Often at the bottom of most refrigerators, the compressor is the heart of the refrigerator’s operating system. The compressor compresses the refrigerant before sending it on to the condenser coil where it exchanges its heat with cool air.
Being an integral part of your fridge, you should pay close attention to it and fix it before the problem gets worse. How do you know if your refrigerator compressor is bad? There are plenty of things you can look out for as given by refrigerator repair professionals. These things include:
The compressor fan is necessary to cool the system and prevent overheating. When the fan stops working, it makes the fridge start making weird noises.
If you have noticed your fridge overheating or making funny noises, chances are the fan has stopped working and you might be having a compressor problem in your hands.
Don’t fix this problem on your own. Instead, hire a fridge technician or electrician that understands how to replace fans to do the work.
You can’t hear the compressor working.
If you are at home most of the time, you must have heard the compressor kicking on and off. This is characterized by a faint humming noise from the fridge, and when you hear the hum, you know the fridge is running.
If you have been in the house for the entire day and you haven’t heard the noise, chances are the compressor is bad.
Pull the fridge away from the wall and listen carefully. Can you hear the sounds of the motor running? If it’s all silent, the compressor isn’t working.
If you hear humming sounds, but the fridge’s food is warm, the compressor is functioning improperly, or you have another problem.
Failure of the fridge to cool enough
As mentioned above, failure of the fridge to cool enough is a clear telltale sign you have a problem with your compressor. Your compressor will also be faulty if some parts of the fridge are less cool than before.
To tell what is happening, test the compressor motor. To do it, you need to access the motor from the back of the fridge.
You can do the work by yourself but if you are scared due to a capacitor’s presence, let an experienced professional do the job.
Look at the relay switch.
If you aren’t afraid of doing some sleuthing on your own, you can access the relay switch and find out whether your compressor is faulty.
To access the switch, you need to remove the panel on the side of the compressor. The relay switch resembles a small ink cartridge both in size and shape and after getting hold of it, give it a bit of a shake and if it rattles, the switch is faulty, and you need to replace it.
If you shake the switch and there is no rattle, the switch has no problem, and the problem is most likely due to a bad compressor.
The compressor is making a lot of noise.
The compressor is usually silent, so if you have noticed yours making a lot of noise, it’s most likely faulty. Before you conclude that you should replace the compressor, you should note that the compressor handles the gas and pressure inside the fridge so the noise might be associated with the high pressure and bad gas maintenance.
If you aren’t experienced in handling these issues, it’s wise you hire a professional that knows what they are doing.
The fridge keeps tripping the circuit breaker.
If your fridge intermittently trips the circuit breaker when starting up, it means your compressor is bad or is beginning to fail.
It has been shown that the electric motor draws 5-6 times its operating current when starting up. As the compressor ages, it takes longer to reach operating speed which prolongs the inrush current that causes breakers to trip intermittently.
Compressor runs continuously
Your compressor is definitely faulty if it runs continuously without the freezer and refrigerator compartments reaching their proper operating temperatures.
You should note this problem can also be brought about by low refrigerant levels in the fridge or failing compressor valves. Let an appliance repair Fairfax professional look into the unit before making your decision.
