Welcome to the Hatteras Owners Forum & Gallery. Sign Up or Login

Enter partial or full part description to search the Hatteras/Cabo parts catalog (for example: breaker or gauge)
+ Reply to Thread
Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 38
  1. #11

    Re: Refrigerator...Scratching My Head...

    Another though is that the start relay is hanging up. Not really sure how it works and what controls it but a refrigeration tach would know. Schematic is so simple the problem has to be simple too. Maybe something so simple it is being overlooked. Good luck.
    1966 34c
    1982 46 HP

  2. #12

    Re: Refrigerator...Scratching My Head...

    The symptom you have is pretty simple, and I bet the cause of the problem is even simpler.
    First, lets assume the thermostat is working correctly...because you are on the 3rd one. And lets assume you did NOT damage it during install.

    When solving problems like this, you first need to understand an know what is GOOD before you figure out what is bad.

    My gut reply from fixing many things in life (and getting paid for it) is this: you need to convince me the thermostat is measuring the temperature in the proper location. Crap in = crap out. The thermostat cannot do its job correctly if you give it bad data.
    Another possibility: The thermostat is working correctly, but the location it measures the air never gets cold enough to satisfy the thermostat. Try putting in a small computer fan to circulate the air.


    The compressor/coils make the cold. The thermostat turns it on/off. The cold making sounds like it is working correctly.
    Get a secondary device to measure the temperature where the thermostat is sensing temp and go from there. Crap in= crap out. Don't blame the device (thermostat) if you are feeding it crap data.

    Something cheap like this would help. No data, no solution. Guessing is not problem solving.

    https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Refri...%2C189&sr=8-13

    Or choose something cheap from the list or whatever you find at WalFart.
    https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wired+the...b_sb_ss_i_1_11
    Last edited by krush; 04-04-2020 at 11:21 AM.
    FTFD... i drive a slow 1968 41c381

  3. #13

    Re: Refrigerator...Scratching My Head...

    Randy,
    Our refrigerator is currently pretty full as there was recently a trip to the store (we are under a state/county shelter-in-place order) I will have to wait a bit before I can try turning the unit off and opening it up over night to see if perhaps that would allow the freon to properly redistribute or whatever it did in your unit and cure the problem.

    Ray,
    Your thought about the capillary tube possibly being mislocated somehow has me wondering what I might learn by pulling it out of its sleeve in the wall and letting it hang in the interior of the unit. If the symptoms change we might learn something...if they don't change we also might learn something. I think this will be my next step.

    Krush,
    I have had a digital thermometer in the unit since we first discovered we had a problem. It shows the high temps up into the low to mid-40s and low temps into the upper 20s (before I intervene and whack the thermostat).

    Madhatter1,
    If I could find a sharp refrigeration tech, I would love to talk to him or have him come out to see the unit.

    Nick
    1984 53' Extended Deckhouse
    "Laissez Faire"
    Delivered 1-1-86 (per Sam's)
    Hull #CN737
    Sausalito, CA

  4. #14

    Re: Refrigerator...Scratching My Head...

    Nick,

    It's not that hot out right now. Maybe just power it off overnight and leave the door closed. Your internal temp won't drop that much and hopefully whatever needs to be reset gets reset. I would certainly try that before I started ripping things apart. It's just strange that with 2 different units with 2 different problems it worked on both for us. I'm not one to believe in coincidence, but I sure don't have an explanation either.

    Randy

  5. #15

    Re: Refrigerator...Scratching My Head...

    Randy,

    I think that is a great (and simple) point! Since the intent is to leave the unit off and see if that corrects a problem with the compressor, the unit does not have to be open. Some Blue Ice and the door being closed overnight will keep my wife happy and give us a chance to try it.

    I did follow Ray's suggestion and I pulled the capillary tube out of its sleeve inside the wall of the unit and it is now in the interior with the rest of the contents. The unit has functioned almost as one would expect a refrigerator to (although there are still some light traces of ice in the water pitcher).

    I want to give this test a few more days because when I have changed out the thermostats in the past, each time the unit seemed to be functioning correctly for a day or so and then returned to its problematic ways. (This behavior lends credence to the possibility that your suggestion of leaving the unit off for an extended period might solve the problem.) My thermostat replacements have not taken very long and if they actually had a (temporary) positive effect on the performance of the unit, it may be that an extended power-off may be what is needed to resolve the issue.

    Now we continue to wait...

    Nick
    1984 53' Extended Deckhouse
    "Laissez Faire"
    Delivered 1-1-86 (per Sam's)
    Hull #CN737
    Sausalito, CA

  6. #16

    Re: Refrigerator...Scratching My Head...

    UPDATE:

    I moved the capillary tube for the thermostat from its place in a sleeve within the wall of the refrigerator into the interior space of the refrigerator. I did that last Saturday and the unit functioned acceptably into Sunday and Monday but by Tuesday the performance was degrading and by Wednesday it was back to its having to have the thermostat whacked sharply to get the compressor to shut off (even when the temperature of the interior of the refrigerator was down to 28 on a middle shelf). (Again, this is a unit with no freezer.) And this is a model that supposedly is so accurate in its temperature control that it is approved for storage of medicine!

    So I plan to act on Randy's suggestion and turn the unit off overnight tonight to see if perhaps the problem is solved by letting the system to sit for a while. I am wondering if the unit might have been laid on its back or perhaps even top end down in the process of maneuvering it into the boat and never allowed to sit upright in the off position long enough. The previous owners said that they just put up with the problem, so perhaps it has been an issue since it was new.

    As I mentioned in a previous post, every time I have worked on this refrigerator (changing thermostats) it seems that it works better for a day or two and then returns to freezing everything.

    Tonight I will put some blue ice on the top shelf and shut the unit off. I will report back in a couple of days as to what the result is.

    Nick
    1984 53' Extended Deckhouse
    "Laissez Faire"
    Delivered 1-1-86 (per Sam's)
    Hull #CN737
    Sausalito, CA

  7. #17

    Re: Refrigerator...Scratching My Head...

    I had same problem on a GE side by side and change thermostat, still had problem. A tech replaced Freon with a product to stop leaks. This solve the problem. Unit ran for 2 months and then something else failed. Time to replace. I installed a KITCHENAID side by side by taking doors off and sliding down stairs into galley. this is on 63 ft cockpit motoryacht.

  8. #18

    Re: Refrigerator...Scratching My Head...

    Jubilee, I will keep that in mind.

    I want to update this thread by saying that the result of my turning the unit off overnight has improved the situation a bit, but we are not convinced that it is really fixed.

    8 days ago, I put a number of containers of "blue ice" fresh from our separate freezer into this refrigerator only unit and turned the thermostat control to the off position overnight. About 10 hours later the interior temp of the refrigerator was around 40° and we turned the unit back on.

    Over the next week the unit was cycling on and off without our having to whack the thermostat control knob with a screwdriver, but after the first couple of days, the water in the filter pitcher we use again started showing some freezing. It never got to the point that we couldn't pour water from it, but with the temperature control turned all the way to the warmest setting, I don't think we should see any ice in there at all. BUT, the fact that we didn't have to whack the thermostat in order to get the unit to turn off the compressor appears to be a serious step in the desired direction.

    Last night, I again left the unit off overnight and turned it on after about 11 hours this time. It will be a few days at least before we see if the additional hours of rest might have allowed compressor oil that was in the wrong place in the system to settle back to where it is supposed to be.

    I will report the results.

    Thanks,
    Nick
    1984 53' Extended Deckhouse
    "Laissez Faire"
    Delivered 1-1-86 (per Sam's)
    Hull #CN737
    Sausalito, CA

  9. #19

    Re: Refrigerator...Scratching My Head...

    One test you could do: once fridge is "frozen" with compressor still running, disconnect wire from thermostat to compressor.That should be the brown or red wire per the schematic.
    If the compressor keeps on running, then it definitely is not the thermostat.

    The start relay could be sticking closed. Not clear from the schematic as to how it performs the start function but seems the likely culprit.

    You could also test that by knocking lightly on the relay once the fridge is "frozen".

    Of course, be careful as wires will be live. Rubber or leather gloves + insulated pliers would be advised.

  10. #20

    Re: Refrigerator...Scratching My Head...

    Meteor64, That sounds like a really good idea.

    The current status is that the last effort of leaving the unit off overnight (for a second time) didn't seem to improve its performance.

    Contacted the manufacturer again (after getting very little assistance out of them a year ago) and they requested a photo of the unit as it was currently installed. In response to seeing a photo, the fellow said that the problem was that the fridge was designed to be a stand-alone unit and that the previous owners created the problem when they built the cabinetry that closed in both sides instead of leaving the required 4" on the sides as well as the top.

    SO, now the unit is in the middle of the galley floor and I am giving it a couple days to let me know if anything has changed.

    I also pointed out to the service guy in an email that there is a circulating fan in the unit (that I had not noticed until a few days ago) and that it does not show up on the schematic. I wonder what other circuitry might be there that could cause trouble, but is not shown on the schematic! He has not responded to my question about this and I am holding off pressing him about it until I know if he is correct about the installation clearance issue being the culprit or not.

    Nick
    1984 53' Extended Deckhouse
    "Laissez Faire"
    Delivered 1-1-86 (per Sam's)
    Hull #CN737
    Sausalito, CA

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts