Isotherm fridge compressor not running

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yotter

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I found out today that my Isotherm fridge compressor is not cooling. The temperature in the fridge was approx 10C. I do not think that the compressor is running since it is very quiet and very little vibration. However the cooling fan runs continuously. Tomorrow I am going to test the thermostat (C and T terminals I believe) and see what that tells me. I believe that the fan should be on a cooling cycle although start stop times vary?

Currently trying to contact a refrigeration engineer in Salcombe (closest probably Plymouth)

Any ideas appreciated.
 
My fridge, a Dometic Waeco Series 80, is in the same position. I've been ignoring it for weeks and eating a lot of tinned food, but I have the impression that a stopped compressor means it's knackered and the whole system needs replacing. I have the impression that professionals are reluctant to try repairing them because they need de-gassing and re-gassing in any case (and the refrigerant gas has to be disposed of property). If I power mine on I can sometimes hear a little shudder as the motor tries to start, but is unable to move.
 
Hi. We had a similar thing with our danfoss. I was sure it had died but it had in fact just run out of liquid due to a failed joint. With the danfoss you can use a light to get a diagnosis. There are videos on the penguin frigo website explaining this. Good luck
 
yotter said:
Currently trying to contact a refrigeration engineer in Salcombe (closest probably Plymouth)

Any ideas appreciated.
Click to expand...
A few years ago a friend had a similar problem while at Kingswear Marina on the Dart. They contacted a locally recommended (by marina office I think) refrigeration company who came next day. In their case it just needed regassing.
 
Having been faultless for 5 years, I woke up this morning to find our GE80 kit has stopped running.
Currently the symptoms are a lot like voltage drop; click, shudder, then nothing.
 
samfieldhouse said:
Having been faultless for 5 years, I woke up this morning to find our GE80 kit has stopped running.
Currently the symptoms are a lot like voltage drop; click, shudder, then nothing.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what mine does. Well,, I didn't notice the voltage drop because I'm on shore power, but the click shudder is very distinctive, isn't it?
 
It is. Normally followed by the reassuring whir of the fan.
However, now FIXED - it WAS voltage drop.
The fridge is connected directly to a Victron MPPT controller which seams to have died. The load output was only outputting 3.5v. Hence the click, shudder, silence.
I’ve temporarily connected it straight to the battery and it’s back to normal.
For what it’s worth, prices of the GE80 kits seem to have plummeted, Cactus have an especially good price on them.
 
When mine stopped I noticed a refrigeration van in the marina, he just happened to be working on his boat. I asked if he could come and have a look. He replied that he charged £90 call out fee and that it would probably need a re-charge at least and perhaps other work requiring removal from the boat. Save your money and buy a new unit. Wise words I reckon.
 
DanTribe said:
When mine stopped I noticed a refrigeration van in the marina, he just happened to be working on his boat. I asked if he could come and have a look. He replied that he charged £90 call out fee and that it would probably need a re-charge at least and perhaps other work requiring removal from the boat. Save your money and buy a new unit. Wise words I reckon.
Click to expand...
That would have been terrible advice for 4 out of the 5 fridge hassles over the years.

The last 4 being a non-tinned wire causing a voltage drop (so no new unit or regassing needed), the thermostat failing so needing replacement (no new unit or regassinging needed), the circuit board getting swamped after a major leak into the boat due to fridge design (so needing washing and drying out then fine for another 3 years and no new unit or regassing needed), and finally 3 years later the circuit boat failing and needing replacement (so… etc etc).
 
RupertW said:
That would have been terrible advice for 4 out of the 5 fridge hassles over the years.

The last 4 being a non-tinned wire causing a voltage drop…
Click to expand...
The first thing I did was test with a pair of automotive jump leads off the main batteries to check this. Really easy thing to do which rules out power supply.
 
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