Danfoss BD35F fridge not cooling

eebygum

eebygum

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Our Danfoss BD35F fridge which was installed new last year and which worked successfully for the first season has stopped cooling.

It switches on, fan turns and compressor gums as usual. I’ve checked and there are no loose connections.

The light on the thermostat however is not working (and hence not flashing any error messages). The thermostat is getting power.

How likely is it that the thermostat/switch is duff (can I check this ) or is it possible it’s run out of R134A coolent - and how would I check anyway.

We have just arrived in Bangor NI and heading up towards Oban in 10 days.... so equally any suggestions if a good fridge engineer who could fix in Oban.

It’s not a disaster... Ice keeps us going for 2-3 days but a bit of a pain.

Thanks in advance for any ideas on fault finding or engineer.

Cheers, Andrew
 
Try short circuiting the thermostat connections and see if it cools. I would guess that it won’t as the thermostat should switch off the compressor but worth a check.
 
a digital voltometer on the two top spades on the fridge board to make sure you have enough juice going in.
then sort the bottom connector with the third from the bottom to bypass the thermostat the turn the thing on.
wait and see.

Decently installed and not tampered with fridge should work for more than a year, so start with the easy ones first.
Also easy to temp fit a 5mm LED bulb in the right connectors and see if it's flashing any codes.
This year I bypassed both my fridges built in thermostats, fitting some cheap digital CN ones, fitted rheostat to alter the RPM of the compressor on the dodgy one and fitted diag leds on both. Now I know what's going on and know the temp without opening the fridge plus they keep their temp way more accurately and consume less Amps..

BTW, when you say not cooling, like nothing at all, or not frosting the whole evaporator plate? got an IR thermometer to measure temps on the evap plate?

V.
 
vas said:
a digital voltometer on the two top spades on the fridge board to make sure you have enough juice going in.
then sort the bottom connector with the third from the bottom to bypass the thermostat the turn the thing on.
wait and see.

Decently installed and not tampered with fridge should work for more than a year, so start with the easy ones first.
Also easy to temp fit a 5mm LED bulb in the right connectors and see if it's flashing any codes.
This year I bypassed both my fridges built in thermostats, fitting some cheap digital CN ones, fitted rheostat to alter the RPM of the compressor on the dodgy one and fitted diag leds on both. Now I know what's going on and know the temp without opening the fridge plus they keep their temp way more accurately and consume less Amps..

BTW, when you say not cooling, like nothing at all, or not frosting the whole evaporator plate? got an IR thermometer to measure temps on the evap plate?

V.
Click to expand...

Thanks, lots of good suggestions here. I’m connected to shore power in the marina at the moment so getting good voltage in is not the problem.

I understand shorting the circuit and bypassing the thermostat would be a good test. Electrics and wiring is not my strong point.... I’ve got a copy of the manual onboard and enclose the wiring diagram. In really simple terms which terminals would I need to wire up to short the circuit and cut out the thermostat ?????04905B46-4091-4AC9-A69D-E8D44BFC8E99.jpeg

I don’t think I can get hold of LEDS here in Bangor now as we are departing tomorrow but I’ve a spare switch it the short circuit works.

Thanks
 
pvb said:
Who fitted it?
Click to expand...
I did with my brother who is a marine engineer... unfortunately he is on holiday so I cannot get hold of him at the moment.

It worked fine for the first season and the light on the thermostat was working which is why I think that might be the issues. I cannot believe it has used up all the gas after just one season !
 
eebygum said:
It worked fine for the first season and the light on the thermostat was working which is why I think that might be the issues. I cannot believe it has used up all the gas after just one season !
Click to expand...

I think you can safely ignore that suggestion! If there was a leak in the connections, a problem would have shown up very quickly.
 
pvb said:
I think you can safely ignore that suggestion! If there was a leak in the connections, a problem would have shown up very quickly.
Click to expand...
I‘ve had fridges work 3 or 4 years before the gas leaked - just takes a dodgy connection and falling off a wave or the last piece of solder going.
 
Look for any signs of oil leak from the fast fit pipe connections, they are the most common point of leak, if it’s leaked that quick you should see signs of the leak. If the compressor is running then the thermostate Is likely to be ok. Cooling is controlled by stopping and starting the compressor
 
eebygum said:
Thanks, lots of good suggestions here. I’m connected to shore power in the marina at the moment so getting good voltage in is not the problem.
Click to expand...

connected to shore power doesn't mean the fridge gets what it should!
use a voltometer and measure at the terminals, that should be your first action.

I had one of my fridges starting fan running, compressor not easy to feel if the fridge is in place, so thought it was okay. Turns out voltage was enough to try and start and end up with the compressor fan running but compressor was off...

V.
 
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