[TheresaM3436]

Suddenly no working. Touched compressor ,very hot to the touch. Cant leave hand on more than 1 second. Replaced relay/overload combo unit and came back to life. Now freezer works but not fridge. Never had that before. I think its the air diffuser. Not too concerned with that right now. Before I go any further, here's my concern:

The compressor has gotten really hot again. Cant touch more than a second. The condensor fan is working and I vacuumed the coils. Is the feel of a superhot compressor mean its on its way out or do they normally run this hot?

[TheresaM3436]

I'm begining to think the reason the compressor is so hot is because it is continually running because the fridge temps are never reaching the point where its cool enough for the t stat to turn off the compressor.. Now I think thats what burnt out the relay/overload protector in the first place. It doesnt seem to be the diffuser thats keeping the fridge warm cause I took it out and direct air now flows from the freezer into the fridge at the same weakish rate. I took the cover off the back of the freezer and the evaporator fan is working fine. The coils are not caked with snow and the drain is clear. Checked for obstruction in the return vent in the fridge and none found. What's left?

[woodchuck]

The compressor shouldn't be that hot. It's probably worn out. The condenser coils near the compressor should be warmer than room temp.

[TheresaM3436]

Problem solved. When the fridge broke down,I messed around with the feezer/fridge settings. I also mistakenly thought that the fridge should go down to 40 degrees faster than it was doing. So I cranked it to full tilt. Didnt want to put it back to normal setting since the fridge was warm and going that way could only make it warmer. So I thought. Then I realized since I didnt have this issue of a warm fridge/cold freezer before,this was the main difference. Maybe things need a little more time to settle. So I put the settings back to factory settings,and went to sleep. A little concerned that the compressor is so hot and continously running. I woke up 5 times just to check that the house was not on fire. When daylight came,I checked the thermometer I put in the fridge and it showed a cool 40 degrees and the freezer 10 degrees, Now the big question. I felt the compressor and it felt much cooler,much more normal. I could actually keep my hand there. Its been operating normally now and the compressor does not run continuously. The problem was just the relay,but I made things more complicated.