Fridge stopped cooling suddenly- compressor works

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Can any clever people help? Fridge worked fine but ice box was thick with ice so I turned down the thermostat and the fridge just stopped cooling? Compressor is running (warm & vibrating) but the return pipe is cold (usually hot). I've tried bypassing the thermostat but it's made no difference and I'm at a bit of a loss.... Thanks!
 
Had a very similar scenario earlier this summer but I have a tame fridge engineer that I can call on and he gave me a very in depth description of what he thought may have happened (gas lost when we turned off through the high pressure side, I think he said) but most of the technical stuff went way over my head, he pressure tested and regassed all working perfectly since.
if you’re in the SW I could give you his number he’s based near Exeter.
 
Thanks Scillypete but I'm based in Gosport so unless someone has any idea what could be wrong I'll have to find someone local. Although I do fancy a trip to the West country... ?
 
You say return pipe is cold not hot as it’s normally? The return pipe should be cold if it’s the one coming from the cooling plate, the hot one is from the compressor discharge to the keel cooling plate, if this is cold the compressor is either not actually pumping even if it’s still going round or it’s lost gas so nothing to actually pump. The compressor should have cold or cool in and hot out.
 
If you decide to call in external help let us know who you choose -we have a non keel cooled version and was looking at changing so interested in any installers out there.
 
tried adding an led on the two spades on the controller? that will give you the error code (if there is any - bet there is!) and you can go from there.
Easy and cheap solution to know what your fridge does. I've got them permanently installed on both my fridges on the panel above so with a glance I can see if somethings wrong. This way you have an idea of what you're after.

further, have you tried turning it off for some time and start it again? checked that batteries are ok and power is where it should be? sometimes fridge sounds like it's running, but voltage is too low and it's not actually running. again easy to check with a voltometer (asssuming you have access to the controller)

V.
 
Daverw said:
You say return pipe is cold not hot as it’s normally? The return pipe should be cold if it’s the one coming from the cooling plate, the hot one is from the compressor discharge to the keel cooling plate, if this is cold the compressor is either not actually pumping even if it’s still going round or it’s lost gas so nothing to actually pump. The compressor should have cold or cool in and hot out.
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Thanks Daverw that was pretty much the diagnosis I'm reaching!
 
Lots of good advice here but something not suggested impacted on us once.

Have you checked the seal around the fridge door?

We had a top loading fridge, the seal through time compressed and warm air was being drawn in. This caused the evaporator plate to freeze solid with ice which ironically didn't cool the fridge ?

Simple test, an A4 piece of paper placed around the door, close it and see if the drag is constant when you try to remove it.
 
Daverw said:
Can you see what current it’s pulling?
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It's pulling 3A which is correct. Compressor is warm and vibrating but no coolant seems to be moving. Have chatted with a local boat fridge mechanic and he thinks it may need recharging so he'll be here on Monday. I will update the post when it's fixed just to pass on knowledge to the group ?
 
The amount of fridges that simply need a regas compared to those that actually resolve why they need a regas is astounding. If it is simply regassed then if it requires this again within say 12 months then there is a leak and it should be fixed first. Look for oily traces all around the pipes, compressor, condenser grid, etc, and especially any charging points, where often the seal is by two rubber seals. You can pick up small traces on your fingers. A typical boat fridge contains little more than an egg cupful of liquid refrigerant, so even a tiny leak is significant over a period of months.
 
superheat6k said:
The amount of fridges that simply need a regas compared to those that actually resolve why they need a regas is astounding. If it is simply regassed then if it requires this again within say 12 months then there is a leak and it should be fixed first. Look for oily traces all around the pipes, compressor, condenser grid, etc, and especially any charging points, where often the seal is by two rubber seals. You can pick up small traces on your fingers. A typical boat fridge contains little more than an egg cupful of liquid refrigerant, so even a tiny leak is significant over a period of months.
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Thanks Superheat6k
Have looked all over but can't seem to find any evidence of a leak. Has worked for the last few years but did seem a bit of a "heavy clunk" noise when compressor turned on and off recently so am wondering if there is a problem there and the compressor is not pumping the refrigerant around. Hopefully find out on Monday ?
 
tudorsailor said:
Our 2001 fridge stopped working due to condensation in the cooling system. Engineer added one of these F,B, FILTER DRIER 50gms R134A (penguinfrigo.co.uk) No problem with it since
TS
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That could be an option but I tried a trick the fridge mechanic gave me over the phone (he thought it may be the same issue) which was to use a hairdryer on the pipe to cooling plate for 10 mins which shifts the condensation. Didn't work unfortunately but when it's fixed I will be adding a filter drier! Thanks Tudorsailor!
 
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