[dlynch13]

Hi,

I'm puzzled because my freezer works fine and then after a few days it goes warm. If I rotate the cold control knob to "off" and then back on again I hear the compressor start and it gets cold again for a couple of days. This makes me want to replace the cold control knob. Are there any troubleshooting steps I could take to narrow this down? What voltages would tell the story? There is also a running capacitor and a relay on the compressor and it seems like these are likely candidates too.

Thanks, David.

[PS Volunteer - Appguy]

Could be a few things wrong. Your compressor may be hard starting during peak low voltage times or just a cold control on it's way out. I assume you checked the freezer temperature when it is normal, should be around zero. If not you have refrigeration problems.
For now I would just replace the cold control, most likely candidate. Post results.

[dlynch13]

OK, thanks. I'll order the part, for lack of other options. I thought that maybe heat was killing it, but I pulled it away from the wall and it still did the same thing.

Is there any way I could diagnose if the overload protector tripped? Wouldn't that happen if the compressor overloaded it?

Thanks, David.

[PS Volunteer - Appguy]

Yes you could check if the compressor is short cycling, but you would have to catch it when it is failing.