoughts on this?

Ps recently I tried unplugging and changing the settings as soon as it turns on, and I hear a fan cycle 3 times and stops, still no cooling..

 

[Stumpalump]

Thump on the compressor while its trying to start to see if it is just stuck.

 

[hour]

Also having this issue now with Whynter 62DZ... rode around in the back of my truck unplugged for a week and it got in to the single digits.

Fan cuts on, does its little pause and compressor kicks on, never gets cool. Huge bummer since I just ordered a slide for it. Same result on 12v or 120v.

It has been inside for two weeks now at room temp so nothing is frozen in place from the cold at least.

 

[Krall_shumavi]

Hi just bought used one owner said it runs and cools. Got it home and same results. Controls works fan cycle but no compressor kicking in.Any results with your problems. Thank you

 

[67cj5]

Some of these fridges don't make any noise and the only sound you will hear is the fan, I would try leaving it plugged in to the House AC and turn it on and sit next to it for an hour and see what happens,

Although they are meant for off road use and some companies have a Tilt rating some of them do not like to be tilted when switched off just as domestic fridges don't like it either, if a fridge has been tilted or laid down it must be left to stand up right for an equal amount of time as it was when laid down Before it is turned on again, Sometimes this can take up to 24 hours or more,

Another thing I would check the manual or contact the Whynter dealers and see if there is a RESET procedure, It could be just a simple case of pressing certain button in a certain sequence. give it a try and see what they say,

hope that helps.

 

[Krall_shumavi]

Thank you for reply. Have it on ac for 3 hours no cooling at all. I did send them email and i will call them monday

 

[Krall_shumavi]

Turns out on mine that compessor was dead

 

[67cj5]

Turns out on mine that compessor was dead

Sorry to hear that, Can Whynter replace the compressor for you ?.

 

[Krall_shumavi]

Yep for for 565$ plus 65 return shipping fee

 

[Krall_shumavi]

I was wondering if any of you did not fix your fridge and wanna sell it. I would like to play with it
Thank you

 

[XJOverlander]

I havent personally looked inside one of these but have worked with several other brands, do you know what compressor it uses? Photos of the inside and circuit board could help troubleshooting

 

[Krall_shumavi]

I havent personally looked inside one of these but have worked with several other brands, do you know what compressor it uses? Photos of the inside and circuit board could help troubleshooting

Thanks but i already return it. But now i have danfons hd compressor and i would like to try to put it in some broken fridge

 

[North]

Bump. I purchased a Whynter fridge (used) nearly a year ago and never got it to cool. I've moved on and am using a different fridge in my van, but would like to try to troubleshoot the Whynter before throwing it out, primarily for the learning opportunity. So far I've confirmed the following:

1. Temperature controller seems to work. Temperature on controller has been verified with a digital thermometer
2. Condenser fan operates
3. Compressor seems to be running (hums, vibrates a little, and heats up)

Any other ideas on how to diagnose this thing? I'm getting no cooling whatsoever it just stays at ambient temp. Thus far my only idea is to recharge the refrigerant.

 

[67cj5]

Bump. I purchased a Whynter fridge (used) nearly a year ago and never got it to cool. I've moved on and am using a different fridge in my van, but would like to try to troubleshoot the Whynter before throwing it out, primarily for the learning opportunity. So far I've confirmed the following:

1. Temperature controller seems to work. Temperature on controller has been verified with a digital thermometer
2. Condenser fan operates
3. Compressor seems to be running (hums, vibrates a little, and heats up)

Any other ideas on how to diagnose this thing? I'm getting no cooling whatsoever it just stays at ambient temp. Thus far my only idea is to recharge the refrigerant.

I all those three things are as you say then it could be caused by the following,

It sounds like it has ran out of gas and wants recharging, It's a simple fix if you want to take it to somewhere and get it recharged, Another common fault with fridges is they can get a blockage from a piece of junk/dirt that was left in the cooling system during the manufacturing process and it might of come loose and got lodged some place where it is restricting the Gas flow,

Hope that helps,

 

[North]

So I spent about ~$40 in equipment and recharged the fridge myself. Happy to say It's now functioning properly. I'm not sure how long the refrigerant will last. If it will stay operational for an entire season I'll call it a win. I used refrigerant with dye so if the leak is anywhere that I can access (unlikely) I might be able to fix that as well.